GRAVE SHORTAGE

Evening Star, Issue 23381, 26 September 1939, Page 6

GRAVE SHORTAGE

FARM LABOUR IN OTAGO CALL TO COLOURS THE REASON GOVERNMENT'S APPEAL FOR MORE PRODUCTION Farming since the commencement of the war has become a key industry. The Government is perturbed over farm labour more now than ever before, because the shortage of workers through the commendable response to enlist in the special Territorial force Has slowed down urgent seasonal agricultural occupations. For instance, the call to the colours.has made the replacing of qualified teamsters ln Orago almost an impossibility. Several suggestions to the Government may result in totally inexperienced men being accepted by farmers for training purposes. Public works camps in the. province are now being combed by the State Placement Service, and men who have engaged once in farming are being sent to farms that most urgently require their services,

The branch of agriculture in the worst plight is sheep farming. With lambing on many runs in full swing there are no shepherds' to tend the flocks, as there are plenty of cases_ of these men going to camp or returning to their homes to wait for instructions. Once lambing operations are over there will be fresh worries for the sheep farmer. It is certain that there will be a scarcity of shearers. The State placement officer (Mr T< White) told the ‘ Star ’ to-day that he has had requests from every part of the province already for shearers, One rutt carrying 23,000 sheep and a Southland run grazing 11,000 have already asked for shearers to commence work early in November. The problem may be alleviated because there are many mea not acceptable for enlistment in th« military forces because of their-age, who are competent shearers. They ar» certain to obtain shearing work. Mus.terers, too, will have to be employed, and it seems at this stage as if the farmers in the particular districts will have to pool their resources and assist one another. .

The dairy industry will supply another serious labour problem, though the position is not as acute as that of the agricultural and sheep farming industries. The general opinion seems to be that for the duration of the war dairy farmers will be quite content to carry on if they cannot obtain labour. They have, had the experience before of doing the bulk of the. work themselves. ■ The Government has commended the attitude the farming community has taken over the need to bring as much land into cultivation as possible during the war so that production can b* maintained at the highest possible level. Farmers in some parts of the province are even working night shifts bringing in more land for growing wheat.and oats. But it lias been pointed out that their hands are being tied because of the problem of the moment— the ex» ceptional shortage of labour.