FARMING INDUSTRY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 163, 10 June 1940, Page 8

FARMING INDUSTRY

QUALITY MUST IMPROVE. FACTORS IN PRODUCTION. As the farming industry was the foundation upon which rested every other industry it followed' that if production dropped the whole economic life of the country must drop with it, said Mr S. R. Thomson, of Palmerston North, in an address to the, sheepfarmers* conference at Massey College, in which he quoted figures relating to the advantages of watering and top-dress-ing hill country. AVhjit better effort could New Zealand make to-day than to increase production and so assist Britain and her Allies to bring the war to a satisfactory conclusion? he asked. The watchword of New Zealand should be “increased production,” not only in quantity but more particularly in quality. In view of the grave risk that New Zealand would have to face a quota 'on its products when the war was over, and as this quota would ‘have to be fought out with Australia, whose production was rapidly increasing, it must surely follow that the higher our export numbers were the better able we would be to secure a reasonable allocation on a quota basis. The question of increasing production on hill country could best be brought about by making provision for adequate water supplies and topdressing. During recent years scores of thousands of acres of hill country in both islands > had rapidly deteriorated through erosion and other causes and this land was fast losing its production power, said Mr Thomson. In addition to this deterioration, farming methods and conditions generally were going through a great change. If we were to retain our present position as the world’s largest exporter of primary products it was time that some steps were taken to offset the drop in exports from this deteriorated countrv. . • v ‘ COST OF DELAY.

“We have delayed long enough,” proceeded Mr Thomson. “What this delay has cost the Dominion will never be known. The foundation of. the livelihood of this country is wrapped up in the farming industry and nothing else. In the main our exports are produced from grass paddocks.” The Dominion’s grass land was her greatest asset, and in this respect the country was fortunate in having Mr Bruce Levy as head of the Grasslands Division—he was the ablest authority on grass land in the world. Of our national income, 93.9 per cent, was derived from pastoral pursuits. The time had arrived when to-day’s problems must be dealt with to-day, because to-morrow there would be a fresh lot.

It was imperative to foster increased production, not only so far as our quantities were concerned, but, of more paramount importance than ever, in the quality of the products we exported overseas. During recent years we had been seriously challenged in the export oi frozen iamb and pork, in particular by Australia, which country had increased her export of these commodities. During tfae last five years Australia’s export of pork had increased by 244.7 per cent, and of lamb by. 31.4 per cent., whereas the Dominion had increased its export of pork by 40 per cent. 1 and of lambs by -226 per cent. In addition to this increase of quantity from Australia, the quality of her lamb in particular had improved considerably. Australia to-day was becoming a very serious opponent to the Dominion so far as supplying the world’s market was concerned. Situated as we were in this Dominion, with mild and equable weather, we were in a position second to none to supply the world’s markets with quality products, the speaker added. Of alf the countries in the world New Zealand depended on other countries most. Evidence of this was that our overseas trade per capita of our population was the greatest in the world. Our exports were farm produce and practically nothing else. In wool we exported 92.7 per cent, of our total production, in cheese 93 per cent., m lamb 95 per cent., in butter 83 per cent., in pork and bacon 69 per cent., in mutton 53 per cent., and in beer 28 per cent. Our whole'economic life had gradually grown up in this manner. No doubt as years went by and our population increased we would get into a more balanced position, but this was the position we were in today, and we could not change it immediately even if we wanted to. Everything in the country had in the end to adjust itself to the level of our export values. The money with which we settled our overseas debt ann brought in our imports was derived from the farm produce which we exported. In other words, the farmer s purchasing power was the basis of all trade and industry in the country. IMPROVING QUALITY.

Quality of produce must ever be paramount in our minds. Mr Thomson said that he was positive that if more adequate water was laid on hill country and if top-dressing was further carried out the quality of our whiteface lambs killed for export would improve considerably. This had been borne out by results. Top-dressing on average hill country was only in its infancy in the Dominion. Dealing with capital stocks, Mr Thomson said that in 1938 our sheep stocks reached a peak of. 32,378,000. By the following year this total had dropped to 31,897,000, and he ventured to say that by the time the returns as at April 30, 1940, were to hand sheep stocks would show a further drop of close on 1,000,000 sheep. We had been told repeatedly that our production had increased considerably in the last two seasons. Whatever increase had * taken place in our exports had been at the expense of our capital stocks. With ever-increasing costs in the farming and export industries and the reduction of capital stocks it was surely time that some measures were brought about to place this industry in a better position, Mr Thomson went on. Farming costs to-day compared with a few years ago showed an increase in overhead of at least 20 per cent., to say nothing of the increased costs in connection with the freezing industry which in the end had to be borne by the primary producer. The following was a comparison of th p...increase in costs in the freezing 1 industry oyer the period 1935-36 comI pared with 1937-38 : 1955-36 1937-38 . Number of works 38 , 38 Number of _ I employees 7692 7835 Wages £1,634.185 £2,188,102 Materials £14,455,483 £17,713,363 The increase in the volume of primary products handled in 1937-38 com- ! pared with 1936-36 was 4.7 per cent. ; The 'increase in overhead costs in 1937-38 compared with, 1935-36 was 22.9 per cent., the speaker corfcluded.