A FIELD DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 67, 20 March 1937, Page 11

A FIELD DAY

FARMERS' OUTING

DISCUSSION OF PROBLEMS

The annual field day of the Hutt and ! Makara members ol! the New Zealand Farmers' Union at the Wallacevillc Laboratory is always an enjoyable outing, and yesterday's was no exception. There was a good attendance. The weather throughout the day was threatening, but the rain held oil' and the air was warm. Among those present were Mr. B. Roberts, M.P. for Wairarapa, Mr. L. G. Lowry, M.P. for Olaki, Mr. A. H. Cockayne, Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, Mr. W. C. Barry, Director of the Livestock Division of the Department of Agriculture, Mr. R. Sievers, president of the Hutt-Makara branch of the Farmers' Union, Mr. A. P. O'Shea, secretary of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, Mr. J. J. Maher, chairman of the Hutt Valley branch of the Farmers' Union, Mr. J. Blewman, secretary of the Hutt Valley branch, Mrs. B. Smith, Dominion secretary of the Women's Division of' the Farmers' Union, and Mr. A. J. i McCurdy (Mayor of Upper Hutt), as well as several councillors of Upper Hutt. Lectures were given by Dr. G. M. Moir, Mr. V. G. Cole, and Dr. C. S. M. Hopkirk. After afternoon tea was served Mr. Sievers welcomed those present and congratulated the lecturers. Mr. B. Roberts, M.P:, congratulated the promoters of the rally. It was one of the important discoveries of the age, he said, that people should be able to get together and not regard spare time as waste time. He had always advocated that farmers should get together and analyse their difficulties. There was no doubt that farmers could attend to ths production side of the business, and if they got together more they would be able to discuss some of their troubles intelligently. The Government aimed at raising the standard of living of the farming1 community to tha<: enjoyed by other sections of the people. He thought it was only common sense that if the wages of the farm workers were not equal to those of other workers the farmers would get only the tail-end of the labour market.' When the monetary reward and conditions of agricultural workers were put on a footing with those enjoyed in cities people would be more willing to live in the country. Regarding the guaranteed price, he stated that all the difficulties were not in this country and the overseas market had also to be considered. PRODUCTION OF FILMS. Mr. O'Shea said that gatherings such as these were the best things possible for the farmer. The Dominion president (Mr. W. W. Mulholland) was) thinking of seeking the co-operation of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture in producing films on instructional farming topics. He paid a high tribute to the assistance and courtesy of the Department of Agriculture, and said that each head of a department was an expert in his particular job. He complimented the Women's Division on its progress. Mr. W. B. Matheson, a life member of the Farmers' Union, appealed for more members, and said that the Women's Division was now giving a lead to the men. Mrs. Smith spoke briefly. ! Mr Mahcr, who is also chairman of the Wellington Dairy Farmers' Association, said that the dairy farmer was the hardest worker in the country, and if the town dwellers knew how hard they worked they would not try and beat them down as hard as they did in regard to prices. For instance, the Wellington city milk plant cost about a quarter of a million pounds and it was supplied with milk by farmers who had assets worth between one and a quarter and one and a half million | pounds. For every person engaged in the distribution of milk there were ten engaged in the production. _ The Wellington Dairy Farmers' Association did not want pasteurisation—the mill-; was first-class without pasleurisaUon--but the tendency all over the world was for pasteurisation, and they had to recognise that'fact. The milk scheme for the schools, was a bigger thing than the Government realised, he said. In order to give half a pint of milk daily in the Hutt Valley 500 gallons would have to be available, and there would have to be three sets of bottles, transport arrangements, and a pasteurisation plantcosting between £12,000 and £15,000. The Wellington City Council was in a position to suply the town with the present plant. Mr. Sievers said that the success of the outing was largely due to the work of the secretary (Mr. Blewman) and his committee.