WHY FARMING DOES NOT PAY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3026, 5 December 1891, Page 1 (Supplement)

WHY FARMING DOES NOT PAY.

TllK following is the pnj.er read by Mr Swaibrick ;it the late meeting of (he Hamilton Branch of the \Vaik,ito Farmers' Club, at Hamilton ■— Of nil the plans for the salvation of New Zealand notone bus been more applauded than that which in called " putting the people upon land." It appear.-; to be ac ceptcdas the highest st.item.m.sliip tu.it a minister .should act the part of a swindling land agent and by offering all kinds of inducements persuade men without capital, experience, or market for their produce to go upon the land. This cry is false and superficial, and a great put of the work that is being done is l.iyin" the foundation of disaster and misery to thousands; as well put people "on the parish " as upon the land, as is being done in many cases. The problem lies much deeper than onr politicians eare to go. The key to the whole social and material progress of New Zealand lies in the success of the farming industries ; that is, of all those who make a living out of the land. Make farming pay and the people will take up the land readily enough without need of granting terms that can never be fulfilled. Make farming pay and there will set in such a stream of immigration as New Zealand has never known. Make farming pay and the burden of taxation will benight and all classes will prosper with the prosperity of those industries which are the very groundwork of material wealth.

I therefore need no apology for asking you to devote a short time to the consideration of the causes which make farming such an unprofitable occupation. But firstly, it may be objected that farming docs pay. It does not, however, destroy my contention to show that a farmer here and there under exceptional circumstances ia making a living—or that under altered conditions farming would pay—l am dealing with facts as they are and not as they might be, and I say unhesitatingly that ninety-nine out of a hundred farmers are not receiving the same return that a like amount of skill, labour, and capital would yield them if applied to a profession or trade. As a matter of fact the bulk of our small farmers are not earning the wages of a town labourer and our large farmers are getting little or no return for their capital. Under such circumstances it is a misuse of words to say that farming pays. First, then, let me consider tho circumstances that affect us in common with farmers in other parts of the world. During the last no years railways and steamers have opened up the 'waste places of tho world and vast areas of virgin soil have been rendered available for the supply of food to the great centres of population. On such virgin soil it is possicle to produce enormous supplies of food at a small cost and thus there has been created a seeming excess of produce ; I say seeming excess because so long as thousands go hungry to bed and lie shivering with cold it is monstrous to say there is too much food or wool in the world. One half of the people on the continent of Europe and oue quarter of the people of Great Britain have food and clothing which is insufficient either in quantity or in quality. This stato of affairs is brought about by bad laws which in some cases directly limit the food supply—by heavy taxation—by low wages—and in some cases by the drunken habits of the people themselves—all these causes reduce the consumption of wool and food far below its natural level and produce an artificial excess and consequent low prices. In New Zealand itself, among the causes why farming does not pay I would place first, ignorance. It is a sad fact that one half of our farmers areterriblyignorantof their trade. It a man is to be a shoemaker, a lawyer, or a carpenter, he must sene an ■apprenticeship, and learn his trade; but it is assumed that any man can manage a farm without practical preparation or training. No greater blunder could be made. More than any other calling does farming require practical training and study. However, as we cannot all go to school again, 1 would suggest three means of improving our knowledge of farming : (1) At meetings of farmers' clubs the inexperienced may gam valuable hints from the more experienced farmers; (2) at agricultural shows which are a valuable means of education, as by carefully examining good stock, an intelligeut man may educate his eye till he grasps the good points almost by instinct. In the absence of agricultural shows in the Waikato many of our farmers may be said to never see a really good beast; (3) a great deal may be done to cultivate the science of farming. It is a sheer waste of time and money to get a learned man to give an isolated lecture, because such a man has to use terms which his audience cannot understand. What is wanted is a short course of lecture, including : The forces of nature, chemistry, agricultural chemistry, how an animal grows, how a plant grows. Such a course would not be a complete education in agricultural science, but it would give an outline of the main facts; and, at any rate, would make farming a more intellectual and interesting pursuit. There would be no difficulty in arranging such a course, but I fear our farmers eon Id not be induced to attend. Next to ignorance as an impediment to success I would place want of capital. Poverty keeps a farmer poor ; it makes him buy a poor farm and poor unprofitable stock ; it leads him to over stock a poor farm and sell off and under-stock when he has feed for more; it makes him use slow horses and bad tools; it makes him work hard and robs him of all profit. Unfortunately, many of our small farmers have very little capital, and at the present low prices they are driven off their land, or are holding on amidst great privations, fighting an almost hopeless right. Closely allied to poverty is poor land. When a man has a small farm it ia all essential that it should be good land, because he ought to spend a large amount of labour on a small area and produce a corresponding amount of produce therefrom. But, unfortunately, in this district most of our small fanners are placed on tho poorest land—land totally unfit for heavy cropping—and it is no wonder they get an ill return for their labour, for it is physically impossible for them to produce paying crops. At the present price of produce, poor land is only fit for using as a run, and to use it for small farms cannot possibly pay. The next difficulty a farmer has to contend with is tho high price of all he buys. The price paid by a farmer for his goods in the Waikato is from 50 to 100 per cent over the cost price in Europe. Of course much of this increase is due to the cost of freight, but the greater part is due to bad system. We all have got into the way ef dealing on credit. Thus the storekeeper has to give long credit and make bad debts ; then the merchant has to give credit and make bad debts again. Now all these ba 1 debts and bank interest on credits and interest on losses and credits are char,.'".l up against the goods. The ir.erch-mt must have his profit, und some ono has got to pny, and th.it some one is the consumer, who pays an increased price for his goods. Again, under our protective system goods are liable to a duty of from 10 to 25 per cent, and evenr sixpence collected in '!n<toms duty costs the farmer one shilling, because there h the merchants'anil storekeepers' profit, bank interest, bid debts and co.nm'ssions tn be paid thereon the same as on the original price of (jhe goods. The

remedy would he for >.„no man „f , ; .pjtal to star; a ]~.v , . , t , jn . i„ tlu . U - ;li | salo Willi 1.,,,,ir'w. i„ ju Uie lowti..hi,,,._to im|.';it dii'.:et I'ioin the maker;.--, IM ,| ; ,..)|

lo '' " 1 the con liter, k ei-piii" „ credit ,-monf a >epwale branch of tllC 1)1.: mens, .1 ill In.tkiupj tlio e u-lio want credit pay for it. Such «t In; in, v u -,u1.1 sell goods 10 Lo 50 j, ■ I co"if. cheaper than fit present. The no t difficulty the f ;tr . mer has to conteud with ir. e s; of transit. In New Zealand a farmer lias to | uy about 50 per cent. more I'm- the carriage of his produce than in England, whereas his produce is wortli 25 potent, less. Let us recognise tha t f.-i.ruiin<» is the backbone of the country, aud that those who are opening up tin: country oil the frontier of civilisation are entitled t.o be backed up ami helped on as a, matter of colonial polioy. Let us abandon the idea that cheap rates are jroin" p-r a sparsely-pop ,ia ; -,1 ec r/ and ask for a reduction in oharg--s: ai a matter of policy that will pay in the luik> run. What I have always .vlvara'„<>d is a system like this : Make each go*ls" raw to include a certain sum fin- 0 terminals and truck hire the same in each c.se, whatever the distance. Then add to that so much a mile for haulage, siy, full rate for each of the first 20 miles', half rate for each of the next 30 miles! and quarter rate after that. This would make the rite for 50 miles only a slight increase on that for 10, and that for 100 miles a little more than that for f>o. But let us ask this, not to make mere profit on the railway, but to help to make farming pay. The last of this class of drawbacks I will name is taxation. Farmers all over the world are men of small profits and small social needs, and one of the first essentia,l of a farmer's government is that it shall be cheap, because the business of farming does not require, and will not pay for, ail expensive government. The fact is this colony was formerly governed too much in the interest of speculators. Now it is governed in favour of the town workman and trades unionist; the farmer and farm labourer have never yet had fair play. We haw a protective tariff which means that the farm labourer has to pay away Is out of his 5s in order that the town workman may have 10a to 15s a day. The fanner is the foundation of society in New Z;,aland, aud he is made to bear the weight of all the other classes. We shall never see prosperity in New Zealand till the farmer has fair play and is released from the crushing burden of taxation. Hitherto I have spoken of the difficulties which tend to increase the cost of produce, or rather which renders cheap production impossible. Let us now consider the causes which rob the fanner of the fair fruits of his labour, and in this I propose only to consider the Eualish market, because the English market is the key to the whole cpieslion. It is the price of grain nud meat at Mark Lane and Stnithfield, which fixes the prices of every article which the farmer sells in New Zealand, even to the price of butter in Hamilton. If this does not appear at first sight, let me point out how it arises. When prices are high in England the large farmers and graziers export their meat aud grain, and leave the local market free to the smaller men ; these, in their turn getting a good price, leave the milking of cows to the smallest men. If we look into this matter a little, it is clear that the welfare of every merchant, lawyer, shopkeeper, and farmer in New Zealand is intimately connected with the price realised for produce in the London market. As you are, no doubt, aware the bulk of the food of London passe.", through the hands of wholesale salesmen, who sell on commission ; but before proceeding further I wish to make a personal explanation When a man has studied the wholesale London markets a month, he knows all about them ; when he has known them a few years, he begins to realise the enormous difficulties that surround the question. As Ido not wish to pose as a man who "knows all about it," let mo explain what I have seen of the business. I have lived iu Londoi: many years, for eight of which I was manager of a business in which we brought over thousands of cattle, hundreds of thousands of sheep, and thousands of tons of butter, cheese, fruit, meat, and vegetables. Thess w • delivered to the wholesale salesmen in London, with whom I was in daily communication whilst there. lam not prepared to go into all the details of the business, I will venture to lay down certain principles, which I think can be relied oil. Ido not propose to speak of \ ihe wool sales, because therein I think New Zealand gets fair play. The wool is ' sold publicly by auction, and the farmers ' get the actual proceeds, and so long as ! the charges are kept down Ido not think , j there is cause for complaint. Neither shall I speak about the grain market, for I have had little to do with it and I believe the exporters of grain can protect themselves. We have lately heard so much about the butter trade, that I shall content myself with pointing out that the present price of milk cannot be deemed a permanent institution. As soon as farming rises from its present unprofitabin condition, men will refuse to supply at such prices. If the factories are to be a permanency, the price of milk must be considerably increased, and this cau only be. done by making butter of the very highest class, such as will command a fancy price in England. As to meat, I say unhesitatingly that the poor New Zealand farmer is' robbed of the fair price of his meat. The wholesale salesman sells the damaged Darcases and the inferior meat as New Zealand mutton, and this is quoted as the price. The choice sheep he sells as English mutton, or perhaps as New Zealand mutton, but it makes no dilfereuco to the New Zealand farmer, for in any case he only gets the lowest price which the salesman chooses to give him. It is simply throwing meat away to hand it to a wholesale stlesinan, unless you are in a position to check them. This the En«iish farmer can do, but the New Zeaiaifd farmer cannot. Now the remedy is simple and direct. Let the New Zealand Agency Company take a salesman into their employ, pay him whatever salary he requires (and it must be a big sum), then let that man sell New Zealaud mutton for them honestly, and keep honest accounts. Then the farmer will get the real price of his sheep and be brought in direct connection with the market, i>f course, there are ot.her means by which Now Zealand meat is sold iu London, but I have only dealt with the one that mo 4 directly concerns ourselves. I am certain, if proper arrangements were made, the New Zealand farmer might rocai\ j Id a pound more for his meat, aud this alone would put New Zealand in the way of prosperity. Lastly, as to fruit. What is done now is this : A few cues unhanded to a salesman in C'oveut Oar,lons to sell. The matter is too small for him to put himself about ; ho lets a fricn 1 have them for a song, hand;; the small balance to the Agency Company, ai: 1 everybody is satisfied' but the send, .. Now what is wanted is this : Let tii.Agency Company arrange fur a sood 1-t of fruit to be sent. Then #, to a"leadin • fruit salesman and get him to take up th~trade and make it a good thini;. Let hini have enough to niik-: a trade, and t- 'l him you mean to have a fair the Agency Company in Lon i,.,.; detail a clerk to mastvr the fruit tr id,.- and v!:: c the market and retail slmpi. Then when th,- salesman sends in his retain - f.iles, the Agency Conqmiy cm sc.- tiiey have had fair play, or know the reason

v, ' !, - v - '" ■"<» »!' t.', ;:,■■ London market-: -(I) VVh;, tevc. is ::-,,' t. . London must l)i; the best of its kind • !■>, f ool ] must nor nnly 1,, , r , () ,1, 1,,,. i t ,„„,(.' lor) |, ~lc' ' : i-'i '■" »"t In us Im-.ii- so much JLlj.jnt. ).:•. j-.iitioc. London is tin- most <:■> «mop Wit in nrirb't in the world. Send agoor. arliclo.-md thev will buy it, no matter where it com. s from ; (I) ,lo not ini;i-in,. th ; tt: tin.- course of great trades can I),- easily diverted. The London salesmen in;-not only wealthy, hut arn prepared to spend their wealth to main- '"" '''';'?■ /"t-resU if one but „ fool would think of trying to rlivct I business, rat after long practical e M ,enencn and w.th J.,,. K0 t . a|)!ta , t0 b;l ,. k hj ; n . an(l even then a mm, would probably fail and lose a fortune, as hundred* hav, done. Mill 1 believe that hv -m, • s „•>, , n ..,„, as I have bidieited the N'.uv Z ■ da.id farmer „., ,-,.. ~„ ~ fa ~ P „ t , lr ,f „. , )is >-■ .n ••■ son- r„ L. m ,! on , nj , v _ j,. lvi| _......iu.u the causes that compel the Now Zealand farmer to produce dearly and sell cheaply, 1 will briefly mention Rome cause:; f|,,,i; Mll , st in the near future entirely change the position of fanning. (Jiving to improved sanitation and the absence of W ;,,-.s, the population of the world is increasing more rapidly than ever before The world is moving on socially, the working classes are each year letting better wages, and the standard of bvmp-thnt is in it, most essential elements (food and clothing) -k rapidly rising. Thus there are not only more people, but each of them consumes and wastes more f,rm produce. On the other hand, we already see a limit to the waste lands of the world. The United States must soon cease to export food, and other countries will fall oU sooner or later ; and all this time the demand for farm produce will be increasing, and this must ruse prices. Again, the virgin anils ot the world are being rapidly exhausted ; more manures will be nccesSiry for growing crops in all part* of the world. Then will come the ,i;,y ~f \ ew Zealand's inceiidancy. Eipul to other lands as t>x,il, we s.ull neve, over and above, tli<> li,„ ot fanniiijr climate in the world-airl !,„•; „„ skjll of , )lan CM iimlate. WkJuii the next twenty years Lo'-.-iii eames will have produced a great elviii!;,! in th... position of farming ; but m toe m mi,•;,.,.■ farmers themsHws may do much to render superfluous the question : "Why dr.es not fnr ninrr my •'•'