Fears for experimental farm

Press, 27 July 1976, Page 2

Fears for experimental farm

Farming interests in South] Canterbury are concerned that the Adair experimental station at Fairview, about six miles from Timaru. which has been run by the Ministry of Agriculture, may be closed. At a meeting in Christchurch yesterday the Canterbury regional committee of the Federation of Young Fanners Clubs decided to convey to the Ministry of Agriculture its opposition to the possible loss of the farm. A resolution to this effect was approved unanimously. Afterwards the chairman of the Timaru district committee

I of the movement (Mr M. R. • Smith) said that the Ministry of Works and DevelopIment. which owned the property of 160 acres, was prepared to sell it to the Ministry of Agriculture for §90,000, but the Minister (Mr Maclntyre) had said that his department was not interested in buying it. Mr Smith said that the main concern of the clubs was that unless the property was brought by the Ministry of Agriculture the experimental unit would be lost to the district The soil type on the property was typical

of that of the rolling claybased downs of North Otago and South Canterbury, and there was no other experimental farm where experiments relating to this area could be made. In the past the farm had done good work with lucerne cm stocking rates, production, and the problems involved in growing this plant. In the future the property might be used for trials on leaching and run-off associated with fertiliser applications, and also the testing of new crops. Through field days, inform-

ation gathered on the farm i was readily communicated to I farmers. Mr Smith said that the land ■ was in several titles, and bei cause of its closeness to Timaru it might be acquired for I speculative purposes. During the discussion at the , meeting it was suggested that i Lincoln College might be interested in buying it. The committee also dei cided to support its national 1 committee in its representa- ■ tions to the Minister Of Lands ’ (Mr V. S. Young) about the reduction from 51 to 15 in the • number of farms being made ’ available for settlement this year from Crown lands. The regional vice-chairman (Mr B. P. Duncan) described this action as short sighted, doing very little for the confidence of young farmers in the future of their industry, and completely at variance with the National Party’s manifesto on settlement of young farmers on the land. Mr Duncan said that young farmers also felt that the Lands and Survey Department was doing too much development on blocks being prepared for settlement, so that the price of the new farms was too high. It would be better if a lot of this work could be done by the young settler himself, after he had acquired his property at a much lower price.