NEW ZEALAND COCKSFOOT.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20421, 16 December 1931, Page 16

NEW ZEALAND COCKSFOOT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PRESS. Sir, —We are being advised by our leaders to support New Zealand industries and always give preference to New Zealand goods. It should hardly be necessary to give such advice, but that it is unfortunately.too necessary I can testify from my own personal experience as a humble cocksfoot grass l harvester who finds his living reduced to a mere pittance by the competition of Danish and European cocksfoot seed against our own production. I need not speak of the excellence of our own cocksfoot. It is known to every farmer in New Zealand, who will always prefer it to any other if it can be sold. Ps cheaply as the imported stuff. But here is the difficulty. , The Danish seed comes here, floods our market, and is sold at a price which lias brought the price of New Zealand cocksfoot down from 9d to Is per lb to about 3sd. . It is clear that at that price the cocksfoot' industry is scarcely worth continuing here. It pays neither the farnier nor the man who harvests the seed far him. I have earned big money for years on. the Peninsula at tne business, and the farmers there have, made fine profits. To-day we find that the industry has been rendered alm<?st valueless for us by this imported seed. It may be that our foreign sales of the seed cannot be maintained, , but sui'ely we can protect and retain, our local market?. To 1110 ijj apgears

to be an utter scandal that one pound of foreign cocksfoot should be sold in the Dominion, and the Government in its schemes to assist the business of the country should not overlook this once prosperous business that has been pushed to the wall by unrestricted foreign competition. Surely our own farmers and our own workers should come long before those of Denmark or any other country.—Yours, etc., , GRASS-SEEDER. Christchurch, December 15th, 1931.