WHEAT LAND OF NORTH OTAGO

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22432, 20 June 1938, Page 8

WHEAT LAND OF NORTH OTAGO

Floods Seriously Retard Planting ROT EXPECTED IN GRAIN ALREADY SOWN

The abnormal rains and floods in North Otago have seriously affected the operations of wheatgrowers. Areas which have been sown will probably have to be replanted. Before the floods came, a large area of wheat lands had been planted in the two belts—the coastal one from Papakaio to Maheno and the inland belt from Duntroon to Ngapara. However, the grain is not so firmly established as in some parts of Canterbury, where the wheat has sprouted above the ground; and it is feared that the grain will rot and that resowing will have to be done.

On the bigger unplanted area, farmers are not expected to be able to resume their preparations for planting for at least two months. Although North Otago farmers individually hold the opinion that the price fixed for the new season’s wheat in insufficient, the area which it was proposed to plant is reported by millers to be as large as that sown last year. The costs of production are higher than in Canterbury, where the use of the harvesting header has brought down costs. The header now in use is unsuitable for North Otago type of country but Mr L. K. Ireland informed “The Press’’ of the likelihood of a smaller header being manufactured in America to suit the requirements of the Oamaru district.