GROSS FARMING INCOME

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24984, 19 September 1946, Page 4

GROSS FARMING INCOME

1944-45 HIGHEST ON RECORD

OVERALL RISE SINCE 1939 28 PER CENT.

The estimate of gross farming income of £97,900,000 for the production year 1944-45 is the highest yet recorded, reports the Abstract of Statistics. The value of agricultural production was £ 14,800,000, and the Abstract comments that the increases in both value and volume were due mainly to increased prices and areas devoted to oats, barley, maize, and grass seeds, and an Increased area devoted to market gardens. The pastoral group shows an increase in value of £15,700,000 (or 16 points in the index number) compared with 1943-44, whereas the volume for the group increased by only 3 points. Higher prices for stock slaughtered and for live stock, particularly cattle, together with an increase in the number of livestock and in wool production, were responsible for the upward movements..

Butter-fat production, which had decreased each year since 1941-42, recorded an increase during 1944-45. The increase in production is reflected in the increase of 9 points in the index number of volume, and, together with the farm costs and farm labour allowances. in the increase of 22 points (20.4 per cent.) in the index number of value for the dairying, poultry, and bees group. Gross farming income from all phases of farm production shows an increase of £12,900,000 as compared with 1943-44. The index number of value shows that gross income was 42 per cent, above the pre-war year 1938-39, although the value of production represented had increased by only 11 per cent. “To produce this result, the overall increase in farmers’ prices over this same period must have been approximately 28 per cent.,” says the Abstract.

The gross income from all farm produce in the last 14 years has been estimated as follows: —1931-32, £M38.5; 1932-33, £M38.1; 1933-34. £M48,2: 193435, £M46.1; 1935-36, £M57.8; 1936-37, £M71.8; 1937-38, £M69; 1938-39, £MB9; 1939-40, £M75.5; 1940-41, £MBS; 194142, £M 83.3; 1942-43. £MBSJS; 1943-44, £MBS; 1944-45, £M97.9.