Ploughing ‘To Expand’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31363, 8 May 1967, Page 16

Ploughing ‘To Expand’

Of about 12 million farmers in the world who had tractors, about two million had engaged in ploughing matches of some sort since the establishment of the World Ploughing Organisation, the president of the organisation (Mr W. Feuerlein) said last evening.

He was replying to a toast to the World Ploughing Organisation at a banquet for visiting ploughmen, team managers and officials at Lincoln College, put on by the New Zealand Ploughing Association and the Meat, Wool and Dairy Boards. It was the organisation’s aim to make contact with the other 10 million farmers, said Mr Feuerlein, and the pros-

pects for this seemed to be good. The organisation sought to expand its activities to include other parts of the world in the belief that some of the common knowledge that they had in agriculture should be adapted to the conditions of other countries. The Minister of Labour (Mr Shand), who was to have represented the Government at the banquet, was unable to get to Christchurch by air yes. terday and Mr C. C. A. McLachlan, member of Parliament for Selwyn, deputised for him. Mr McLachlan said that although New Zealand had largely exploited sheep and cattle in the past, it was likely

in the light of current trends that there would be more and more diversification in farming and in this the plough would play an important part. The president of the New Zealand Ploughing Association (Mr E. A. E. Fairhall), who proposed the toast to the producer boards, said that the world ploughing contest which would be held this week would be the first truly international event held in New Zealand and as agriculture was this country’s basic industry it was appropriate that the producer boards should be associated with them in this occasion. The deputy-chairman of the Wool Board (Mr B. S. Trolove) replied for the boards.