Upsurge In Use Of Fertiliser

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30478, 27 June 1964, Page 8

Upsurge In Use Of Fertiliser

Speaking to the Canterbury section of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science recently Mr F. L. Ward, district field officer of the Meat and Wool Boards’ Economic Service, made the point that in Australia it had been found that there was an excellent correlation between fertiliser usage and wool production.

Speaking to Federated Farmers last year, the chairman of the Wool Board (Mr J. Acland) pointed to a-similar pattern in New Zealand’s production. “We are of opinion that no single factor will contribute more to the growth of pastoral production than increased applications of fertiliser,” he said. "Back in 1950, we applied 700,000 tons and maintained a flock of 32m sheep. Last year we applied 1.2 m tons and the flock was 50m. By 1975 we should be applying 2m tons. If we do that the grass will be growing and I am sure the stock will be there to eat it.”

Higher wool prices had meant that more fertiliser was spread and this , could be expected to lift sheep numbers. The reverse was also true said Mr Acland, as the records of the boards’ economic service showed that a dip in prices was followed by a dip in production. Primarily because of the boom in wool prices, but also to some extent due to the incentives given for fertiliser usage in the Budget of a year ago, fertiliser output and consumption has soared in the last year. In the 11 months up to the end of May, sales made by fertiliser manufacturers in New Zealand reached about 1.5 m tons compared with 1,350,000 tons for the full year to the end of June last year. Lately sales have been running about 15 per cent ahead of a year ago. There has been a steep rise in aerial application as well as ground dressings. In the year to the end of March 705,304 tons of fertiliser and lime were applied by aircraft —this is a provisional figure —compared with 592,473 tons for the previous comparative year, which represents a rise of 19 to 20 per cent. Mr G. A. Claridge, business manager for Kempthome Prosser and Company’s Hornby works, said this week that in the year to the end of May deliveries had been the highest ever—2l per cent greater than in the previous year. He said that the real impact of the increased demand had begun about December and it was still con-

tinuing. Since about mid-April the works had been supplying

orders from production, reserves built up since the autumn of last year then being exhausted.. The acting chairman of the Dominion Fertiliser Company, Ltd. (Mr C. T. Standage) had a similar story to tell. He said this week that in the year to the end of March deliveries made by the company had risen by more than 20 per cent on the previous year. Unusual weather in the Pacific in the latter part of last year and early this year had resulted in interruptions of phosphate supplies, and but for this, output would - have been much greater still. Mr Standage said that -the sudden rise in the demand for fertiliser in.the last year in both New Zealand and Australia, had brought consumption up to a point that had been expected to have been reached in about 1967-68.

In the face- of this upsurge and also further prospective incentives for use of fertiliser the industry everywhere is planning expansion. At Hornby work is now under way to double storage capacity and this extra accommodation is expected to be completed by the early spring. This should enable the works to accumulate greater stocks of fertiliser to meet the demand next autumn and in succeeding autumns. With this storage, and certain work on its acid plant, the company expects to raise its productive capacity from the present level of 140,000 tons a year to 175,000 tons a year by the end of next year.

In their most recent annual report the directors of the Dominion Fertiliser Company also spoke about having taken steps to raise the productivity of their plant to ensure that the maximum tonnage could be achieved from the present equipment and said they were also planning to meet the situation that would probably develop.

The most recent issue of the “New Zealand Fertiliser Journal” indicates that the present capacity of the company’s works at 165,000 tons will be increased to 200,000 tons from next year. This is part of a New Zea-land-wide expansion of the

industry. In the next two or three years the capacity of the industry in the South Island is expected to increase by more than 40 per cent from 445,000 tons to. 625,000, and in the North Island in the next four years by more than 60 per cent from 1,185,000 tons to 1,960,000 tons. Reporting a 15 to 20 per cent rise in aerial application of fertiliser this autumn, compared with last, Mr C. H. Brazier, managing director of Airwork (N.Z.), Ltd., said this week that a possible development out of this expansion would be a greater call on aircraft for dropping fence materials to aid subdivision to make use of the extra feed grown. A spokesman for a.Canterbury mercantile firm, reporting that, orders since last September were running about 25 per cent higher than for the previous comparable period, said that he understood a firm in Hawke’s Bay was showing a 40 per cent increase on the previous year. He said a noticeable feature of recent ' fertiliser usage was a growing appreciation by farmers of the desirability of using a heavier application, over a more limited acreage, instead of light applications over large areas, to secure best results.

Wet Mix Out

About two weeks ago Kempthorne Prosser and Company had to stop taking orders for supply of D.D.T. wet mix superphosphate from its Hornby works. The reason was that the company had used up its stocks of raw D.D.T. From the end of this month use of D.D.T. dust mixes will be permitted only under most exceptional circumstances.

The company’s replacement for wet mix D.D.T. superphosphate is 30 per cent p.p j. D-D.T. pellets. Orders have been placed for these in the United States and the first shipment is expected about the end of next month.

The business manager for that Hornby works, Mr G. A. Claridge, said this week that he had no doubt that the pellets would be acceptable to farmers. The industry’s specification for them had been approved by the Agricultural Chemicals Board.

While it is not possible to give a firm price yet for the pellets as all costs have not been assembled, it is expected that the cost of using the pellets at the rate of 21b of 100 per cent p.p.i, will be about 14s an acre.