INCOME FALLING

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32409, 20 March 1944, Page 6

INCOME FALLING

POSITION OF THE FARMER NEEDS OF INDUSTRY ADDRESS BY MR SUTHERLAND A complete lack of understanding by those in authority of the vital need? of the primary industries was one of the reasons for the decrease in production, according to Mr A. S. Sutherland, National M.P. for Hauraki, speaking in the Address-in-'Re-ply debate in the House of Representatives. Farmers would want more manpower, more fertilisers, more cheap pig-meal, and, most important of all, a payable price for their produce, said Mr .Sutherland. They wanted a price that would allow them to compete for labour with other sections engaged in industry, for with men earning high wages in other walks of life it was impossible to keep men on the farms to-day. Production had dropped considerably, and there was much talk of farmers going slow. It was nonsense, and members knew it was nonsense. Production had dropped :by 43 lb. per cow. Average Per Cow “That great statesman who is now in England—our Ambassador to Washington—worked out a formula under which a cow was expected to give 250 lb. of butterfat,” said Mr Sutherland. “Incidentally, I hope that that gentleman will be able to see that we get a better price for our produce when he is in England. His formula was all right as far as it went, but the trouble is that the cow has changed and is now giving only 207 lb. of butterfat. Something will have to ibe done about it. Probably she is getting a little older, like ourselves. At any rate, it is high time the primary producers received a better price for their produce.” Referring' to farmers’ incomes, Mr Sutherland said he had taken the trouble to work out correct figures. “I worked them out on a two-unit farm,” he said. “It will be remembered that the Minister said that 60001 b. represented a unit one-man farm. I am working out these figures on the basis of 12,0001 b. of butterfat, that is, a two-unit farm. This, •of course, is the Minister’s hypothetical figure. It is a conjectural sort of a figure—the theoretical production of the' average supplier under the formula at 2501ib. per cow, with 48 cows. Gradual Decline “In 1939, with 12,0001 b. of butterfat and an estimated return at 15.88 pence, the gross yield l was £794. With returns from pigs, the total amount was £B7l. In 1942, this unit actually produced only 10,0001!b. of buterfat—lo,33B to be exact—and that at 15.88 pence per lb. the gross yield was £686, plus return from pigs £66, or a total of £752. “ In 1942-43, the production for the same number of cows was down to 99361 b., which at 16.49 pence, comes to £682, and with pigs, £64, the total return being £746. That is the gross income for the average dairy farmer under the guaranteed price. “That shows that the return was £125 lower than in 1939 in spite of the slight increase in price. Anyone knows, who has had experience with dairying, that these are the correct figures. “I see that a conference is to be held shortly, and I hope that the Minister will do something about this. Serious Repercussions “The fall in dairy production was caused Iby shortage of fertiliser, shortage of manpower, and a complete lack of understanding by the responsible authorities of the farmer’s position and the vital needs of the primary industry. Ope had only to compare the farmer’s income with that of other sections of the community. If the drift were allowed to continue, it would have serious repercussions and our whole economic structure might fall. “It does not matter what , happens to the other industries so much; it is the £80,000,000 that we receive for the sale of our primary products on which we depend,” he said. “I have one or two suggestions to make. Although I may be critical, I want to be helpful. My first suggestion is a higher price for all farm products. My second, is that suitable cottages with up-to-date conveniences be erected in country centres for mar-i ried workers. My third, is that there should be a payment of an adequate wage to farm workers—a wage that would compare favourably with that paid to other sections of the community. My fourth, is that, if possible, we should increase our feriil-

iser allocation as early as possible. Farmers Nearly Exhausted “When these proposals are carried, out, the Government could take steps to see that men with farming experience arc directed iback into the industry. There are many married men who could be directed back if suitable accommodation were available. Many farmers’ wives and their- children have reached the point of exhaustion in an endeavour to carry on. The shortage of labour is acute and. parpieularly so in my electorate.” Mr Sutherland also stressed the seriousness of the shortage of electric power and pointed out how it was affecting production.