Urgent call for farm help

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32562, 23 March 1971, Page 3

Urgent call for farm help

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 22. Urgent action was needed to make possible any expansion of farm production, said the secretary - general of Federated Farmers (Mr J. G. Pryde) today. Agriculture had suffered seriously from inflation in the last 18 months. In the 1969-70 season total farm production declined for the first time in 25 years, and it seemed likely that there might be a further fall this season, Mr Pryde said. Traditionally, farmers had financed a substantial part of their farm development from

ploughed-back profits, but because of higher costs and lower returns the amount available was much less. Also, through loss of confidence, the farmers’ desire to borrow for development had diminished. It was hardly surprising that the volume of farm production had dropped and. that the annual growth rate of ewe equivalents was well behind the National Development Council’s livestock target, Mr Pryde said. With the aim of reversing the trends, Federated Farmers had presented to the Government' its “cost adjustment scheme.” "The whole basis of the proposal is that action must be taken urgently to provide the stimulus and means to

enable farmers to resume development and expand output,” Mr Pryde said.

One of the tragedies of the present situation was that the world was calling for more meat and dairy produce but New Zealand had no additional quantities available. “Even in the case of wool we are selling in excess of what is being produced.

“Thus if we had more farm output, our foreign exchange earnings would be considerably greater and we would all have benefited,” Mr Pryde said.