D.D.T. Regulations Held To Slow Production

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30764, 31 May 1965, Page 8

D.D.T. Regulations Held To Slow Production

“As long as there is difficulty and frustration over the application of what has been proved to be an effective pest killer, just so long will production, depending on pasture, be adversely affected,” the retiring secretary of North Canterbury Federated Farmers (Mr A. E. G. Lyttle) said in his report to the annual provincial conference. Mr Lyttle was commenting on the regulations governing the application of D.D.T. These regulations made it very difficult to deal with pasture pests, Mr Lyttle said. “While it is conceded there had to be control in view of the possible danger to our overseas trade through indis criminate use, the difficulty has been to apply the D.D.T. safely, effectively and economically,” he said. Granulated superphosphate had been put forward as an effective medium for the application of D.D.T. in an approved manner. Tractor Safety There had been much discussion during the year, and considerable misunderstanding about tractor accidents and prevention measures, Mr Lyttle said. Even safety devices have been confused with weather protection cabs. “It can be said with certainty that farmers are not opposed to safety devices, but they are opposed to compulsion.” Mr Lyttle said it could be that with a safety frame a farmer might take a risk he would not otherwise take. Baling Twine Working trials of imported baling twine against locallymanufactured twine were carried out recently by a number of farmers and contractors. The Department of Agriculture report did not ‘reveal any “substantial differ-

ence” between local and imported twines when the extra cost of the imported twine was taken into account, Mr Lyttle said.