The Bay of Plenty Times MONDAY, OCTOBER 10. 1042 SPRINGTIME ON THE FARMS

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13775, 19 October 1942, Page 2

The Bay of Plenty Times MONDAY, OCTOBER 10. 1042 SPRINGTIME ON THE FARMS

In the spring the thoughts of farmers turn toward production, and farm production is the essential of national life. In this wartime the battle for production must be fought and won before the Allies can proceed to win the final battle for victory. In the factories the war materials and war equipments, as expressed in aeroplanes, tanks, guns and ships are being produced with remarkable rapidity, and according to the statements made by President Roosevelt and Mr Winston Churchill, the Allies have now won the battle for factory production. Jt can be said of New Zealand, that with its limited" resources and limited facilities it is doing as well as the other Allied countries. What Britain and the Allies expect from New Zealand is a vast increase in farm production, and the New Zealand farmer is eager to give of his best, to give the massed production that is so absolutely essential just now. But the farmer is heavily handicapped. Huge areas of land cannot be worked singlehanded. Manpower, and efficient manpower, is needed for the purpose, and it is this lack of manpower that is the farmer's greatest handicap, if this is not overcome production, must suffer. The call up of men for the armed forces and for other purposes connected with the Avar has denuded the farms of the efficient labour that is necessary to work them. The work on a farm is never ending. There is work to be done every day throughout the 360 days of a year, but there is always more work to be done in the spring, summer and autumn. It is spring now when every acre of ground needs attention. The farmers are willing to get the best out of every acre of the farm but they must have farm help. The Manpower Board should give first thought to this. With the change in the war situation in the Pacific, which is now definitely in favour of the Allies, and with little chance of deteriorating—it is more likely to improve—men could and should be released for work on the farms. Some efforts are being made to recruit • women and girls for farm work, and while this is commendable, this labour cannot be called efficient. In any event it is only the lighter class of farm work that it would be reasonable and humane to ask the women and girls to perform. There is a lot of very heavy work to be done on farms which is rightly the job of men. The authorities are asking for an increased production of wheat, that is, that a greater acreage should be devoted to the cereal, but this involves manpower. Given the efficient farm labour we are sure the farmers will respond to all reasonable requests for increased production. The dairy farmers have begun their period of annual slavery. The British Government this season wants more butter than cheese and that will be forthcoming if those dairymen who require assistance, are supplied with the labour they need. Just milking the cows is not all there is to it. The topdressing of the grasslands is something that should not be neglected, and the farmers are finding difficulty in obtaining superphosphates. The wool clip is now coming into store at the ports of shipment, and before very long the wool will be in Bradford, England, where it will be turned into uniforms and other goods required by the fighting forces. This new wool will mean an addition of 15 per cent, over the past season, but the Government has decided to hold back 5 per cent, of this money, or in all, 10 per cent., to prevent inflation. It is probable that we will hear of complaints about the action of the Government in retaining this large percentage of the wool cheque, but the farmers will be unable to make their complaints as effective as possible because of the autocratic powers of the censor. We may hear something from Parliament, but the gag is effective in Parliament also. Let us emphasise that farm production is just as essential for the prosecution of the war as factory production of war goods.