Farming Column

Hokitika Guardian, 12 November 1932, Page 8

Farming Column

FARMERS’ SERIOUS POSITION. AN OBVIOUS WAY OUT. The (Mortgagors’ Relief Acts enable farmers wtibse financial position warrants the Courts in granting relief to obtain concessions from mortgagees and lessors. . The legislation is to continue in force until December 31, lsoA, but the Court can o.uer relief to b e granted up to two years from the date of tih© Court order and in guch cases the order will operate ror the ftVl period, although this may extend 'beyond December 31, 1905. m auait.on to the special- relief which may be granted in dases which fall within the provisions of The Mortgagors lel af - Acts farmers have been granted general relief under The National Expenditure Adjustment. Act up to 20 per ■cent, in remission of interest and rents under mortgages a!nd leases in existence- - (before the loti day of May, 1932, subject in the case of interest, to the 20 per cent. i\ auction not reducing the rate below 5 per cent., and subject also to certain limitations in the cas e of rents. This .Act remains in force until April 1, 1935. - ; _ - In the event of a ■■considerable- improvement in ’ the prices for primary products and the financial position /] the Dominion by Mhe nurd‘ oi. laoo it .is unlikely that the operation of lhe Mortgagors Relief Acts wiT'be extended by Parliament and jl’ the Act is not extended mortgagors will then Have to face the necessity of obtaining an extension of the term of their mortgages or new advances to repay existing mortgages. -Even, if l|be ’Mortgagors Relief Act is again extended to meet the financial conditions of ,the farming industry., any .inch extension /tan he granted only for a limited period, and there. n'iH be ccscs in which the hardship inflicted on the mortgagor by a- further ex ten-c-:..->n will he‘ greater than the hard'ship inflicted on the*, mortgagor by an : - for |).a-yment, and in. these. ca.es money will require to the available for refinancing • farm ■ lands. .-It is generally agreed that in most citses the legislation mentioned, above ■was necessary to efiable farmers • to carry on over a difficult period, but it ie mot ‘disputed that the legislation has had the effect in some cases of ; unfairly penalising mortgagees and lessors and that it has very considerjbiy increased the, unpopularity of farm lands as an - avenue for the investment of money and further shaken the confidence of investor in this class

of security. : For many: (years past Parliament has enacted measures which have created statutory charges taking priority to the mortgage© with th e result .that confidence of ..investors lands as security for loans hafi been largely destroyed. 1 * ' ■ It is common knowledge that thepeople of this Dominion are a ' most entirely dependent on the primary industries for their existence and that: it is the development of these industries Which has made - possible the comparatively hi fin standard of living noiv enjoyed by the people of New Zealand." The Official Year Book shows that the huge sum Of 116 millions sterling is invested on farin''lands in the Do-; iminion. Primary production is our ■greatest industry and should be the! 'most' attractive form of mve- tment ■ for the moneys 'required to ■ maintain: -th© industry iarid increase th© volume of p oduee to offset the fall in values. It cannot be denied, however, that'to■riay investment of money on farm lands ie the least popular and ( akso largely the least remunerative form of investment. For the past two years none of the Government lending departments has made advances against farm lands except to protect existing securities, and even the State Advances Superintendent/, Iwhoee primary' funct’on '*sfiould b© to aosi-st land settlement, has no present j>r<Y'peci of rest ning bis lending activities. The surplus revenues of these Departments have been required t© pay the huge .commitments of the Gen■eral Government due' to extravagant spending, the maintenance of a • system of :socialisrn ) and heavy overhead expenees arising out of State interference and competition in trade and industry. Institutions 'and individuals Controlling large sums of money are abl* to find safer ' and more remunerative forms of investment than is offered by investment on mortgage of farm lands after payment oi income tax at the high rate for which they mro liable, jarnE if B pace permitted-' many illustrations of the net return from different classes of investment iri competition -with farm lands could be given in proof of : this statement. .For this state of affairs the country can lay the blame on politicians who have shown a lack of k-nowledgfe and foresight in fixing the incidence of tiiiation 'in isuch manner ws to allow the present position of farm lan s finance tp arise. The matter of adequate finance for farm lands at * reasonable rate of interest is a vital rn© to farmers and should be taken, up by them with local members of Parliament through the Farmers Union. An obvious way out of th© very un- [ satisfactory and dangerous position, I which has been allowed to arise m I respect of finance for farm lands, ir, to alter the incidence of taxation so (that moneys advanced on farm lands in future, or mortgages extended, at | .c a y |5 per'cent, or 5i per cent, shall b e free ot income, tax, and money in-

vested, in excess of 5 pet- cent, or per . cent.; (in case of second mortgages) shall be subject to a graduated rate of tax rising with tile rate of interest, but limited at a rate whiter wid make the investment on farm lUid S ; attractive to -lenders in comparison with investments in other competing . lacurities.

Recent events have , shown the folly of the policy of looking to the Government to provide the moneys ■ required to finance the. farm.ng industry. At a time when money is most, needed the Government- has fallen down on the job and hag even had to borrow from the Banks for its own requirements. The si:x millions excess of withdrawals over deposits which the Post Office Savings Bank has suffered this year is a salutary lesson of the danger to winch the country will be exposed if the policy of maxim' the- Government the principal lender is continued. The nenercsity of . finding this, money has imposed a further limitation on the lending operations of Government • departments.

In future the farming industry wiU have to be financed by the private wealth of the country,- which' will be •.available for thi s purpose if. th e enactments which have -destroyed the. confidence of -lenders are repealed and the lending-conditions in re" peel of joconie tax .adjustments are made sufficiently attractive to provide fair return to th<*- ..investor as against competing investments.

WORLD’S FAT RECORD CLAIMED

DESCENDANT OF N.Z. GRANDSIRE

A new world’s record for a three year old Jersey cow has been c-aim-tu for an animal in Australia, the grandsire .of which was exported some ago by Mr James *.ichoi,son-> of Kaupokonui, near teawera. The 'foDowi'hg report is - taken from the Nev Zealand . Farm and Home Journal, dated 'September 30, D 32: “A world's record for a three year old Jersey has been estab-ohed by tue l.ustraliain heifer, Richmond (Posy Vi., the property of Hawkesbury Agricultural 'College, who recently , 'Mushed ,her 365 day test with tKe | (remarkable yield of -1,061.631 b fat,, thus displacing the American Rihda’s !Ro.-.aire Jessie 1,043.411 b fat'- for the highest honour of her age. A short time ago it wag announced that Richmond Rosy' 1 VI. had broken the Australian record for all breeds ■on the -273 days test by producing 812.051 b fat. Continuing the same test for tue full ' year, Posy yielded another 269.021 b fut in the final three months, this giving her the -world’s record total 1 for her -age of 1,081:681b fat. 'Richmond-Posy VI. was milked only twice a day and 'her ration was a comparatively simple one, having regard to ' Australian'-'conditions. The breeding of 'Richmond P<>\y VI. is' of special interest to New Zealand breeders, 'for her -dam was a daughter of a bull exported from the Dominion -many years ago. \ This bull, -Aster’s Diamond King, was bred by Mr Jas. Nicholson, of the River'wood stud, Kaupokonui, Taranaki, and -he h?e •sired' many high producers and been consistent prize winners' at the. ' Sydney Royal Show. Aster’s Diamond ■King was 'a son of Bright Aster, w'hd 'was° by Starlight from the ' famous Matron Genva Daisy. His dam was ’Squire’s 'Vanity H.C., a great old type still in Mr Nicholson’s herd. She is by 'Cherry’s .Squire, son of The Squire, being a daughter of Bright •Aster, to >-.w hich’ bull Aster’s Diamond King is thus bred.

' FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY. NECESSITY FOR RESEARCH. The necessity of urging the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board to conduct adequate research into the frozen meat industry was expressed •at a meeting at G'sborne of the 'Pov-, i erty -Bay and East Coast Sheep a\yners ’ Union, It was decided to circudr.'igte the various branches of - the vSheepowners’ Federation in the mat-, ter. Delegates to the Electoral Committee of the Sheepowners’ Federation reported that -they were -satisfied more interest must be taken by -New Zealand in the industry, and that it was not sufficient that the 25 delegates should meet in Wellington for one day only. Mr Graham said-' -members of the board appeared to have been satisfied that New. Zealand lamb was the best in the world, but lie remarked that New Zealand lamb was not so ' far ahead t.hat it could not be beaten in the future. He believed some board members were now impressed with the necessity of doing something in the nature of research.

(ft is a huge mistake for New Zealand producers or their representatives to think they can live 011 t'hoir reputation. *lhere should be no ouch word as “halt” in their vocabulary when the question of quality is being considered as competitors are aiming to equal and if possible surpass the Now Zealand standard of excellence. To refer to New Zealand Jamb as line 'best in the world is merely 'the .vapouring of tho.se who know nothing of the meat trade or who have an axe to grind in (another direction. Scotch hill lambs fti'e selling in the Home market at sjd per lb and there is no lamb imported into Britain to compare with it).