SHEEPFARMERS MEET

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 160, 6 June 1940, Page 9

SHEEPFARMERS MEET

PRODUCTION PROBLEMS. AIM TO HELP DOMINION. Tlie annual slieepfarmers’ week at Massey College was opened yesterday, when there was a good attendance from numerous districts. A series of lectures covering a wide range of subjects bearing on sheepfarming is to be presented. Professor G. S. Percn, principal of Massey College, was chairman, und among prominent farmers and others present w’ere Messrs T. A. Duncan, chairman of the Msat Producers’ Board, J. E. Hewitt, McGregor and A.. Hunter, members of the committee organising the week, J. McL. Blair, a well-known breeder, B. E. Keiller arid J. Best.

Professor Peren 6aid it was • the ninth annual occasion on which those present were meeting. They -were gathered, he said, under grim conditions, different from those of the past. The next few weeks would be a very serious time for. the British Empire, and those in New Zealand were bound to bo affected. He referred to the present war situation and the setback in Flanders. How this would affect us and what we could best do out here remained to be seen, but it was clear that we had to do all that we could.. One of our contributions must be food, without any haggling over prices. The chances were that the country would have to produce foodstuffs irrespective of whether it paid to do 60 or not. When a war like the present one was entered upon -all ideas had to he reorientated, and new ideas obtained. The sooner people got busy and appreciated the complete change in the situation the better. The idea of the committee organising the week was to concentrate the discussions and activities on ways and means of increasing the quantity of production irrespective of the economic side. It was up to the Government to look after the economic aspect. “We as a technical meeting are solely concerned with ways and means of increasing production,’’ said the speaker. “We are bound to produce the maximum amount.” PLANS FOB PRODUCTION.

“Some Plans for Increasing Production” was the subject of the first address at the conference, given by Mr Hewitt. He said that by the invasion of other countries Britain had been deprived of foodstuffs amounting to hundreds of thousands of tons. An increase in production did not involve any great difficulty, but it did involve organisation and careful plannings. The three factors necessary were management, finance and labour. Any scheme to increase production must be carriedout to make those tilings available for those in need of them. The best brains in each district should be co-opted to form advisory councils to assist farmers and direct their activities. The Government should make money available at a. low rate of interest to oe expended .by the advisory councils. It was necessary to find out how to obtain the maximum production with the lowest expenditure. The State was the only source from which money could be obtained.. All war. was uneconomic, but a war could not be won without production. Jt was no good having the best fighting forces in the world unless they were fed.

Each farmer should be required to furnish a report to the advisory council in his district on his labour requirements because of the depletion of man-power, the speaker proceeded. He suggested that the best, methods of increasing production would be by concentration on a further improvement on reasonably improved farm lands, and by improving the standard of stock. Farm lands could be improved by efficient management. Stock should be produced to the highest standard which the country being farmed was cajiable of producing. To-day it was to be regretted that some stock did not reach that high standard. Increased production must, he a national and not only an individual effort. It must be planned and controlled, and that involved some measure of compulsion. He had no doubt that we would win the war if each gave of his best to the common cause. This must be done even if it meant placing our constitutional liberties in “cold storage” for the rest of the war period. A discussion was later held on the subject “Is top-dressing of hill country a payable proposition ?” The affirmative was taken by Messrs T. A. Duncan (Hunterville), W. I. Hunt (Te Kuiti), It. 0. Montgomery (Makirikiri, Wanganui) and T. H. Verry (Pahiatua), and the negative by Messrs H. Dell (Kakahi) and F. Pearce (Waitotara).