The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1917. FARMERS AND PRODUCTION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3027, 14 March 1917, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1917. FARMERS AND PRODUCTION

There is a iioto of concern in the statement of the Acting-Prime Minister regarding the necessity of keening our farms going at their full productive capacity. . Me. Allen urges all farmer reservists called up for service who cannot make satisfactory arrangements for carrying on thair farms to appeal to the Military Service Board or to brina their cases iindor the notice of the National Efficiency Board. lucidcntally ho says:

It seems to jno a national ueccssily at Uio present (ime to keep all farms Roinff at their not'ina! etock-carrying a.nd sraincapacity in order to maintain the Dominion's output of foodstuffe. In<Jotu, it is essential in my opinion thai sufficient wheat should ho grown in, New Zealand during the next season for the yiar's consumption.

It is gratifying to noto tho emphasis which the acting head oE the Government lays upon tho urgency of maintaining the normal rate of production on the farms of tho Dominion, and it is especially pleasing to raid someone in authority ready to say a.good word for tho farmer. There haa been a tendency, especially- amongst tho more thoughtless of the town-dwellcra, to speak of the farmer as a person so fortunately situated as to deserve- little consideration from anyone. Ho is supposed to bo making huge profits, but'little heed is takon of the sacrifices ho has made, of the difficulties he has to overcome, of the risks be is' expected to run, and the increased costs ho has to face, not only in the working of his farm, but in practically overy item in the daily routine of his life. Mr. W. H. 1 f "^ D > M.l'., in his recent address j w> the Horowhenua County Council, dwelt on some of these aspects of the position, and to anyone who gives tho matter worious thought the necessity for encouraging and stimulating iho efforts of tho farming community is too obvious to require supporting argument. Most people appear to overlook the fact that the farmers and producers of New Zealand have voluntarily made greater financial sacrifices than any othor olass of tho oommunity. They nave voluntarily acquiesced in prices for the products of thoir farms far lower than the ruling market prices and their contributions to tho causo of the Empire in this way run into many millions of pounds. It is truo that tho farmers as a wholo havedone very well out of tho high prices ruling since the war; but they are Dxib receiving tho prices for their products which tho farmers of other countries are receiving and which they arc equally entitled to receive. It will be remembered that our meat producers voluntarily fell in with tho wishes of tho Imperial authorities and fixed a price for New Zealand meat which is far below that ruling in tho open market and paid to tho producers of other countries. Our wool and chceso are being taken at less than the market price ;_ and whereas the Imperial authorities pay 7s. a bushel for wheat in Canada, the price fixed in Now Zealand is 6s. 9d. a bushel. Tho price of butter, too, is restricted here. What the public are inclined to overlook is that tho restrictions imposed on the farming community in tho conduct of their affairs, whether such restrictions are voluntarily acquiesced in or otherwiso, involve sact Ifices which no other class of the community is called on to make. Nor should it be forgotten that whilo tho farmer has to-endure this artificial interference with tho market prices he would otherwise receive lor the product of his farm, wages in all direction* have been climbing up and tho cost of the goods and materials and £he labour necessary for the working of his farm and for the daily life of himself and nis family have been correspondingly increased. Wo arc not suggesting that the farmers as a whole have not profited by tho high prices ruling, but generally, speaking their profits have been exaggerated and the sacrifices they have made and tho difficulties of their position have been ignored.

Wo have on many occasions urged that the question of maintaining a sufficient supply of skilled farm labour in the country is one of vital concern to all sections of the community, and one urgently calling for systematic treatment. It is not merely tho farmers' interests that are at stake, but the interests of everyone in the Dominion,'and the interests of the Empire as well. Tho product of our farms is tho life-blood of the Dominion. The greater the production from our farms the better able is the country to meet its obligations aad the better off are tho people generally. The prosperity 01 tho farmer is an index to the prosperity of the Dominion. These are such obvious truths that they should not need repetition. And being obvious facts it surely must bo equally clear that everything that possibly can be done to stimulate and assist production should bo done. It has bern stated that there is no shortage f> f ski I led farm labour al. tho present time, anil it has riven been said that farmers arc wilfully les,MHina production, fita fcha face of

things both Uatcmcmts arc Loo absurd for credence. At no timo in remit years has thnre been a surplusage of skilled farm labour, and how, therefore, in view of tho fact that thousands of tho best of our workers pn the farms have gone to (bo fighting lines, can it bo argued that the supply is now sufficient? And as to the assertion that some farmers aro deliberately lessening the product of their farms, how can this bo reconciled with tho assertion that the farmers are making the most of the opportunity to reap the high prices ruling? AVould any farmer be so foolish as to deliberately reduce tho production of his farm when ho can secure such high prices for his products? Tho truth, of course, is that in certain classes of farm work calling for skilled labour that labour is not available, and the farmer is compelled in many instances to turn land which he has been accustomed to crop into pasture for stocTc, while in other instances the work is less efficiently carried on owing to the lack of skilled labour. The Acting-Prime Minister says he is particularly anxious th'at sufficient wheat should be grown next year to meet the requirements of the Dominion. Wheatgrowing involves a maximum of skilled farm labour, and in these times is one of the least attractive branches pf farming. Still, the Minister is right in urging that the area of wheat land sown should bo fully maintained; but in order to secure this, Sin James Allen must assist to retain in the country a sufJicient supply of skilled farm labour, and the Government must make it clear that a fair price will be forthcoming under all circumstauees for the wheat when grown. That the Acting-Prime Minister realises this seems plain from, the statement which He has issued to-day. It affords most encouraging evidence that the Government and the Efficiency Board arc attacking this problem on practical lines.