THE WEEK

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23587, 14 March 1942, Page 4

THE WEEK

WHEAT IN PADDOCKS It is unfortunate that at the moment when a campaign for the growing of more wheat is being launched climatic and other difficulties should conspire to seriously jeopardise the effort. It is recognised that there can be no substantial extension of the wheat acreage unless with the full employment of the header harvester. The days when big gangs of men were available —and anxious—to do a season’s harvesting are gone, and are unlikely to return. The necessity of the employment of mechanised harvesting machinery has made the weather disabilities all the more unfortunate this season. The frequent showers delayed the heading, and many farmers were compelled to head their crops when discretion told them that »they were unfit for the process. However, it was a case of getting the wheat into the bags, which was considered safer than leaving it standing with the shortening of the days and the reduction in sunshine, apart altogether from the continued persistency of the weather breaks. Actually the frequent showers have delayed the harvesting of binder cut wheat, also, and there is still a great deal of stocked crop on the heavier land in North Canterbury, more so than has been the case for years in March. Some of this wheat has been out sufficiently long to seriously affect the sample. The position that has developed, therefore, has not applied solely to headed wheat. The troubles of the actual harvesting, however, appear to have been little worse than those of getting the wheat off the paddocks. It has been reliably estimated that in the Culverden wheat area no less than 21,000 sacks of wheat are still in the paddocks awaiting an opportunity to get them away. This wheat has been ready on several occasions to move, but the wholesale impressment of farmers’ lorries has prevented this being done, and conditioned wheat had of a necessity to get further wettings. On top of this has been a temporary shortage of railway rolling stock to handle wheat which could have been brought in. Some farmers have had to up-end their sacks of wheat in the paddocks three or four times to prevent the bottom sprouting. Another aspect, in view of the fact that there is no certainty as to the supply of sacks for next season’s harvest, that this season’s sacks may have to be used again, rnd continued exposure to the weather and the wet ground may affect their suitability for the purpose. It is not often that Canterbury has to complain about a wet autumn. This season is the exception, and, being such, should have no bearing on the acreage to be seeded for next year. ONION EXPORT As with all other root crops this season, the onion yield has bfeen good. Prices have been on a level that created no risk of the Price Tribunal Committee intervening, but there has been an inquiry from Australia, and the value has firmed up to £7 a ton on trucks, in anticipation of export being permitted. The Sydney price of onions beforeJhe last mail was dispatched in February was 14s 3c per cwt, so that to-day’s local price would give a margin for business. The usual request has been made to the authorities for a licence to export, but this so far has not come to hand, pending, no doubt, an o(flcial, inquiry into the ability of the crops to meet internal needs. The request for a quotation came forward some time ago, so it is to be hoped that the statistical effort of the authorities will not be delayed until,the business disappears, or until the shipping lane is closed, or until the onions go bad. It will be re'called how serious was the loss of onions some years ago. when a surplus was carried overlong m store. The Sydney .outlet is sporadic, but in certain seasons production is much less than the local needs and importation from overseas is necessary. The sources of supply are now practically closed or shipping space is impossible. Such being the case, the Sydney demand presents a good opportunity for this Dominion to develop an ou{let for its surplus onions. And there is little doubt that there will be a sufficiency this season. LIME FOR CEREALS A reader mentioned the other day to “Straggler” that during the present shortage of fertiliser a splendid opportunity was presented of wheatgrowers using more lime. Though not an alternative to fertiliser lime is'essential as a preparatory agent for it, and now that superphosphate for wheat is limited to lewt an acre, for the second successive year, lime should be generously used to prepare the land for the day when there will be no* check on fertiliser supplies. It was the heavy use of lime for many years in Southland that enabled such exceptional results to be achieved when fertiliser topdressing came in later. The lime pioneers of 50 years ago in the south quite unconsciously prepared the way for the new order. One district in Canterbury was instanced by a reader in which superphosphate had been used for years, and although satisfactory crops had been secured they were not improving. Then he applied lime, and, of course, with the results. The writer recalls an instance of the effect of the results from lime when it was regarded with wide disfavour in Canterbury. A good farmer on good wheat land had the experience of his yields steadily declining from 40 odd bushels an acre to less than 30. He was prevailed upon to apply a ton of lime an acre on one paddock. The result was a return to the 40 bushels. Every farmer to-day recognises that to get the best results from superphosphate lime must be used as a preliminary, and to correct conditions created by the long use of superphosphate without lime it is just as necessary.