DAIRY LAND VALUES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 204, 16 June 1914, Page 4

DAIRY LAND VALUES.

1 1 Outstripping Rise in Butter, j , Butter Market Assured, j Everv farmer in Now Zealand, i and particularly those engaged in the dairying industry, will he inter- | es'ed iu the remarks made by Mr i liaro'd Boauchatnp. chairman of | tho Bank of Now Zealand, at u meeting of the Bank in Wellington the other day. BRIGHT PROSPECTS FOR BUTTER. The exports of butter and cheese, the latter particularly, show a very gratifying expansion x said Mr Beauchamp). The ijuautitiui exported during euh of the past seven years compare as under: Year ended Butter Cheese March 31st cwc. cut. 1908 271,32:') 282,673 1909275,95' i 310,085 1910 321.975 441,8*1 1911 367,849 456,371 1912 327,282 163,610 1913 369,13:; 634,173 1914 395.169 7 12,371 The exports oi cheese have more than doubled in live years, and there is a sati.-l'ic'o:y increase in butter. The pioduitioii of choose has been stimulated by the excellent prices ruling. The debet of last season s shipments is said to h ive been that too much moisture had been lett in it. This is a blemish which manufactureis can easily remove. The limit of expansion in the dairy industry is not in sight. and while prices remain good growth will be certain. The opening of the Panama Canal, the reduction in tho American tariff, and the revision of the American cutrency laws, will combine to encourage trade between Australasia and the United States. There will be many difficulties to be faced in pioneeripg tho exports of New Zealand butter, cheese and frozen meat to America, but these wiil disappear as our products become bolter known. Growth in the trade is obviously anticipated, as larger and swifter vessels are to be placed shortly on both the Vancouver and San Jrancisco routes. A direct service has also been established between Australasia and New York via Cape Horn. IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY. Apropos of our extending markets, I would say that it is to bo hoped that shippers will be punctilious as regards the character of the produce sent forward, and that the Government inspectors and graders -will be rigorous in their requirements, so that the Now Zealand output may bo maintained at a high standard, thus earning a popularity that may be well deserved, and securing a consequent command of a ready and remunerative market. It is in this wav alone th»t a satisfactory and permanent trade can be developed.

I LANI> VAIXE: vlien "we review tin' values to whicu he pas-oral and arable lands of the Dominion have now attained. _ I have been engaged in an milcnvuur '" arrive at the extent oi he appreciation which has taken .lace in values during tho last 20 oars, and bavo been generously issistel in niv efloit by tni-tworthy luthoi'.ties ill different parts of tinOomiuioii, for whose aid 1 have to my indebtedness. The subject is one into which so nany considerations enter that it is mprVticable to arrive at a uuiforni >eueralUation ; but the ligurea that nave been furnished to me indicate i that, as a rule, alter allowing for J variations necessarily incidental to local conditions, the increment in , land values during the last 20 years has been generally greater than has been justilied by the higher returns' obtained in later years as the result of improved markets, better methods i of walking, etc, etc. For example : Taking the dairying industry, which was in its infancy in 1891, we find that land in favoured districts, which in 1894 could have been bought at from £:> , to £1.") per acre, is now selling at from £-" t0 -"''' P er acve > ;in increase of, say, 400 per cent. The <-ross yield per acre has, however, not increased in a cone-ponding ratio, being only about 130 per cent. more to-day than it was then. EFFECT OF LANK HUNGER. Land hunger and competition are forcing values up to a point which leaves no margin for any material increase in cost of production or decrease in sale price of the product, and as the cost of production does not seem likely to diminish, but rather to increase no effort should be spared to maintain the excellence of the product, so that a drop in prices may not occur as a result ol The increment in the value of sheep lands has, generally speaking, not been so heavy proportionately as that of dairy land. Roughly, the value of such land has about doubled dming the 20 years, but the better average prices ruling now, and tho improved prospects of the wool industry, quite justify the increase; and sheep farmers, working under normal conditions, have earned in recent years a better return on their invested capital than they were obtaining a decade or more ago. VALUE OF NEW ZEALAND LANDS. With a view to arriving at an approximate idea of the extent of the sggr.gate appreciation in value that has taken place in the country lands cf the Dominion, I have taken oul the capital valuations of county lands at 1891, 1901 and 1913. They Ehow the following comparisons:-1891-North Island £39,236,818 South Island £46,361,349 Total 1901 -North Islai £66,968,046 £54,998.106 Total £l-J1,961).15i Increase, ii.ll per cent. 1913 North Island £131.042,439 Souih Island £87,239,599 Total £218,283,038 Increase, 7N.96 per cent. i The greater part of the growt! has, it will be observed, taken place Jiu the North Island. The appreciation there between 3891 and 190' i was equal to 70.5S per cent., anc 1 between 1904 and 1913, to 95.6'. per cent. In the South Island, th< increase at the two periods was 18.11 per cent, and 58.62 per cent respectively. The percentage o increase for both islands combined i. A3 mentioned, 42.12 between 189' and 1904, and 78.96 between 190 and 1913. The actual values of th county lands in the North and Sout ' Islands combined are, as I havi 1 quoted: In 1891 £85,818,167 1904 £121,966,152 1913 £218,282,038 lccludirg boroughs and town clis tricts, the totals are: In 1891 £122,225,029 IUO-1 £182,796,241 1913 £340,559,728 Much of the increase is due t actual outlay on improvementsclsaring, sowing, fencing, building etc. —but the major portion i increase brought about by settle ment, and the higher yield resultinj ' from improved methods of workirj j and better prices. Clearly th values of land-dairying lar. especially—are adjusting themselve at such a level as leaves no room fo the "slip-shod" farmer. If th industry is to continue payable, wit land at such high values, scientiii principles must he followed and th most approved methods adopted, i ! order that the very best returns o I the labour and capital employed ma ! be realised.