“Aust. Farming May Change”

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31864, 17 December 1968, Page 12

“Aust. Farming May Change”

The pattern of agriculture in Australia may change, with the country depending increasingly on its mineral resources and farming being sustained under a system of subsidies, according to Mr A. Macdonald, a member of the Sheffield Young Farmers’ Club. Mr Macdonald returned at the week-end from an exchange to Victoria.

Wheat exports, he said, still exceeded in worth iron ore but he would expect that this would change in the next decade.

He expected that wheat exports would drop. He had been told while he was in Australia —he did not know whether it was true—that by 1972 India, for instance, would be self-sufficient in wheat production. While he was in Australia the Australian Wool Industry Conference was in the throes of important discussions about the marketing of the Australian wool clip. Mr Macdonald found that there was some interest in the operation of the New Zealand Wool Commission and he was asked whether it worked, whether it was profitable and how New Zealand was getting on quitting its big stockpile of wool. For crossbred producers he had told the Australians that it seemed a good thing, he said.

While in Australia, Mr Macdonald visited some of the oil rigs in Bass Strait, including the one that only about four days later was rocked by a big blow-out At the time there were no signs of trouble and it was a hive of industry. He said he had gone out with the American contractors who serviced the rigs. Mr Macdonald stayed on six farms during his visit and saw most of Victoria.