AREA IN WHEAT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 257, 7 August 1940, Page 2

AREA IN WHEAT

THE CANTERBURY SOWINGS.

ABOUT 300,000 ACRES LIKELY.

(Special to the “Guardian.”) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day.

The area under wheat this season is likely to he about 300,000 acres, according to an estimate made by Mr R. McGillivray (Fields Superintendent of the Department of Agriculture). Mr McGillivray said yesterday that the weather in June and July had been ideal for growth, and as far as could be seen the crops were looking remarkably well. June had been an exceptionally good month for sowing and in some localities practically the whole of the crop was sown then and early in July. The spring sowing, therefore, would not he as large as last year’s, although there was every prospect that it would be considerable in some districts. “The recent appeal from the National Council of Primary Production for a larger sowing of wheat has resulted in a number of areas originally intended for other crops being prepared for spring wheat,” Mr McGillivray said. “In Canterbury, the National Council, by moans of meetings held at Christchurch, Ashburton and Tiinaru, put forward a proposition that would entail the sowing of 6800 acres of spring wheat. In parts of North Canterbury, spring wheat is regarded as a hit of a gamble, but with reasonable spring rains it usually does quite well. “It is the National .Council’s aim to make New Zealand self-sufficient in wheat and with the additional sowings asked for the area this season should be about 300,000 acres.”