SMALL CHANGES IN WHEAT AREAS

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31784, 14 September 1968, Page 9

SMALL CHANGES IN WHEAT AREAS

It seems as though the wheat crop in New Zealand this year will be very similar in area to last year.

Mr L. C. Dunshea, general manager of the Wheat Board, said this week that if a survey undertaken by United Wheatgrowers (N.Z.), Ltd, was an indication of the position as a whole and presuming that spring sowings were completed, one would expect the current season’s crop to be at least 300,000 acres. According to the Government Statistician the area harvested last season was 308,000 acres, giving a crop of 14.9 m bushels. In the United Wheatgrowers’ survey, 428 farms in the main wheatgrowing areas were surveyed and on these farms the area either sown or still to be sown was 30,588 acres.

Of that area about one third remained to be sown at the time of the survey and this was largely accounted for in districts such as Southland and parts of Otago and in the North Island where wheat is normally spring sown, but on this'occasion a large proportion still remained to be sown in South Canterbury. The survey showed an overall decilne in the wheat acreage compared with last year of 1.73 per cent The changes in district acreages compared with last year were: North Island, up 0.82 per cent; Marlborough, down 20.26 per cent; North Canterbury, down 3.96 per cent; MidCanterbury down 0.85 per cent; South Canterbury, down 0.04 per cent; North Otago, down 5 per cent the rest of Otago, up 11.41 per cent; and Southland, down 8.08 per cent.