THE VALUE OF LAND.

Shannon News, 18 March 1924, Page 4

THE VALUE OF LAND.

HOW TO ASCERTAIN IT. OPINION OF PRACTICAL FARMER. What is the true value of land, a'nd bow can it be ascertained? These were questions discussed by a ‘Southland News’ reporter with an Invercargill resident who for many years was a tiller of the soil, and who is yet intimately associated with , agricultural pursuits. He dealt, for the, sake of example, with an average dairy farm. “The purchaser of land today," he said, "is a much more shrewd man than he was a few years ago. He knows that the farm offered for sale has many defects, a'nd: he. sets out to dis--cover what they are. These are, some of the points he looks for: If . the pasture is exhausted, he knows that the owner would sooner see someone else renew it —one good reason for offering the farm for sale. Then there may be fencing in need of repair, buildings requiring renovation; ditches and drains, made by the drain plough may not be functioning. But unquestionably the most common fault with a farm is that the grass has run out. “Your pasture has run put, and you ask from £lO to £2O per acre for your farm,” says the possible, purchaser to the vendor. 'I see that I would have to face an outlay of from £4 to £5 per acre right away, with the additional loss of from eighteen months to two years’ farming while recuperating the property. “Take the farm for sale at £lO per acre, with the addition of £5 for repairs and improvements., The. property now costs £ls per acre, and that is the average price paid throughout ; Southland for a hundred-acre farm on the flats.

“Now we can approach the vital question: What is the true value of a farm? I believe that the answer is: The value of the living that can be produced on it. The returns from a 100-acre farm with good pasture, valued at £ls per acre, can be estimated in the following manner:—Carrying capacity, four acres to the cow. (I am not taking £4O per acre land,* which some people expect to carry a cow to every two acres, being frequently disappointed.) ‘Working, then, on the basis of four acres to the cow, you get a carrying capacity of twenty-five cows, producing 1761 b. of butter-fat (the average for New Zealand), which, at Is 6d per lb, represents £l3 4s per cow, or a total of £330 for the season'. Add to c that £3O for calves and ; pigs, and you get a total of £363. “Now take the expenditure side of the business: Interest on £ls per acre at .6 per cent., £9O; interest on current account, twenty-five cows at £9. per cow, £225 at 8 per cent., £18; insurance, rates, and taxes, £2O; living expenses for a married man, £125; benzine for machines, £ls; blacksmith, £10; saddles, horse covers, etc., £7; fences, gates, etc., £10; seeds, oats, aud manure (seven acres), £10; twenty acres, grassed (manure and seed), £4O; twenty acres turnips (manure and seed, etc.), £4O; lime £10; total, £395. “The farmer’s labor has not been included. The statement is, nevertheless, I consider a fair statement of what an average 100-acre farm produces, and the expenses attached to it. Anyone of experience can see that the farm would be too dear at £lO. Its true value would, hvae been £5 per acre and the necessary expenditure pf £5 per acre would have brought the improved value up to £lO. What I have given you is, I believe, a very fair account of the position of many of our dairy farms in Southland to-day.