DOES FARMING PAY?

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 208, 2 September 1926, Page 19

DOES FARMING PAY?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT? WANTED CHEAP MANURES. DEVELOPING DETERIORATED !. \XD>. \"\ V.i On toe P--T vi.ir r.-. Owvrnhwiga The Hon. Mr. H.r.vk*n. Minister of Agriculture. s-.i r P'i ' n reference to the question of the --■■:•' :■ ■ W™ r! 't^rinratnrf lan.!- -'ur •>■ ■ *■ w to sret manure .-h.vip -:ioi:2h and bormw money »t a l.v-v t.< f in-.-rest.-' Thid applies more or I-μ to all rural lands, as has lately been out in these columns. If cheap money anil cheap manure can be arrans"' 1 .. farming generally can oe made to ray ■I^ , - t-i* you:h of the country will ao'lons'T look askance at country lite- „ , . From the Yur it can be seen that t>r» ..-- :♦■:;•:: h"i.!-n--gere? and 11 --'> above that area. The number of : I'rsons directly in dairying is To.'.K'i. while farm pinployees nnmber The land is used as under: — For aericulfira! pii7«nirs .. :.UJV.«OC arr*s For ilniryin-' i-ursuir* .... ji ,-X" .o'.J. U'Tes For pastoral pur«-Ji".- ".*i.jr« 7n4 ai-rw Torai W.fK.l. liß a.-r-s The numbpr= of »to<*k are slowly inereasin?. but thfi arpas under rrops are diminishing. Practically no new areas are coming into use. and large areas that were once prorUably occupied are now abandoned or deteriorating. It is only natural, therefore that life on farms, at the time, appears to be such an unattractive proposition as compared with city life. A glance at the bankruptcy returns shows that farmers easily head the list. In 1923 the failures among the farmers figured 201 out nf a total of 674 for the Dominion, while id 1924 the figures were 195 and t>7o respectively. Making Country Life Attractive. Country life to bwome even reasonibly attractive should show possibilities of making a living approximately as easily as in the towns. This is tar from being the case at present. In the country there are no limitations to the hours of labour; little respite for holidays nr durinjz wet weatlier: unrprtain returns owing to fluctuating markets and to weather: little time and opportunity for sport, for attending entertainments or for mental improvement. There is also monotony in farm work, and at the present time rather a drab outlook, for the future. Given a reasonable prospect of eventual success and imlnpeniience, however, the position would be quite different. As things now are tYre ;> the possibility of having to "walk out"* after years of strenuous labour and after the best years of one's life have passed. Of course, as affains: these drawbacks, there is the advantage of an open air life, a 9 well as the fact of one being to a great extent one's own master. There is also a certin local social standing a farmer has, and he is to a lesser extent merely t cag in the wheel than is his town brother. Drift to the Towns. These anil other influences tend to explain why there is such a decided drift to the towns. The percentages of populations in 1901 were: Town 4ti per cent country .54 per cent; in 1911, town of per cent, country 49 per cent; in 1921 town 56 per cent, country 44 per cent. The figures of the census for the current year as far as yet issued show the urban increase to be 105.800, as against 20.700 for -ho rural district-, f- - admitted that this drift is world-wide, but its magnitude should be less in a young, iparsely-settled and fertile country such as the Dominion is. Here there are no prolonged droughts, no extremes of heat and cold, no disastrous floods, no great .distances to markets. Then t'»"■<' i> a fairly good network of roads and railways, numerous serviceable harbours, and many other advantages. Problems to Solve. The problem is to find what is wrong and put it right. The general, and probably the correct, opinion is that money i§ too dear and too difficult to obtain on rural propositions. Returns for money sunk in land are too low; labour costs more than ihe •••»!■■>ran warran*: the extended use of fertilisers is absolutely necessary; the first cost of these fertilisers is too great, and i.heir delivery tt the farm is much too costly for the average small farmer. It is regrettable to note that the volume of our exports is not increasing. X any serious reduction in prices on the Home market occurred there would undoubtedly be another slump. It has been estimated that 95 per cent of our exports come off the land. New Zealand 18 dependent for her prosperity in obtaining good prices for her exports and on increasing the volumes. Prices cannot be regulated, for these are subject to competition with other countries where wag-es and other costs are less wan they are here. Therefore, the only »ay to increase the money value of ■taw , Zealand's exports is to increase the quantity. The quality also is still capable of improvement." Both quantity nf < ' ualit 7 can be improved by the liberal use of fertilisers, but the "great detriment to the liberal use of fertilisers is the cost. (To be continued.)