Warning To Farmers About Feed Grains

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32253, 23 March 1970, Page 10

Warning To Farmers About Feed Grains

Farmers who have bought feed grain for livestock were warned yesterday to ensure that they were not acting on misinterpreted information. The senior advisory officer of the Department of Agriculture at Christchurch (Mr A. R. Dingwall) reiterated a statement by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Carter) that subsidies oh grain were for current feeding, not for stockpiling. Earlier, the chairman of the Canterbury Grain, Seed and Produce Merchants’ Association (Mr H. P. Kearney), in reply to an inquiry from “The Press,” said there had been a tremendous demand, locally, for feed grains. Because the harvest had been lighter than usual, merchants had not been able to satisfy local demands. Now that the Government intended to import feed grain, supplies from the South Island would not be sent north. Grain would probably have to be imported to the South Island. When Mr Kearney’s statement on the local demand was referred to Mr Dingwall he said the new concessions announced by the Government were to be discussed by the chairmen of the local drought relief committees next Tuesday. At the moment the subsidies applied to current feeding, not to stockpiling for winter use. While grain feeding was a common practice in last year’s drought, farmers in the Hawarden and Waikari districts who were badly affected by drought this summer, chose to send their sheep out to grazing, and this involved districts as far afield as Geraldine, Kaikoura and the West Coast. Some sheep, kept back, were kept going on grain. i

Two millers of concentrated stock foods said that unless there was an unforeseen de, mand for this class of feed, the local supplies of raw grain were adequate. One miller said it seemed that some farmers were “sitting” on some of their grain, expecting a worthwhile rise in price later in the season. Drought in the North Island has led to a movement of feed grain supplies from the South Island, but several Christchurch merchants said yesterday it was no more than usual. The manager of the Canterbury Malting Company (Mr J. H. Hewlett), when asked if his company had been requested to make any barley available for stock feeding, said it was already fully committed.