PRICE FOR DAIRY PRODUCE

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20918, 25 September 1939, Page 6

PRICE FOR DAIRY PRODUCE

According to the Dominion vice-president of the Farmers’ Union, Mr H. E. Blyde, payment for dairy produce for the duration of the war will be made on a basis entirely different from that of the guaranteed price scheme. For that reason it had been agreed to abandon for the time being all arguments advanced by the Farmers’ Union and other farming organisations with regard to the guaranteed price. Thus a matter of serious controversy will be removed from the relations between the farming community and the ' Government, permitting the utmost co-operation in the main task of supplying Britain with the largest possible quantities of primary produce. Mr Blyde said he thought it could be taken for granted that the price to be paid to the New Zealand Government for dairy produce purchased by the British Government would be based on the price paid to Australia, with the addition of thq* premium usually obtainable for New Zealand produce. That premium in recent months has been about 10s a cwt. for butter. This information, however, does not indicate the price dairy farmers are likely to receive, since the price to be paid in Australia, even if it has been fixed, has not yet been announced. The fact that produce is to be freed from the guaranteed price scheme in the meantime leads to the hope that the farmers will receive a reasonable return when increased costs of production are taken into consideration. Leaders in the farming industries have made it dear that there is no desire to profit from the war emergency, but the simple fact remains that unless they receive a price that makes allowance for increased costs they will be rendered financially incapable of making a most valuable contribution to Britain’s fighting strength by supplying larger quantities of urgently-needed foodstuffs. The outbreak of war has cut off several sources of supply to Britain, and it is imperative that the Dominions should exert every effort to make good the deficiency. In this regard the appeal to farmers by the Minister of Agriculture to increase the numbers of their herds is worthy of a prompt response.