NATIVE FARMERS

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 11087, 10 April 1933, Page 1

NATIVE FARMERS

EAST COAST DAIRYING. As announced recently, awards have been made for the Ahuwhenua Trophy presented by the GovernorGeneral. Lord Bledislae. for competition by qualified Maoris occupying land under a native development scheme administered under the Native Land Act. This is the first occasion on which the Governor-General's cup has been competed for. The trophy was presented by His Excellency to commemorate his visit Co lands in course of development by Maori settlers under various native land development, schemes in the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty districts. It was later agreed that the competition should bo national. but that for the first year if should be confined to the Waiarikt district.

In making the award, the judge must take into account: good husbandry, economy of management, with a view to commercial profit, the cleanliness and neatness of the holding, the progress made by the farmer in the development of his holding, the supply of necessary seeds, fertilizers, and implement# and other assistance received both before and during his occupancy. In his report to the Director of the Dairy Division, Mr Dempster states that he visited SI farms in the course of his judging. The farms visited extended from the Horohoro block, at Rotorua, out to the Maketu block at Te Puke, and down the coast to Cape Runaway. In judging, he states, he also took into consideration the possibility of delivering a high standard quality of milk or cream. After visiting all the farms on the Horohoro block he came to the conclusion that the settlers had not had sufficient time to display their initiative, and he had therefore selected three farmers on this block who had shown the most initiative and placed them in order of merit.

After an extensive review of what he terms the excellent work being done by native settlers, Mr Dempster said the standard of cleanliness on the concrete floors, drains and utensils, without a single exception on the Horohoro block, was the highest ho had ever seen in dairy herds. Taking the development scheme as a whole, he considered that even the most adverse critic would be silenced by making a personal inspection of the various localities. The efforts of Mr James Swinton, the winner, were specially commendend. It* was considered that if this man could get more land he could show his undoubted ability as a farmer to greater advantage.