Primary Production

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 112, 4 February 1933, Page 13

Primary Production

Sir, —In view of the Government’s statement that their action in raising the exchange is to benefit the farmers, may I ask through your paper what proportion of the actual population of the Dominion is employed in the farming industry? I have only been in New Zealand a short time, but have travelled the 'North Island fairly extensively, from Dargaville and Wliaugarei to Wellington, and fail to see where the farmers are the mainstay of the community. I was myself employed on a farm in the North Auckland district. The farm was one of some 120 acres of pasture, and it only produced butterfat from 40 cows. There were about eight pigs, no sheep, no fruit, and no arable laud. In my travels I came across a district where some years ago, the whole area was fruit, and there was a surplus which could not be sold. AU the fruit was grubbed and laid down to grass, otherwise cows; now, there appears to be too much butter, if the London price is the true state of the market. If those farmers had grubbed half the fruit, they would to-day have had half fruit, half butter, which appears to me to be using the land to the best advantage, both from a financial and labour point of view. One does not think of England and Wales as an agricultural country, but figures show us that there are 9} million acres of arable land, 15J million acres pasture, 4 million acres rough grazing. 224,000 acres fruit, 6 million cattle, 17} million sheep, 2J million pigs, etc., and 720,000 agricultural workers.—l am. etc., PUZZLED.

Masterton, February 2. [The number of persons engaged in farming in New Zealand in 3,929-30 —the last year for which statistics have been prepared—was approximately 138,000.