FARMERS AND THEIR PRODUCE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 144, 14 March 1921, Page 5

FARMERS AND THEIR PRODUCE

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Mr. M’Leod, M.P., lhas hit the nail fair on the head in advising his brother farmers to consign their produce Home for sale at their own risk, through accredited agents, of course, instead of selling to middlemen or speculators here, and' I hope he will drive that nail home and so prevent either Governmental interference or speculators from dabbling with it in future.

Farmers in the past manfully and energetically worked out their own destiny unaided by Governments or busybodies, and provided, steamers and ships to convey all they had to sell to the principal markets of the world, and surely their descendants, with the enormous advantages bequeathed to them by our hardy pioneers, have the grit without any Government rubbing-post to manage their own affairs. s We are told that insulated and other steamers are plentiful, and that the Allied Governments have difficulty in finding buyers for those they have for disposal. and on© would think there would bo little difficulty in either chartering or purchasing suitable craft to provide more moderate rates of freight than those now demanded by the steamer trusts. Sir Walter Buchanan did yeoman's work in this direction in the past. Let him try his hand at such an opportune moment, and head the list to promote a new New Zealand shipping company. He will get plenty to back him in such a venture.

Although I have champed in tho bit at the Government control we have experienced, I am nevertheless grateful to Mr. Massey for the intelligent interest he has always shown in farming affairs, but he has a big burden in other directions and unfortunately has few lieutenants whose sympathies are with the farmers. I am told on the best authority there were only three members in last Parliament farmers could rely upon in a critical division. Our arch-enemy at the moment is the Imperial Food Controller, who seems to have the influence of a rattlesnake over our representatives nt Home, and has fixed arbitrary prices for all our produce, which have little or no relation to those current in the open market for similar articles. He tries to delude ns that other influences are at work to depreciate our produce, forgetting at the moment that hia prices, which are regulating our market here, and which have brought about such a deplorable state of affairs, are being made use of by designing speculators both here and at Home to create a state of panic in this Dominion. The latest wholesale prices for Homekilled meat, quoted by the High Commissioner, are as under:— Lamb,-2s. Old. per lb. Mutton, Is. 7d. per lb. • Beef, Is. sd. per lb. Butter, 3s. BJd. per lb. and although freights have increased the transportation charge there is still a wide margin between the prices current here for live stock of equal if not superior in quality to Home-fed beef and mutton, and which compare as under:— k Dominion Home < . price. price.

Pork wi. per id. 1/e per in, Butter 0/6 per lb. 3/8% per IK The Food Controller’s prices for our meat are just about half the prices of the Home-killed article, and unfortunately his prices have been and are regulating our market, although the relative prices between Home and foreign meat before the commandeer approached each other more closely. It is to bo hoped, therefore, that the farmers will accept the good advice tendered by Mr. M'Leod and other disinterested parties, and so defeat the tactics now being employed to undermine the farmer and upset the financial equilibrium of the Dominion.—l am, etc., PBHUKE RBODUCEEm

Fat steers, weighing, ear, 7001b. £20 £60 Wethers, about 601b. 30s. .£6 Lambs, about 401b. 25s. £5 Ewm, about 60/701b. 20. £5 . 1/4 ner