SUPPORT FOR WOOL REPORT

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31982, 8 May 1969, Page 14

SUPPORT FOR WOOL REPORT

The recommendations of the Wool Study Group should be implemented, the annual conference of the meat and wool section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers agreed yesterday.

The section passed a remit saying that it approved the conclusions of the wool marketing committee and insisted that the New Zealand Wool Board treat as urgent the fii ing of a solution to the *echnical problems and other factors detailed in the comr *- tee’s report. The remit was put for the Hawarden-Waikari branch by the vice-chairman of the section (Mr B. H. Palmer). “This remit is to encourage people to get on with the job,” he f al Wool in New Zealand could be a major industry or just a by-product of the sheep-mcit industry, he said. In the next 10 years New Zealand would have much more wool to dispose of, and a demand would have to be created for it. Purchase System Passing the remit would include approving the recommendation for an appraisal and purchase system for wool, he said._ Mr Palmer also commented that he believed the way to overcome Government interference in the wool industry was for the farmers to set up a marketing authority. Mr M. H. Murchison (Ha-warden-Amuri) said he felt it was dangerous to include approval of acquisition of • 00l in the remit. There were still too many imponderables connected with acquisition, he said. Mr R. H. Bedford (Darfield) said the remit would not help to avoid Government interference. There was considerable discussion whether approval of the remit would in fact mean approval of acquisition, and eventually Mr Palmer confirmed that it would mean this. The remit was then put, and carried on the voices.

A Cust-West Eyreton remit that, in view of the large amount of good work outlined in the Wool Study Group’s re-

port, it was urged that discussion and investigation be continued was also passed. A second part of the remit, recommending that a marketing company be formed from existing brokers together with growers and possible buyers was deleted by the conference. Feeding Of Dogs A Banks Peninsula remit that because of the extra cost and the impracticability of cooking dog meat on the farm, the Government be asked to postpone the retesting of dogs for taenia ovis until a suitable full nutrition dog food was available at moderate cost, was also passed. Mr Murchison said that dogs needed raw meat or they would not Work, and it was not possible to cook meat for them when out in the high country. Mr A. E. Williams (Ohoka) said the conference should rather support the search for a better dog food, but Mr Bedford said that farmers did not want to take dog food with them into the high country; they wanted .to kill it on the spot. A late remit from the Motukarara branch that supplementary payments of wool be discontinued for the 1969-70 selling season was lost on the voices.