COLLEGE RESEARCH

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 123, 27 May 1933, Page 14

COLLEGE RESEARCH

REVIEW OF POSITION

In an outline of ways and means of improving the quality of sheep and wool, Professor G. S. Peren, principal of Massey-College, stated on behalf ot a committee representative of breeders, that four weeks ago the Prune Minister (the Et. Hon.-G.W. Forbes) visited the college in the capacity of Minister in Charge of Industrial and Scientific Eesearch to' discuss tho improvement of "tho North island clip, and, m particular, the feasibility of growing more fine wool in the North Island. In reply to'the Prime Minister's suggestion that more fine wool might be grown, a committee of interested breeders submitted the opinion that concentration on selection for good wool within the Boinney breed and on remedying many of tho weaknesses in organisation, preparation of tho clip for sale,- and research, would bo profitable and practicable. The Prime Minister, himself a. sheepfarmer, agreed that there were many matters which were far from satisfactory, and said that it was high, time that sheepfarmers organised themselves efficiently and tackled their various problems in a concerted manner. He suggested' that the annual meeting of sheepbrceders, held at the college, should be utilised as an opportunity for discussing the situation,' and hoped that the opinions expressed at the meeting might "set the ball rolling" and start a general move throughout the country iv the right direction. • . "Wb must all agree with the Pnmc Minister that times of depression in any industry,call for a thorough weighing up of the situation, a frank recognition of existing weaknesses, and,, a search for the necessary remedial action," said Professor Peren. "Pro-; cedure of this type' is the essence of successful business management; rapid adjustment, to changing conditions is imperative-if business institutions are to survive competition. The same principles apply to farming, but urifortunatefy many adjustments cannot bo made, rapidly because farming is made up of a number of, long-time investments; the lag in adjustments must therefore be considerable and the losses correspondingly serious. This handicap is all the more reason, however, why thero should be as little delay as possible in effecting improvements in the organisation not only of the business of the individual but also of the industry as a whole. There are alAvays many leaks that can be stopped and weaknesses that can be remedied, relics of more-• prosperous days when success deluded people and madc_ it extremely difficult to bring about improvements requiring united action. Unfortunately the rapid decisions possible in the case of business concerns cannot be obtained 'in the farming industry. So many thousand individual units have to be consulted and persuaded, that there is invariably a tendency . to1 let matters drift until accumulating distress compels action which, ideally, should have been takenin advance. In the meantime, much avoidable loss has occurred. The necessity to await the force of: awakened public opinion is ono of the great handicaps of democratic control, . and is particularly an obstacle when rapid decisions are re.quired. I would therefore strongly emphasise the importance of sheepfarmers taking a more active and con- ' rted interest iv matters which closely concern them, and in evolving an organisation better adapted to deal with such matters with reasonable speed and efficiency. We refer, of course, to technical matters connected with farming, preparation of the clip for sale, niarketingy' and organisation, since politics do not come into our sphere. Take the present position as an example Of my complaint: three years of low prices have produced a disastrous state of affairs, and yet there has been no concerted action directed to the discovery of possible ways of amelioration. No means havo been devised to give- effect to constructive ideas when they are expressed, while many good men, knowing this, feel that it is futile to present their views. And so things have drifted. ELIMINATING WEAKNESSES. "Eecently, however, thero has been a growing feeling that sheepfarmers should set up a body to organise and carry out a definite plan of action to eliminate present weaknesses of organisation and bring about an. improvement in the quality of our sheep and wool. There can be no doubt that such action is long overdue. A co-ordina-tion of the efforts of the various bodies interested in sheep and wool for the purpose of putting the maximum weight behind the movement seems to us essential. At present there is much disjointed action; there is no overlapping of the work in progress, but owing to lack of co-ordination many important matters are neglected or fall between two stools. I want to sco some strong organisation similar to the Dairy Eesearch Committeo concentrating not only on thejrarcly technical aspects of producing'sheep and wol, but also on research, experimental work in tho field, instruction to farmers, and methods of marketing wool, etc. We are confident that such a body, if properly constituted, could do a vast amount of good for the sheepfarmer. We are hero today to discuss, amongst other things, the necessity for setting up such an organisation, and this obviously calls for a review of the industry. These arc times for plain speak-

ing, and I am going to draw your attention to what we consider to bo some of the industry's major weaknesses. "Commencing at tho logical beginning, it is clear that far too great a proportion of farmers have never taken tho trouble to closely study wool and the breeding of wool, and that methods of mating are often faulty; that the organisation of lectures and demonstrations to farmers on sheep and wopl is inadequate; that as a result many scrub rams are sold which should be unmarketable; that the system of inspection of stud flocks is- very iiieffoc tivo to say the least; that the quality of our clip continues to deteriorate according to the published reports of our own brokers as well as of the buyers; that judged by the standards adopted for other products of major importance, our methods of marketing wool can only be described as crude; that in so far aa wool problems are concerned there is relatively little research being carried out; that there is, I find, no organisation fully representing tho sheep ,farmers to which one can officially refer; that there is no one publication which reaches more than a fraction of tho sheep farmers with the result that there is no direct and effective means of putting our information and opinions before the people they should reach; and finally, that there is a serious lack of contact between the college and the farmers.'' Professor Peren dealt at length and in detail with various aspects of problems facing the wool industry. CONCLUSIONS. "In conclusion, our ■ suggestions may be summarised as follows:—■ (1) That there should be set up a small permanent committee whose duty it should be to concentrate on ways and means of fostering the improvement of the quality of our sheep and wool. This committee would consider not only programmes of research, instruction, and matters connected with better preparation of wool for sale, but any suggestions calculated to advance its main object. (2) That the aforementioned committee should appoint at least two suitable instructors with their headquarters at Massey Agricultural College who would systematically tour the North Island and give lectures and demonstrations on sheep and wool. (3) That with the aid of the brokers and buyers, data on the advantages of the various methods of preparing wool for marketing should be collected and widely circulated in order to clarify the. situation and dispel the doubts in the minds of many as to the value of standardised marketing. (4) That scrub rams should be eliminated by the adoption of a scheme of voluntary inspection and certification. (5) That the standards adopted by inspectors of stud flocks should be raised, and that the system of inspection should be made more efficient. (6) That the organisation of research in connection with' sheep and wool should be considerably strengthened in order that the investigation of the more urgent problems can bo expedited. (7) That arrangements should bo made for the publication at suitable intervals of -a booklet devoted to matters in connection with sheep and wool which would be distributed to all sheep farmers. "These suggestions may quite well be taken as a serious indictment; if you" agree that they are based on the true state of affairs, you must admit that the situation is far from satisfactory, and it remains with you to consider what action should be taken. "In. this connection, wo would warn you of the tendency to consider such matters puroly from the personal point of view. Meetings of this type usually contain a large proportion of successful men who do not feel tho need for assistance. Such men would not benefit from the services which I have enumerated so much as'the less successful and the younger men. We would ask them, however, to remember what their experience cost them and to consider the matter froui tho point of view of the largo'proportion of other men." Dr. E. Marsden, secretary of the Department of Industrial and Scientific Eesearch, expressed the " opinion that wool was the most complicated subject of all. The tendency today, he said, was for tho manufacturer to look to the producer to produce the material up to specifications. "We can't progress except on facts," he said, "and we can only get facts by a. combination of the scientific methods with tho producer.'' j __ . CONFERENCE UNANIMOUS. The following iesolution,s were carried unanimously:— "That this meeting of sheep farmers is of the opinion that the time has come when a definite effort should be made to raise the standard of the crossbred wool and sheepbreeding industry in the North Island, or New' Zealand, should the South Island wish to join the movement." "That to finance a sheep and wool improvement scheme, the Government bo asked to pass legislation enabling the imposition of a levy of not more than threepence per bale on all .wool grown in the North Island, or in the Dominion if the South Island wishes to come into the scheme; further, that the Government be asked to pass an empowering clause to the Meat Board Act giving the board discretionary power to subsidise any such levy to an extent that may be rendered necessary by circumstances; further, the total sum accruing be administered by a committee set up by the sheep farmers." "That this meeting of sheep breeders is of the opinion that no further time should be lost in bringing into force some suitable scheme, preferably of a voluntary nature, for the certification of sires; that tho Koniney Marsh Sheepbreeders' Association give tho matter its serious consideration and approach the other1 breed societies on the subject." COMMITTEE APPOINTED. The following committee was appointed:—Messrs. F. N. H. Beamish (Hastings), E. E. Black (Gisborne), J. M. Blair (Wanganui), Lloyd Hammond (Huntcrville), A. E. Harding (Dargaville), J. E. Hewitt (Mangamaire), A. Hunter (Hawera), J. A. Mitchell (Longburn), A. C. Morton (Eaugiwahia), Professor G. S. Peren (Palmerston North), Sir William Perry (Mastcrton), Messrs. F. R. Sedclon (Hamilton), 11. B. Stuckey (Dannevirke), L. B. Wall-(Kai-ranga).