AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 12

AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS

SURVEY BY MR GILLESPIE TRIBUTE TO WORK OF LINCOLN COLLEGE (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, August 11. The main factor in the increase of agricultural production in Canterbury was the activities of Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, said Mr W. H. Gillespie (Government, Hurunui), in his Budget debate speech in the House of Representatives this evening. He gave a survey of farming progress in the last 10 years. Sixty-one per cent, of New Zealand’s national income came from agriculture, said Mr Gillespie. Britain would always want most of the Dominion’s exportable, surplus of primary produce. However, the British farmer would come more closely into competition with New Zealand’s producers, and some concern was being felt for the future of frozen soos- - It would be incumbent on the New Zealand Meat Board to advise the farming community along the right lines in the near future, said Mr Gillespie. He* hoped that nothing would be done which would in any way sacrifice the high quality New Zealand had built up in its meat exports. If any deterioration in quality took place, he believed that the farmers and the rest of the community would pay dearly.

Because of the increased production of British farmers, New Zealand might have to seek new markets for at least part of its exportable surplus of meat, said Mr Gillespie. He had noticed Recently a demand overseas for canned meat, and it was possible that New Zealand would have to enter the canned meat trade before many years. Gains in Production

Canterbury did not grow its former quantity of cereal crops, as before, but it was progressing considerably in the production of small seeds, he said. The pastures cut for hay and silage had increased from 40,000 acres in 1945-46 to 81,040 acres in 1953-54. Ten years ago, 17,000 acres of lucerne was harvested. The latest figure was 47,053 acres—more than half the cut in the Dominion.

Canterbury farms topdressed had increased from 203,000 acres to 563,707 acres, said Mr Gillespie. Last year, no less than 106,497 acres of various kinds of small seeds were harvested. Huge strides had been made in production. The greatest increase was in stock. If Canterbury continued its present rate -of increase of breeding ewes, it would become the premier sheep province by 1960, said Mr Gillespie. Over the last 10 years the ewe population had made the greatest increase for any province. In the last two yeays the Dominion ewe population had increased by 1,168,000, of which 509,000 were in Canterbury. Ashburton County took fourth place among counties for the number of ewes, which had increased from 701,000 to 1,030,000. The results of topdressing of hill country were not showing up as greatly in Canterbury as elsewhere, and the increase of stock was solely on the farming lands. Hill-country topdressing, said Mr Gillespie, would pay good dividends in the future, after the huge demands for fertiliser were met. They had to see that the farming lands were supplied with fertiliser, so that production could be further increased. Canterbury Agricultural College, he said, had done more than any other institution, by pure and applied agriculture, for the industry. If the teachings of the college were followed, production could be doubled in the next 20 years. Research Facilities Better facilities for research should be given by the Government, said Mr Gillespie, and he cautioned against overlapping in research by institutions. It was to be hoped that in the not-too-distant future a high-country research station would be established. “Perhaps the next step in Canterbury which might be a challenge to Lincoln College in increasing primary production, is irrigation,” said Mr Gillespie. “I believe that it is in Canterbury that the greatest scope for this activity can take place. But I believe we cannot hope to achieve, a worthewhile increase in production from irrigation if farmers only use irrigation as an insurance policy on their farms.” Without subdivision, those results could not be expected, said Mr Gillespie. Farmers could not operate big properties under irrigation because of the difficulty of getting labour.