The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 30. LAND VALUES AND PRODUCTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 April 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, APRIL 30. LAND VALUES AND PRODUCTION.

Interesting and fairly reliable information as to land and production is to be found in the New Zealand Official Year-Book for 1920, just to hand, although it is admitted that no statement absolutely accurate at the present day can be given as to land values, as the totals for 1919 and preceding years were not ascertained by general revaluations each year, but were made, district by district, as circumstances permitted. It is obvious that the recent land boom upset all calculations concerning the actual producing value of the soil, and the drop in the prices of most of the primary products emphasises this view. The capital value of land in the Dominion is set down at a little over 445 J millions sterling as at March 31, 1919, a total that represents a figure treble that of twenty years previously, but it must be remembered that the only true test of the value of lanid is the return it will yield to the owner, and that, of course, depends on the price obtained for the produce, while, the factor of competition for holdings has also to be reckoned with. Without knowing how the Government Statistician arrived at his figures for last year, it is impossible to ascertain whether they accurately represent even the approximate standard value at that time, and it is interesting to note that the latest estimate of the Statistician, as on April 1, 1920, is 470 millions, of which the unimproved value accounts for over 290 millions. It is not, however, the estimated value of land that is of so much importance as the bringing into cultivation of such of the remaining idle and waste areas as can be profitably worked. In this connection it may be noted that the total area undei- cultivation in the Domiaion in 1919-20 was 43,473,079 acres, of which eighteen million were in cultivation, as against twenty-five and a half million unimproved, the cultivated land working out at 14.83 acres per inhabitant, while in 1915-16 the percentage was 14.69, so that

it will be seen that the increase of cultivation and that of population is practically equal. The need for greater production has, however, never been so urgent as during this period, and is far more important tnp.n the capital or unimproved values. Taking the Year Book’s figures for the 1910-11 season, and comparing . them with those for 1919-20, a very decided decrease is shown in wheat, oats and barley, representing a loss, on last year’s prices, of over two millions sterling. On the other hand, there was a considerable increase in the amount of frozen mutton and wool exported. At the present time dairying is the mainstay of our primary products, and the enhanced prices mean much to those engaged in this industry, especially -in Taranaki. Yet even in the commodities which are the outcome of dairying there is plenty of room for a considerable increase in the output, though the increase in butter from 302,387 cwt. in 1911 to 345,818 ewt. in 1920 is an appreciable advance, but small when compared with the figures for cheese, the export of which in 1911 was only 439,174 cwt., as against 1,572,355 cwt. in 1920. There are many factors which have to be considered in relation to the question of the relative values of land and produce. The land, of course, is the starting point, and what it will produce depends not only on the varying se<vsons, but on the science and skill used in its cultivation, while in dairy farming much depends on the selection and improvement of the herds so as to obtain the best results. Much has been done in ; this direction, but far more remains to be tackled. Reference to the table in the Year Book giving details of the breeds of cattle in the Dominion on January 31, 1918, discloses the fact that in purebreds the Jerseys top the list with a total of 6228, the Shorthorns coining next with 5240, but in the crossbred's the strain of the Shorthorns easily heads the list with 1,660,274, the Jersey strain coming second with 355,247, followed by the Hereford cross of 289,462. These figures show that by far the larger number of cattle are dual purpose animals. From a paying point of view dairy farmers should study these figures and deduce the moral therefrom. There is absolute reliability as regards the figures giving the prices of produce, but not so in the case of land, where fictitious prices prevail. It is to be hoped that nifire strenuous efforts will Re made upwards bringing idle land into cultivation, increasing production, and stabilising values by the elimination of speculation. At the same time there is evidence of decided progress, and, with reasonable care, there should be as gratifying prosperity in the future as in the past.