THE CASE AGAINST PALMERSTON NORTH

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24985, 20 September 1946, Page 6

THE CASE AGAINST PALMERSTON NORTH

SEED-TESTING STATION

The many arguments that can be, and have been, advanced < " favour of moving the seed-testing station from Palmerston NoSfci* a South Island site are summarised in this article, which I. iX”' from evidence submitted by a deputation which recently waitM* the Acting-Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. W. Nash!. Three v i ew —those of the farmer, the businessman, and the manutMSM are given.

THE FARMER Points from the argument for the transfer of the station, put forward by Mr L. B. Scott. The station’s location at Palmerston North causes delays—and delays can cause the loss of a year’s crop, forth® grass growing season is short. They can also cause embarrassment financially, especially to the small man, when a crop sale is held up just when monfey is needed to meet harvest costs, the charges for autumn cultivation, and fdr resowing. ' Many markets closed to meat ano wool are open to small seeds. Buti keen competition must be met, and to meet it full and efficient development of the industry is essential. The job is hard enough without- obstruction m New Zealand—and keeping the station at Palmerston North ranks as obstruction. . _ The station is now so far away from the grower that personal contact is lost, and with it the chance of discussing on the spot the grower sproblems. • - Much has been said of staff training for the station’s work It is suggested that, on the facts, this aspect has been given undue attention. Except for two or three at the top, the station is staffed by technicians rather than scientists. Included in their qualifications for their job is the ability to carry out the actual teste. Some of the tests involve only the ability to count to 100 without making a mistake. Others are concerned with comparing colours. The testers have to recognise weeds, but samples are machine dressed and problems can b$ referred to the director. The transfer of the site w’ould mean transferring senior but others could be trained quickly for the wor£. The farmers’ ease rests on the following quotation from an address by the Director-General of Agriculture, Mr E. J. Fawcett, before he left for we are assured of world markets to satisfy demands and requirements for the present, these contracts may only extend to 1950 or thereabouts, and we must envisage a possibility of saturation around 1952.” Mr Fawcett emphasised the need for greater diversity in production. Surely. Mr Scott claimed, the small seeds industry helps to give just this diversity and deserves to be fostered whole-heartedly. v THE BUSINESSMAN Points from the case submitted by the President of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, Mr J. R.Dench. A Claim that the merchants are not unanimous in their desire to have the station transferred south is denied by a resolution passed at the annual meeting of the grain,’seed and produce merchants’ organisation, which unanimously asked for the change. Over the last 10 years seed production in the South Island has gone ahead by leaps and bounds, in the North Island the increase, if there be any, is negligible. The figures for Manawatu, where the station now is, show a decrease in acreage registered for certification from 408 acres in the 1944-45 season to 229 in the 1945-46 season. On the other hand, the increase for Canterbury province for the same two seasons is about 11,000 acres for the 1945-46 season. For the same period the acreage for the South Island is 16,556 acres against only 535 acres for the whole of the North Island. These figures could be made much more impressive if they included the areas growing certified brown top and Akaroa cocksfoot. Air mails would not the present position. Even if the air mail service improved in the near future such towns as Gore, Timaru, Oamaru, and Ashburton are not on the air route, but served by night -mail trains. Farmers near these towns could have their samples at a station anywhere between Christchurch and Dunedin before they could even be put aboard an aeroplane for the North Island. Even if the transport delay did not exist, why "should farmers be put to the extra cost and inconvenience of

air mailing and telegraphlM suits of the tests simply becL. station is kept in the wrons J?® The Income Tax Departmen?I*** 1 *** B many employees .southwara. UftWM decentralised its branches- and*S?Mß of efficiency has resulted’ The domestic demand for R greater than the export outlet**® per cent, of that home been estimated to be in Island as against 15 per ' North. v inmost, the entire production’S l is in Canterbury, Southland and The bulk of the export is the South Island, and the lay in the industry is again inantiy in the south. Th e future lies in the south; and take of keeping the station north should not be perpehurtMpflffl bulk of the payments for the services come from South iffiSl customers. In addition the SSB Island customers have to mm charges, as well as inccnSuSH through air mail postages, triSSi and telephone calls. The labour position, too in the south, and its power is free from such interruption TEH occurred at Palmerston periments in the industry wifiWAM it more if the farmers can in close touch with them. fWSaKBB from Europe can be expectefßEt years to come. Can those ig <£ ?B dustry afford to miss oppotfi£H through delays in tests? fhtorSE lost much business in the part. THE MANUFACTOJB# I Points from the argumant MHmi H by Mr E. T. Beaven, of the caZu S bury Manufacturers' Between 80 and 90 per cent seed dressing machine capacity the South Island in station* faja jJB son to Invercargill. They all towns of any size. FTctt-SSM to £40,000 worth of seed mSS equipment is on order. the firm which manufacture'SSM again 80 to 90 per cent, of those oXB ers are for the South {'ear fresti weed seeds, and fttoh WA P ems in seed dressing, arise. WeniEi seed station in the Sottm ISKB' manufacturer and the testfji£B experts could collaborate station could assist, on the spot V&K technical problems. This built in the South Island. ported, and there are many SKH from abroad about the pownblw increasing this trade. ' Cracked seed and broken gswrltt caused by poor threshing in iff ffrH vest field caused a 30 net cent tanliH the 1943-44 crop, and this, in SA m»B try grossing £3.000,000 a year, u jSB ous matter. It can be saved faß seed testing station educates m*B in better threshing transfer of the station to ihe land would mean the at ion amongst the vendors W'WH threshing equipment, the tennßiSifi officers of the Department ol ture, and the other interested-afflLH This section of a department W? a growing industry can andsbowCkß situated in the locality in which kite K best serve the industry. It wouidwtß be suggested that a section to MfeS citrus fruit growers shouidbeiatoß south, nor that wine presses beedk-K lished in the south to assist vineyards; and the knowledMttMß South Island grows more than cent, of the seeds tested surely it imperative that the holds the testing station. WW® suggest that the Wheat Rmwb kM stitute would have functicaOOjtißi ciently if it bed been in tgjJSWR ■ land, far away from ihe.jfmHH duemg areas? The position.>Mß same with seeds. li"; g Finally, there have been of stations in other branchesi cultural research being movefc»«B unsuitable sites. Thb Agrong^g-g 1 vision of the Department of SQB 1 and Industrial Rerearch, whM&WS * down to Lincoln, was one Plant diseases division of thesMJJBl partment, which moved In thscMjgg direction to Auckland, was and although the headquartetS Grasslands Division is still at ston North, its main work S iSIB carried out at other places. fe! .y-