Threat Of Rising Farm Costs

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

Threat Of Rising Farm Costs

The rapid rise in costs to the sheepfarmer had been the most disturbing feature of farming in New Zealand, the chairman of the meat and wool section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers (Mr A. F. Wright) said in his annual report to the section yesterday. In 1967 costs rose 3.5 per cent and in 1968 they -rose 3.2 per cent, Mr Wright said. How much longer farmers could go on absorbing rising costs and lower returns was open to debate. Some real reward must appear soon if farmers were to maintain the . drive for higher production. Mr Wright said. The weather had presented ’ more problems than for many ' years. Many farmers faced . the winter with the knowledge that they had very little ' supplementary feed in hay ’ and fodder crops.

This had created a major problem and it was unfortunate that in some cases it had been necessary either to sell or kill capital stock. North

Canterbury had been declared a drought-relief area, and he hoped that this would in some way help to relieve the situation, Mr Wright said. Wool Promotion With no assets in cash, the Wool Commission would now be unable to meet its annual contribution to the International Wool Secretariat, and the-question was: who should pay this share? If the farmer was required to meet it, the levy must be in- , creased. “Any moves in this direction would, I am sure, be strongly resisted by the woolJ grower in view of the pres- ■ ent returns to the producer," 1 Mr Wright said. The Wool Board, supported by the Dominion meat and ! wool council, was trying to ' convince the Government , that the whole nation gained J benefit from wool promotion; ' and that it was a national re--1 sponsibility. The Australian and South ! African Governments assisted ' their boards in meeting their share, and it was not unrea- ' sonable to expect a similar - contribution in New Zealand, I Mr Wright said. I “I would ask that this coni ference reaffirms that the

Government should be requested to match the woolgrowers’ contribution to the 1.W.5.” Mr Wright said that even with the slight firming in wool prices in recent weeks the returns to producers were still well below the amount adequate to maintain the incentive required for the upward surge in production. Meat Industry

Speaking on the financing of the meat industry, Mr Wright said that no meat reserve funds were invested in the industry in Canterbury. \ “As Canterbury producers have for many years contributed to these funds, I feel some investment in our interests could well be expected and we would then reap some of the benefits so apparent in other parts of New Zealand where ‘key’ works operate,” Mr Wright said. With meat showing the best return to the producer and with production climbing each year, many problems faced the meat industry in the future. With the disorganisation of shipping in the United Kingdom, many problems had faced exporters. This had now reached a stage, because

of the chaotic situation early in the season at the London docks, where storage facilities in New Zealand were under extreme pressure, and some works were unable to kill all the stock being offered. With the dairy industry emphasising a swing towards dairy beef it appeared that a very big upsurge in production would soon be evident.

As long as the marketing was planned, indications were that increased beef production had many attractions for the producer. . “With a decision to be made on the suggested scheme for acquisition of wool, an uncertain wool market, the fall of General de Gaulle and its implications on Britain’s entry into the E.E.C. the effects on bur industry of the recommendations of the National Development Conference and the perennial problems of spiralling costs, the pastoral industry faces what could be a difficult year,” Mr Wright said. The conference resolved that the Government should be asked to match the woolgrowers’ contribution to the International Wool Secretariat