HELP FOR FARMERS.
TOWNSMEN FOR THF, HARVEST. SCHEME. TO ENCOURAGE J'ROJJUCTIiON. LOCAL COMMITTEE APPOINTED. There was a good attendance at the T\jwn llall last night to listen to the proposals of hi; Worship the .Mayor (Air. J. K Wilson; to prov.de labor ior fanners at harvesting time and to encourage fanners to yrou more cereal crops. In opening the meeting the -Mayor referred to the present great war, the largest ever known, and pointed out its effect* on the cereal crops of the world. Tiier'.' supplies were, ol course, bound to be limited while so many millions ol men were under arms, and the shortage would be felt not only in t'-ie countries engaged, but throughout the work;." Shortage ol labor was the greatest difficulty to be overcome, and it was the duty of everyone to assist in this direction. The question of food supply was a most momentous one, and might prove the decisive factor in this present conflict. The consequences of a shortage of wheat would probably prove most serious and such a contingency had to be provided against -by every possible means. They had been fortunate enough to se-1 cure very considerable supplies of grain ] from Canada in the past, but Canada had sent thousands of .young men to the i front, and would not be able to supply j New Zealand with so much grain in the future. New Va aland was sending away a large number u£ young men, and there was bound to be a .shortage of labor, and it was the duty of those who wore j unable to asnir.t in other ways to do so j in providing food for the r.inpire by helping farmers to harvest any cereal crops tu ■ niig : :t put in. Those who could not a»si <t the Empire av front could do much ill a quiet, prosaic way, and those who were giving uieir .services ch the field of , battL- would not then that they were throw on those they left behind such an additional burden. The harvesting season, In a dairying district such as Taranaki was, came when the farmers were very busy, and the fear ol shortage of labor at tliat season anight prevent many farmers planting cereal crops, unlcns assistance a I Harvest time was assured. He thought
they might obtain a roll of those wlioae I assistance would bo available to a-aist| the farmers, and the period for anil time at which they would he prepared to render that assistance, me farmers could then 4>a notified of t'lis, and it would be an encouragement to them to plant grain crops. The farmers would, of course, pay the usual, or at least a fair rate of wages, arid'those not requiring this money could devote it to | any of the patriotic funds. The dill ij eulty of conveying the volunteer laborers j to tlit; places where work was waiting , for them would 4 be easily overcome. He had already lmd the offer of the use of several motor-cars for this work—(applause)—and hoped to get many more. When they had eompkted their roll of laborers it would lie for the farmers to make the njxt move. They would have to wait aiid see whether the fanners would avail themselves of the labor offering and grow cereals on a larger scale than usual during the coming season. Ik hoped and believed that those iu a posit,inn to do so would do all they could to assist in providing grain for the country, and thus assist the Empire in this crisis. (Applause.) It might also be possible that labor would be available at the present time to assist in clearing, and thus providing ground on which cereals could be planted. He had had one generous offer from a fanner, who had promised to donate tile crop Jrom twenty acres of land to any patriotic fund, providing the seed wus ; found and the land cleared and ntumpid. (Applause.) -Mr. C!. V. Tait lmd written announcing his appreciation . i li.r scheme, and expressing the opinion that it should induce many farmers to plant more grain. A NOTE OV DISIOI'KAIiEMivNT. ill'. J. S. Connett said 1 , the Taranaki district was primarily a dairying district, and it was only natural that the farmers should 'carry on the industry Which was liiost suitable. The proposal might be bmelicial to the lanners as weil as to tiie remainder of the community, but tile fanner did not ''cotton" too much to the assistance of townspeople. it itfas quite likely, 'io\vevor, that there were many men in the town with some knowledge of the work, and who would prove very useful, lie did not see any difficulty in the wages question, but there were a lot of details that wouid have to be arranged. The scheme might be a feasible one, and the farmers might be induced to plant extra grain crops, although, generally speaking, the average farmer laid out his plans years ahead, and it was questionable whether he would divert' his intentions to produce 'as much milk as possible to producing grain. llr.. YV. J. Penn stated that in Taranaki 1200 acres had in the past year been devoted to wheat and oats for grain purposes. If this was not sown this year it would mean the losfc of from 30,000 to 40,090 bushels. He assured Mr. Connett that there were many people who worked in shops who yet kept their hands and muscles in fairly hard condition by gardening and similar pursuits. Jle suggested that a pledge be. drawn up, and those willing to assist 'be asked to sign this —■promising their Ussi,stance, or, in the event of that not being available, an efficient substitute. The farmers would then have to take them on trust, and be believed the farmers could trust them to do anything that was reasonable. (Hear, hear.) Mr. W. P. Nicoll said lie thought Mr. Connett took a very pessimistic view ol a good idea. He pointed out that while the prions of butter and cheese had increased considerably the price of cereals had increased more, in comparison. He had thought years ago that Taranaki land was not suitable, for wheat-growing, but had since, discovered that that idea was erroneous. With the application ot lime he had seen samples of wheat grown in Taranaki that would compare with that grown in any other part of the Dominion. (Applause.) He had spoken to quite a number of farmers who were in favor' of the scheme. He considered the scheme quite feasible, and fetl sure the heads of the firms in town would co-operate to the best of tlicir ability. Mr. 11. J. H. Okey;, M.P., said there might lie some difficulty over the. question of wages, but otherwise the scheme might prove very workable. He did not know whether there might he the nece.ssarv area of prepared land for the cereal I crops, and did not think such crops
"would do much good on a turned sod.: * The area available would therefore be somewhat limited. lie was, however, very pleased to know that the towns- J people were willing to assist the. farmers. They should set up a committee to go into the matter, lie believed the scheme might prove very useful in this timo of stress. Mr. 1). Teed pointed out that the pro-po-,ed assistance would 'probably not lie available for the hay harvest—about Christmas time. REAL HELP PROMISED. The chairman said that despite Mr. Coniiictt's remarks -lie did not think there was one man in the room who could not do a good day's work, and if the townsmen's offer was taken the farmers could be sure of very real help. He hoped the farmers would look upon this matter from a patriotic point of view. They desired to assist the farmer to help the country. He tnen moved: "That this meeting of townspeople approves of the suggestion that lariners Ira encouraged to grow grain crops by promising to assist in the harvesting of these crops." Mr. J. Clarke seconded, remarking that he was sure people who read their newspapers carefully had realised that Germany* was not to he -beaten by a superior fighting machine only, but that letter organisation would be a big fac- . tor. The position was very serious, but the young colonial simply did not realise it. lie would be very disappointed if ,ilu-re was not a larger area of land in | Taranaki in wheat this year than there was last. .Air. Connett said he. had had no intention of throwing cold water on the proposal, and expressed his appreciation of i tae manner in which- the chairman and j townspeople had taken the matter up. I the farmers were slow to taKo up anyi thing new, but in this instance 'lie thought it was '"Hobson's choice."' Mr. Penn asked Mr. Connett if he would be pleased to accept his assurance ol his assistance at harvest tima and put in some extra area of grain.- That, lie said, put the situation in a nutshell. Mr. Connett said he would be phased to - accept this offer in the spirit in which it was given. Mr. W. Ambury pointed out that unless the farmer could be assured of sutticiont labor to handle his crops he would
not be justified in putting in any extra urea of grain. If they could be, however, and each farmer put in an extra five or ten acres of grain it would he of great/benefit to the whole country. If the. farmer was prepared to take the risk they were prepared to pledge themselves to assist him. Mr. E. Sandford suggested that they might offer to' help the farmer in aiiy way jlossible. Mr. Morey pointed out that tile older school children might render some assistance during the summer -lolidavfs. The motion was then put and carried unanimously. In answer to a question Mr. Ambury said the movement did not intend to deal with those out of work in the big cities. Mr. Clarke pointed out that no one would volunteer his services if he was keeping out of employment a man who required work. PROVIDING THE SEED. The Mayor then suggested that an executive committee he forijied to work in conjunction with a committee to be appointed by the farmers. The following were appointed a committee: Messrs J. E. Wilson, O. !\Y. Sole, Ambury, J. Clarice, W. J. 'Penn, W. P. Nicoll, I<\ Sandford and L, A. Nolan. Mr. Okey said with regard to the suggestion of the provision of seed for growing wheat that he thought they might arrange with the Agiicu.i.ural Department to provide the seed if the farmers requiring it would send their names in to the committee stating the amount they would be. willing to put in. This might ■encourage farmers to grow more wheat. If they could get only a hundred acres extra it would be of benefit. The farmers should give the Department back a .similar quantity out of the crop. ]'y getting the seed from the Department they went get the most suitable for the soil, and he would 'be, pleased to assist in this direction. The Mayor moved: "That farmers he invited to inform the committee of the amount of wheat they intend sowing, with a view to getting supplies from the Agricultural Department." This was seconded, and earned unanimously.
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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 303, 1 June 1915, Page 8
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1,897HELP FOR FARMERS. Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 303, 1 June 1915, Page 8
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