FOWL WHEAT

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 6, 6 July 1935, Page 28

FOWL WHEAT

At the recent Dominion Conference of poultry-keepers some interesting information was made available by one delegate, wKo is also a wheat grower. He stated that there is'no control over the sale of fowl wheat, only milling wheat coming under the Wheat Board regulations., He suggested that every poultry-keeper should buy his wheat on sample, returning any sacks which did not come up to the sample submitted.' Every season there is a percentage of inferior wheat grown and this is -purchased by North Island dealers, who unload it on ignorant poultrymert. ' Often this class of wheat is priced as high or higher than the- best milling wheat, simply because there is such a keen demand for fowl wheat, yet th^e speaker said that there was always ample good fowl wheat available each year. There are many poultrymen who consider that if the' sliding scale of wheajduties was removed, the poultry industry would prosper. Certainly more poultry would be kept, but whether or not .a better profit would result over a fair number' of years is problematical. The whole point is that the wheat grower is organised, whereas the poultry-keeper is still only in the early stages of proper organisation. A remit' was passed asking the Poultry Board to endeavour to set up a special committee to deal with the question, and those poultrymen who have constructive ideas to put forward on the subject should do so at once. There is no doubt that for matiy years the poultry-keeper has been paying a heavy tax direct to the wheat grower, [yet both industries are not generally regarded as a "safe investment." Inland freight on poultry foodstuffs plays an important part in the costings of some farms and those who are situated close to a port are fortunate, since not only wheat but bran and pollard come from the South Island.