RISING COSTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 June 1938, Page 7

RISING COSTS

FARMERS IN AN UNHAPPY POSITION

DISCUSSION AND PROTEST IN OTAGO

“DAY OF RECKONING” COMING

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, June 7.

The steadily-rising tide of farming costs was the subject of special comment by Mr R. H. Michelle (Milton), in his presidential address to the annual conference of the Otago Farmers’ Union today. The speaker stressed the unhappy position of farmers whose returns were swallowed up by big costs and stated that if the upward trend was not arrested, the Dominion would soon have to face a day of reckoning. It was a truism that a farmers’ gross income or turnover was very little indication of his financial position. What counted was the amount he had over after paying working expenses. On the subject of costs, the Clutha branch submitted the following remit: “That this conference is gravely concerned at the continued increase in farming costs directly due to Government legislation. In the opinion of this conference, if something is not done to ease the burden of high costs which the farmer is carrying, then much land will go out of production and, further, in the event of a drop in world prices for wool, meat, and dairy produce, many New Zealand farmers will find themselves in a hopeless position.” Mr D. Sutherland (Clinton), moving the adoption of the remit, said that little argument was needed to convince farmers of what had been done by recent legislation to increase farm costs. Town people might need convincing, and he was afraid that, as far as some sections of the community were concerned, a feeling of hostility had arisen toward the “wealthy farmer.” The difficulty was that new legislative measures followed so quickly upon one another that primary industries found it impossible to adjust themselves to them. The result was that third-class land and a lot of second-class land was going out of production, proving beyond doubt that economic nationalism was impossible in a country like New Zealand.

Mr A. Webb (Clinton) suggested that the Government, having fixed wages without reference to supply and demand, should supply and pay all labour required on the farm in the same way that it did on public works. Farmers could not pay labour at present, and, as a result, land was perforce being allowed to deteriorate. Mr C. J. Inder (Dunedin) said the most serious aspect of the problem was deterioration of land and depreciation of buildings, fences and drainage and spread of noxious weeds. The result was that sons of present farmers would have an unfair burden placed on them in the future. The remit was carried, but several speakers stated that they did not think farm labourers were paid too much. The difficulty was that farmers could not afford to pay the wages.