CARTAGE OF WHEAT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29436, 11 February 1961, Page 11

CARTAGE OF WHEAT

Rail Waggon Shortage

A shortage of railway waggons in the Hawarden district was reported yesterday. The president of the North Canterbury district of Federated Farmers (Mr J. F. G. Blakely) said last evening that one cartage firm had 6000 sacks awaiting rail transport. The position, he said, had no doubt been aggravated by the bad weather which had resulted in the bulk of the harvest coming in at one time.

The district traffic manager of the Railways Department (Mr C. J. Millin) said that at this time of the year the waggon position was normally fairly difficult. The supply of waggons would be about the same as a year ago, but this year the position was made more difficult because there was more inward shipping cargo to handle. At present there were more than 1000 waggons under load with shipping cargo. Mr Millin said that there were plenty of waggons for actual transport, provided they were unloaded and loaded expeditiously. A transport operator, Mr D. C. Habgood, of Lincoln, said last evening that one of the biggest problems in the movement of grain at present was an apparent shortage of experienced stackers at mills and stores. This meant that although many stores and mills were working extended hours, the actual time of delivery was virtually still between 8 am. and 5 p.m., as the extra time was needed to get stacks into order. Although the position was "extremely hectic,” he said there was not the chaos of former years when farmers ordered transport and everyone wanted his wheat to come into store at the same time. Now stores and mills had to approve lines before they were moved, and transport operators, mills and stores then arranged a time for delivery. This system, which had operated for the last two seasons, had been instituted at a pre-harvest meeting of interested parties organised by the Wheat Committee. Mr Habgood said he thought that the system had the effect of facilitating the movement of a greater quantity of wheat into store in a shorter time. Mr A. N. Mclntosh, chairman of the agriculture section of Mid-Canterbury Federated Farmers, said last evening that he had no information of any railway transport problem in Mid-Canterbury.