THE DAIRYING YEAR.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20265, 6 August 1937, Page 6

THE DAIRYING YEAR.

The report of the committee appointed by the Government to advise it with respect to the prices to be paid for dairy produce during the year that started on August 1, should reach Cabinet this week, but the final decision will be deferred for some time, to enable the Minister of Marketing to examine the position and state his views. The delay will mean that the producers will bo working for a while without knowing what return they are to get, and the same state of affairs will apply to those who have entered into share-milking contracts of various sorts. Estimates regarding the prices to be paid differ by a fair margin, the most difficult item apparently being that of farm costs. This, of course, will have been taken into consideration. The Minister of Agriculture, when he spoke at Pukekawa last February, said: “Increased costs would be taken into account and the guaranteed price dealt with accordingly.” There was an interesting statement made at that time by Mr Lee Martin to the effect that “ should an adjustment be warranted for next season, the new price would be announced earlier than it was this season, to give those employing share-milkers and others in a similar position better time to make their adjustments.” The delay in making the announcement cannot be interpreted to mean that an adjustment would not be warranted, but simply that the Government considers it essential to know the views of the Minister responsible for the operations of the Marketing Department, and that can be easily understood. The circumstances this year arc hardly likely to be repeated, but it is a pity that the delay should have happened in the first year of the new system. The 1936-37 period must be regarded as purely experimental for the actual policy started on August 1, 1937, and it is that fact which makes the prices to be paid so very important. Possibly at the same time as the announcement of the new prices the Government will state its intentions with regard to any surplus in the Dairy Industry Account, and in this connection a statement made by the Minister of Agriculture at Pukekawa should be noted: “An undertaking had been given,” Mr Lee Martin said, “ that if there was a surplus in the account at the end of the season it would be distributed to the industry after consultation with the industry.” The importance of the statement lies in the promise of a distribution, and that may be of value should a conference be summoned.