CARTAGE OF LIME

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25367, 15 December 1947, Page 6

CARTAGE OF LIME

—-♦ SCHEME TO ASSIST FARMERS

ROAD TRANSPORT SUBSIDY INCLUDED From Our Own Reporter WELLINGTON. December 14. A plan- to assist farmers in the cost of transporting lime by rail and road was announced during the week-ena by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr E. L. Culleh). » , .. . The new arrangement will be tnax the farmer will pay the full freight charges for the first 15 miles on lime transported by rail, and after that ne will be entitled to a subsidy of 50 per cent, on railage for the remaining distance. Where lime has to be transported by road as well as by rail, there will be an allowance of 4d a mile on road cartage for every mile beyond the first three from the consignee’s nearest railway station to the farm gate. Where rail transport is not required (generally this will occur only where there is no available rail route), the grant of 4d a mile on road transport distance, after a deduction of three miles from the consignee’s nearest liige works to the farm gate, will be made. The plan will operate as from November 24, and at the request of farmers’ organisations it will be reviewed in July next year. The new arrangements will remain in operation unul July 31. Outlining the plan, Mr Cullen said that after consultation with the Meat and Dairy Boards, the Dairy Products Marketing Commission, and Federated Farmers, the Government had reached agreement on the plan, which was generally acceptable. “The new plan of assistance, embodying as it does a subsidy for road as well as rail transport, will not be as simple to administer as the old 100-miles free railage concession,” said 'Mr Cullen. “Both farmers and lime companies will have to assume certain responsibilities in furnishing information about the road transport of lime. It will be the duty of farmers (including nurserymen, orchardists and market gardeners) to inform lime companies, when placing their orders for lime, of the distance of the road transport involved. So this may be done more smoothly, the Department of. Agriculture, which will administer the scheme, will provide declaration forms for completion by farmers. On the basis of these declarations. the farmers will be credited with both road and rail concessions.” Scheme Retrospective The Minister emphasised that all consignments by rail must be made to the consignee’s nearest railway station, and that the freight charge would be at the existing rates for the first 15 miles and at 50 per cent, for the rest of the rail distance. Farmers had already been informed that any scheme of assistance finally approved would be made retrospective to November 24. He was arranging for his department to meet all claims from that date until January 5. After that, it would be necessary for farmers and lime companies to adhere strictly to the procedure which had been laid down to cover all future consignments.

Full details of the procedure would be furnished within a week to all lime companies and would be available at the main offices of the Department of Agriculture.