FARMERS AND THE WAR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 January 1940, Page 4

FARMERS AND THE WAR

NATIONAL COUNCIL’S APPEAL.

OPEN LETTER TO CHAIRMAN.

The following open letter to the chairman of the National Council of Primary Production, Masterton, has been forwarded to the “Times-Age” for publication by Mr S. Dalgliesh, of Longbush:— To the chairman National Council of Primary Production, Masterton. v

Sir,—Your open letter to farmers appealing for increased production is a worthy one and I sincerely hope you get good results. You remark that it depends on the individual farmer whether an effort is made to make up the deficiency in Britain's foodstuffs. I do not agree with that, Mr Chairman. The decline in New Zealand’s primary production in the last three or more years is too great and too serious for the efforts of any individual farmer to show satisfactory results however patriotic he may be. Mr Lee Martin, Minister of Agriculture, told us last September that there are over 100,006 cows less being milked in New Zealand than there were three years ago; also there were less potatoes planted than there had been for twenty-three years and we had to import potatoes from America and onions from Japan. Mr Chairman, the trouble is too deep seated and too great for individual effort to do any good. It is useless to accuse the farmer of “going slow,” and for farmers to blame labour legislation for hampering them. Throwing stones at each other is foolish. We, as patriotic British subjects, must for the present forget all political differences, put our card on the table and get to the root of the trouble and remedy it.

If New Zealand is unable to arrest the decline in production when Great Britain requires every pound of surplus food we can produce, she will have to buy elsewhere, and then where will cur markets be when this war is over. I am going to try and increase my production even if it costs 20s for 20s worth, but all farmers are not in a position to produce without profit. They must live in addition to maintaining their land, fences, pastures, buildings, etc.

I do not think, however, it is fair to, say it depends on the individual farmer for a successful issue to your appeal, as it requires a considerable amount of capital and labour to increase the carrying capacity of any farm, particularly by those men who have been battling with the scrub lands which comprise such a vast area of the North and South Islands. Before placing the responsibility on the shoulders of any particular section of the community, I would suggest_fiie reason be found for the 100,000 missing cows and the decrease in potatoes and on ions.--I am, etc.,

S. DALGLIESH Longbush, January 26. 1940.