CO-OPERATION IN FARMING

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 69, 18 September 1936, Page 8

CO-OPERATION IN FARMING

In his foreword to the annual report of the Department of AgriculI turc, tabled in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, the Minister (Mr. Lee Martin) indicated a line of development by which the work of the Department could be made of even greater use to the farming community than it has been in the past. This is in the'direction of closer co-operation netween the officers of the Department and the farmers themselves and their organisations, following on a more complete co-ordination of effort within the Department itself. The attitude of the average farmer to the Department has changed greatly within recent years. The farmer now realises the value of scientific research in solving the problems he has to face, and much of the remarkable improvement in efficient production which has characterised the post-War era in the Dominion is due to the reconciliation between theory and practice in agriculture generally. In this process the Minister foresees further possibilities, and co-operated effort he now describes as die keynote of the policy of his Department. A natural result of this movement he anticipates in "a trend towards standardised practice, which, reflecting the best knowledge available, should lead to greater general efficiency, begetting both increased production and improved quality in our farm products." Under this conception, he says, "the Department's work must be based increasingly on instruction instead of regulation" and "departmental officers must function more and more as instructors rather than as inspectors." .The benefits of such a policy have long been manifest in Denmark and, more recently, in Britain. New Zealand, which has to face increasing competition in oversea markets, will find this "co-opera-tive effort" a valuable aid in making the most of the natural resources of the land.