FARMING AFFAIRS

Lake County Mail, Issue 31, 24 December 1947, Page 6

FARMING AFFAIRS

This column is supplied weekly by Federated Farmers of New ZeaThe information given is official but any views expressed are those of the federation and are not necessarily those of this newspaper. MINISTERIAL REPUES 'me Ueip of the Aid for Britain National Council has been sought by federated farmers in an attempt to overcome some of the shprtagcs of tariu commodities which are holding up increaseu production of foodstuffs for .uriUun. two particular shortages, ox Wire ami mint cans, were recently oy tne council, and their repiy m regard to the hrst item is mu. no I'oiiei is in signt. The council, oeiievea, however, mat me current d< manu xor mint ami cream cans will be met. » Tue Government had done everythAn 6 possible tnrough its overseas representatives to increase the amount or lencing wire available to New Zealand, ivir it. f. Wilson, secretary of tne n-id lor Britain Council, advised federated farmers, It appeared that at tne present time no further representations could be made with advantage with regard to securing additional quantities of fencing wire. fencing wire, like so many other steel products, remained in most acute shortage, Mr Wilson, stated, and until, the steei position generally improved it did not appear that greatly increased quantities would reach the. Dominion. The best that could be done was to press strongly for a share of any increased production that became available from the manufacturing countries. MILK AND CREAM CANS It appeared that the Department of Industries and Commerce, through its New Zealand Trade Commissioner in Sydney, was already on the job of maintaining a flow of the mild steel flats which were essential to the making of rims for milk and cream cans, Mr Wilson has advised. It was understood that it was the making of rims which comprised the threatened holdup, as the steel plate for the bodies of the cans was available. The holdup on the mild steel flats for the rims was purely a shipping one, and the Trade Commissioner had been pressing for regular shipments. Snipments totalling 20 tons were arranged recently and it was understood that supplies of materials on hand would be sufficient to meet the current demand for milk and cream cans. The iNew Zealand manufacturers had been requested to give the Department of industries and Commerce notice well iii advance if any shortage of steel threatened to develop. BLANKET MANUFACTURE Woollen mills in New Zealand have vacancies for 742 persons, mostly women, according to advice received by federated farmers from the Aid tor Britain Council. The council was approached regarding the present diflicuity in buying blankets for farm employees, and it was replied that the mills were doing their best with available labour to manufacture an adequate supply of blankets. As a result of the acute shortage of labour the output was very much below the demand. The Government released on priority a considerable number of armed services blankets after the war, but they had been exhausted and the only other supplementary supply to local production had been the importation from Australia of former services blankets. They were on sale in a considerable number of centres throughout New Zealand. Apart from these Australian blankets, the Dominion had to rely on local production, and in view of the considerable deficiency in supply it was not considered by the Aid for Britain Council that a system of priorities for farm employees would work satisfactorily. Retailers had, for the most part, been operating on a system of meeting orders from the monthly quotas in turn, and that seemed to be the best way of ensuring that available supplies were equitably distributed.