MORE PRODUCTION

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVI, Issue 10704, 31 March 1926, Page 6

MORE PRODUCTION

THE DOMINION'S NEED.

"'MUST GET DOWN TO IT." CHEISTCHUROH, This Day. Increased production as the solution of the economical problems of IS ew Zealand, was urged by the Hon. U. J. Hawken, Minister of Agriculture, m a speech at the opening of the ue*y ball, of the Northern A. and P. Association always considered the Agricultural and Pastoral Department a ,very important one, and I consider that our ideas in the past have not ■been along the proper hues, said Mr Hawken "I firmlv believe that a department that has to do With such ereat producing interests should receive more support than it has been receiving in the past. < I am speaking quite frankly. It will be my duty to Jay down a sound policy and to look into the various issues involved in connection with farming. "The Department should have more ;funds at its disposal than it h-TS. We have spent in various other Departments a great deal of money. The expenditure of this Department has remained the same every year. In this country we have a large number or farmers who were not trained as farmers They were not brought up on farms. Our agricultural college, which I hope will shortlv come into being, is .a great thing. My concern, however, as for the men on the land We must wait for the results of the teaching ithat is given the young folk. -that will come. But we must not lose sight of the men who are on the land to-day. That is the point, and it is an import-

ant point, too. "We must get down to it and pro--duee more than we have been doing. The great need of New Zealand to : day is increased production. . The Agricultural Department will have to take it into its hands to see that a great deal more instruction is given to the young people who intend to take up farming. We must do everything possible to help the farmer to produce more than ±e has been producing. ~„•,. "We have men thoroughly skilled in farming in our Department, and I am of the opinion that, we have not made full use of these men in the past. We must in the future. It will be to the benefit of the country. We have many .difficulties to pass; but we will do it. "Unless we increase production, 1 •say that we have difficult times ahead. that this country as as good • a country as there is on the face of , God's earth, and I believe that we can .always depend on the country; but we ,have got to do our bit. ! "We must not lose sight of the human element. Little financial troubles ' and so on visit us sometimes; but by getting down to it we can win through. "There are several branches of the Agricultural Department. There is the Fruit-growing Division, the Agricultural Division, the Fields Division, the Stock Division and the Seeds Division. y When I went into office I took up ai .stand with regard to wheat growing, and being a North Island man, many " people in the South said that you down 'here could expect very little support from me when it came to wheat growing.- I don't look at it that way at .all. New Zealand isn't big enough to split into two pieces. I maintain that it should be kept as one. (Applause.) "We must strengthen our exports. . I believe 'that by giving help to the /farmers we can in a very short time get sufficient wheat for the Dominion, i .am hoping that the South Island farm,ers will grow more wheat. I trust the difficultv between you people and the mill owners will be settled amicably. . The two parties don't seem to be very (amicable at the present time. It's a fact that if we don't grow wheat there will be no need for mills; milling can t go on if there is no wheat. We mustn t "forget that."