COST OF LIME TRANSPORT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 69, Issue 267, 24 August 1949, Page 4

COST OF LIME TRANSPORT

Assistance to Farmers INVESTIGATION BY COMMITTEE (P.A.) WELLINGTON. Aug. 23. A Lime Advisory Committee of four members, drawn from the N.Z. Meat Producers’ Board, the N.Z. Dairy Board, Federated Farmers and the’ Department of Agriculture, with power to co-opt a representative from the lime milling industry, has been apointed to investigate lime transport assistance to farmers. This was announced last evening by the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. E. L. Cullen), who added that the first meeting of the committee would be held early next month.

The Minister said the tonnages of lime used for agricultural purposes increased from 594,000 in 1940 to 1,120,000 in 1948, and further increases were anticipated, particularly when bulk delivery methods became available.

Funds for lime transport assistance were drawn from the Meat Industry Stabilisation Account (70 per cent), the Dairy Stabilisation Account (15 per cent), and the Consolidated Fund (15 per cent); continued the Minister. “Many farmers do not appear to know how lime transport assistance is passed on to them. The procedure is simply that the farmer provides his lime supplier with a road mileage declaration. Then, if his lime is railed, his supplier arranges for the rail and road concessions due to him to be credited by the New Zealand Railways against the railway charges. If the lime is delivered by road, the road concession is .also credited by the supplier against the cost of the lime. The concessions are easily followed, provided the farmer does not overlook that he has to bear the full transport charges on the first 15 miles by rail and on the first throe miles by road,” said the Minister. Railway Charges

Detailing the railway charges, Mr Cullen said that for the first 15 miles the farmer paid the full rate of 3s Sd, but for the next 100 miles the farmer paid Gs 2d of the full rate of 13s 6d, which was subsidised to the extent of 7s 4d. Further railage was at the discretion of.the Director-General of Agriculture in consultation with the advisory committee. There was no subsidy l'or .the first three miles on road transport to farm after rail transport, but for each additional mile for the next seven miles 4d a ton was credited by the New Zealand railways, and for each additional mile above 10 miles Gd a ton was credited. There was no .subsidy for the first three miles on road transport direct to the farm from the limeworks, but for each additional mile, for the next 27 miles 4d a ton was credited by the lime supplier. If there were no rail facilities, or if the distance by rail and road was one-third greater than the shortest direct road distance, then the 4d- a ton mile applied to distances exceeding 30 miles. The Minister said that in 1950 it would be determined whether the lime transport assistance now assured until June 30, 1951, was to be continued for a further period.