Smaller Wheat Harvest Expected This Season

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30633, 26 December 1964, Page 1

Smaller Wheat Harvest Expected This Season

A smaller wheat harvest is forecast for the South Island this season. Not only are acreages lower than last season, but in some districts crops have been severely affected by drought so that yields are likely to be reduced.

“It would seem that less wheat is likely to result from the current South Island crop than from the last,” said the general manager of the Wheat Committee, Mr L. C. Dunshea.

“The estimate of the area sown to wheat in the South Island in the current season is 174,500 acres, which is about 10 per cent less than the figure for 1963-64. The reduction is heavier than this in some areas—notably in North Canterbury where the estimated area is 46,000 acres for the current season compared with 53,317 acres last season and Mid-Canterbury, where the estimate for the crop this season is 34,500 acres compared with 41,146 acres in 1963-64.

“While crops in some areas are developing satisfactorily, reports from other areas, notably North Otago and North and Mid-Canterbury, suggest that many crops have been severely affected by drought and expectations are that yields in these districts will be considerably reduced,” said Mr Dunshea.

“This suggests that the quantity of wheat from the South Island crop will be considerably less than in 1964, but it would appear that the 1965 harvest should provide sufficient supplies for South Island requirements, providing the wheat is fairly shared. “The situation was fully discussed at a meeting this week with representatives of the

New Zealand Flourmillers’ Society, North Canterbury country and Christchurch town mills and Ashburton mills. It was agreed that the Wheat Committee should advise all South Island mills that the extent of their purchases should not exceed the quantity which, with present stocks, will provide supplies for each mill to last until the following dates: Mills north of the Wai-kouaiti-Queenstown line, January 31, 1966. Mills south of the Wai-kouaiti-Queenstown line, February 28, 1966. “It is intended to review the situation at a further meeting with the mills on January 20, 1965,” said Mr Dunshea. “The above advice has been conveyed to all South Island mills, with the exception of the Blenheim mill, because Marlborough is expected to produce more wheat in 1965 than in 1964 and the Marlborough mill will readily absorb the wheat in that area. “Because less wheat is expected it would not appear that any difficulties in disposal of wheat should arise,” said Mr Dunshea.

farm storage increments which are intended to provide for farmers who are unable to make delivery and are forced to hold their wheat until the pressure has eased. These payments are on wheat stored by the grower on his farm or elsewhere. “In recent seasons a considerable extension of farm storage has occurred and many farmers now customarily hold wheat for delivery in post-harvest months. The expansion of bulk handling of grain has resulted in an increase of bulk storage on farms.”

“Some delays in delivery of wheat could, however, arise. Much will depend on the harvest. If it builds up to a peak rapidly the result could be to throw a strain on transport and intake facilities. This is, of course, not new, and provision is made for this contingency through the payment of the