POLITICAL VISIT

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 106, 6 May 1936, Page 12

POLITICAL VISIT

TASMANIAN MINISTER

MARKETING PROBLEMS

FARMING AND TIMBER

Interest in the New Zealand Government's marketing and guaranteed prices scheme has been aroused in Tasmania, according to the Hon. R. Cosgrove, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Tasmania's Labour Government, who arrived at Wellington by the Wanganella today to investigate matters of interest to his Departments. He is accompanied by Mrs. Cosgrove and will be in the Dominion for a little over a fortnight.

"I am particularly interested in New Zealand's marketing proposals as I am going to introduce a Marketing Bill next session," Mr. Cosgrove told a "Post" reporter. "I will be going into the matter thoroughly while I am here. Farming conditions in .Tasmania are very similar to New Zealand conditions, and the climate is about the same, so a scheme that will suit New Zealand should suit us."

The value of dairy produce exported from Tasmania was approximately £750,000 a year, Mr. Cosgrove said, and the low values ruling overseas during recent years had proved a problem to the dairy farmers, many of whom had changed over to sheep farming. Good agricultural land was valued at about £10 an acre, but that value was exceeded for small areas used for potato growing or fruit farming. IMPROVING PASTURES. As far as dairy farming was concerned, said Mr. Cosgrove, the main [ trouble in the past had been the quality of the pastures, and he believed Tasmania's best way out of any agricultural difficulty was through pasture improvement. His Department had been encouraging pasture improvement for ten years and, although the farmers were averse to. changed methods at first, they were now beginning to feel the benefit of what had been done. Topdressing was fairly popular, and a great deal of work had been done.towards introducing better fodder grasses, mainly through importing certified seed from New Zealand. "The majority of our agriculture officers are also from New Zealand," Mr. Cosgrove added. He estimated that about 100,000 acres a year were being i brought in as good pastures, and he be- ' lieved that what was being done would place dairy farming in Tasmania on an, economic basis.

When he was asked if his Government was contemplating guaranteed prices, Mr. Cosgrove said there was a great deal of interest in New Zealand's action in Australia. The farmers in Tasmania had been advocating guaranteed prices during the last two years, but no one State could act alone. Any guarantee would have to be made by the Federal Government because it controlled the marketing. Victoria, New South Wales, and. Queensland had all pinned their faith on the equalisation scheme which had proved fairly satisfactory. The home consumption price had been increased to 140s for butter and the amount that I represented over and above the ex-1 port price was used to equalise the payments. ' GROWING FORESTS. Tasmania had a timber problem as well as a dairying one, or would have in the near future, Mr. Cosgrove said, and he wanted to learn as much as'he could about afforestation methods in New Zealand. The accessible forests in the State would be cut out in twenty years at the present rate of consumption, and every endeavour was being made to renew them as quickly as possible.

The Forestry Department had experimented with pinus insignis and Douglas fir, but the results had not been good and afforestation at the present time was mainly confined to native trees. As soon as an area was ■cut out by the mills the Department took it over and set to work to replace ■ the forest. In some cases all that was necessary was to keep the seedling trees clear of weeds so that they could grow to the best advantage, but in other places planting had to be done. The native trees would grow for pulp purposes in twenty years and it was estimated that native trees could be milled forty-five ■ years after planting.

The Tasmanian timber not used in the State was exported to the mainland, Mr. Cosgrove said, the output for export being about 30,000,000 feet a year. Sixty-seven sawmills were operating in the State at the present time, and approximately four thousand men were directly engaged in the industry.