Wheat Research Levy May Rise

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31236, 7 December 1966, Page 15

Wheat Research Levy May Rise

, It seemed inevitable that the levy’ for the Wheat Research Committee would have to be raised in the 1968 from the present sixpence, the director of the Wheat Research Institute (Mr R. L. Cawley) told members of the Wheat Research Committee at a meeting yesterday.

Mr Cawley told the committee. which was discussing the estimates for the 1967 year, that he had allocated £2OOO for capital expenditure, mainly on research equipment. “The laboratory needs to be maintained at a relatively high standard to retain the good men it has," he said. The present levy at sixpence converted easily to five cents and it seemed undesirable to increase the levy before decimal conversion but if the institute meant to maintain the scale of its operations as they existed at present it seemed inevitable that the levy would have to be increased in 1968.

The committee ehairman (Professor J. Packer) said that in view of the cost of modern equipment the demands were modest Sir Walter Mulholland said that a margin of £lBl as contained in the estimates in the excess of income over expenditure seemed insufficient for a sound working proposition.

Mr Cawley said that there was a carry-over of £lOOO in the bank which, as it was withdrawn, attracted a contribution from the D.S.I.R. of a like amount. Professor R. H. M. Langer said he thought Mr Cawley had let the committee down very lightly. The committee approved the estimates as presented.