Farmers' War Effort Must Not Impair Taranaki's Ability For Production

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1940, Page 22 (Supplement)

Farmers' War Effort Must Not Impair Taranaki's Ability For Production

One of the dangers associated with an emergency demand for greater production, that of "bleeding" the land, is unlikely to occur in Taranaki. Indeed, as a result of better methods, the availability of expert guidance, and a greater appreciation of soil requirements, many hundreds of acres will benefit greatly because of present-day demands. Land that was never fertilised before is to. day receiving top-dressing, the management of stock in relation to pasture: growth is being studied, a determined offensive against weed infestation and scrub dominance has been started, farmyard manure is being conserved and distributed to a greater extent than ever before and, generally, the effort to increase production is being attended by intelligence as well as willingness. No one knows how long the war will last. Any hopes people of New Zealand may have had that it might be quickly over have been dimmed by recent events, and the Government has announced that it is basing its plans on a duration of not less than three years. Farmers, then, must also plan for at least a threeyear campaign.No Easy Task, Their task is anything but easy. On the one hand immediate results are required, but these must not be obtained at the expense of; the land. The land must be kept in good, indeed improving, heart, for shoOld .the war be prolonged, its productivity will be of ever-increas-ing importance. Fortunately, good farming generally leads to better. The more stock a place carries and the more intensively it is cultivated, the better and more responsive the land becomes. The farmer himself well knows how fatally easy it is to rob the land. He also is aware that he will get high production and improving condition only by honest farming. War or no war, none can get more out of the land than he puts into it. Wisdom of Wise Control. Fortunately the district councils of primary production in Taranaki are made of sensible men. They know as well as the rest of us that crops do not crow on unsuitable land nor beasts fatten on unsuitable food. It may be presumed then that neither the Government nor the committees will ask impossible things. On the other hand, it may be assumed that they will ask everything that is possibl\ To farm land well is a complicated and difficult job in the best of times when feeding stuffs and fertilisers are a matter of a telephone call or a postage stamp and when a farmer can pick his men and put proper equipment in their hands. The difficulties are going to be immensely increased when the problem is complicated by having to "make do" with what supplies are avaiiable, _ but results to date show that in Taranaki the ^ response has been most encouraging to everybody concerned. Farm Improvement. Loans were made in the past year to. Isle of Man farmers for ihe erection of dutch barns. a piggery, glasshouses for tomatoes, and for the installation of electricity, reports the Isle of Man Board of Agriculture, and out of a special fund into which certain agricultural rates are paid, advances amounting to £4602 were made to 30 farmers for the improvement of their cowhouses and dairies. Similar loans were also made to improve farm workers' cottages.