SERPENTINE SUPER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 September 1942, Page 5

SERPENTINE SUPER

DECISION OF GOVERNMENT ’ POSITION EXPLAINED. STATEMENT BY CONTROLLER. “As was to be expected the Government’s decision that straight superphosphate should be withdrawn from the North Island market and replaced with serpentine super has not been received with universal favour,” states Mr A. H. Cockayne, Primary Industries Controller. “This has been due in the main to non-recognition of essential facts, and probably also in certain quarters that such action by the Government would not be beneficial from the individual business aspect. Now what every thinking farmer must be asking himself is ‘what is the real objective behind the Government's decision?’ This can be answered in quite a few words. The objective is to enable primary production to be increased, it being viewed, and I believe correctly, that increased primary production is intimately concerned with the whole success of our war effort. Increased primary production depends very largely on adequate labour on the,, farm and on adequate supplies of fertiliser. Now as all producers know our supplies of fertilisers, particularly phosphatic ones, have been reduced to a point that makes even the maintenance of production precarious. In the North Island this year the manufacture of superphosphate will not much exceed 150,000 tons, barely one third of the amount used in each of the two years prior to rationing. Anything that can be done to increase the effectiveness of this tonnage is therefore of national importance.

“The work of the Department has shown over the past three years that 751bs. of superphosphate converted into 1001 b. of serpentine super will do the work of lOOlbs. of straight superphosphate. There have been so few exceptions to this generalisation that they can be viewed as negligible and in no case has it been shown that lOOlbs. of serpentine-super is inferior to 751bs. of suffer, while in many cases lOOlbs. of serpentine super has been demonstrated as being distinctly superior to lOOlbs. of straight super. In other words the use of serpentine super instead of super increases the effective fertiliser ration of the farmer by 33 per cent. Just think of it, the use of serpentine super instead of straight super in the North Island alone places in the hands of farmers an equivalent of 50.000 additional tons of super. No wonder the Government, conscious of increased primary production being essential, and on the advice of the Department and of the Primary Production Council made the decision that all super manufactured in the North Island had to be converted into serpentine super. It is hoped to be able to go further in the future and follow the same practice in the South Island but unfortunately this cannot take place immediately as adequate supplies of ground serpentine are not yet available in the South. The case for serpentine super against straight super is clear and definite, and even the opponents towards its universal use would not be prepared to say that such action does not very appreciably increase the efficiency of our available supplies of superphosphate. “The main bone of contention, or shall I say straw man that is put up in opposition to the universal use of serpentine super is that equally good if not better increase in superphosphate efficiency could be brought about bv the use of super and lime, because that mixture has at times apparently given better results than serpentine super. An athlete that gives away 25 yards in a hundred and generally breasts the tape level or ahead of his competitor would ceitainly be acclaimed the better man, even if occasionally he is not the winner. The case of serpentine super and super and lime is an exact parallel, and there are cases wheie a greater amount of super together with lime have given apparently better results than has a lesser amount of super in the form of serpentine super. This in no way, indicates that lime has an effect equal to serpentine in increasing the efficiency oi super but has been used by some to condemn the Government's action in haying all super manufactured in the North Island . converted into serpentine super. The essential thing is that every ton oi supeiphosphate manufactured should be made as efficient as it is possible and research and trial have shown that its conversion into serpentine super brings this about bcttei than any other known way. This docs not mean that reversion with lime and the use of super lime mixtures has not the same tendency but certainly not to the same degree as does serpentine super. ....