SHEEP FARMERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 92, 20 April 1939, Page 11

SHEEP FARMERS

FINANCIAL POSITION

STATE ASSISTANCE WANTED

GUARANTEED PRICE?

Claiming that more sheep farmers would leave their farms than had done so during the depression, if the)' did not receive financial assistance, a deputation from the New Zealand Farmers' Union suggested to the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M.J. Savage) and the Acting Minister of Lands" (the Hon. W. Lee Martin) today that the Government should find between £5,000,000 and £7,000,000 to place the sheep farmers on a financial basis. The Prime Minister said that the Government had. already made a preliminary investigation of the position and suggested that the sheep farmers should accept a guaranteed price. The president of the Farmers' Union j (Mr. W. W. Mulholland), who was accompanied by the national secretary (Mr. A. P. O'Shea), said that the position of the sheep farmer had been discussed at a previous deputation. Unfortunately adverse conditions had developed beyond anything they had anticipated, and it appeared that in the near future more farmers would be forced off their j farms than had actually gone off dur- j ing the slump. The tragic part of the, position was that those now threatened with loss of their farms were among j the best of the Dominion's farmers. The misfits, the people who would not make ! a reasonable go at farming, and those j who should never have been farmers j had been dropped during the slump, and those who were being forced off] today were the men who were most j wanted in the industry. A number j of men between 50 and 60 years of j age with a lifetime of experience were in danger of being lost, and, that was) a serious thing from the national point of view. NOT SLUMP CONDITIONS. Mr. Martin said that he would not agree that more would go off than during the.slump. . j Mr. Mulholland: That-is the position! as. I see it. . . ' -■■ ] Mr. Martin: Mr. Kidd said at the j Timaru meeting that he was surprised j at the statement you made regarding; that. . ■ Mr. Mulholland said that Mr. Kidd had agreed with him after, investigating the position. Mr. Martin said that Mr, Kidd had agreed because .he had received information which Mr. Martin . believed had come from Mr. Mulholland. Mr. Mulholland said that what had come within, his knowledge might, not be a true cross-section of the industry, but that was one reason why the sheep farmers wanted the* Government j to. investigate the position. Preliminary investigations had already been made, Mr. Savage said. The sheepfarmers' troubles had developed so rapidly that something should be done at. once if they were to be .assisted, Mr. Mulholland said.— The. acting Minister of Lands disputed his. opinion, but' that _ merely.. showed the necessity for a corhpleie .survey of the position. If the. farmers. had gbtinto a panic and were looking .at things through tragic, eyes, the sooner they got the true facts the better. "I admit I may not be right," he said. "I admit I that on a cursory survey and considering the price we. have received, during this year, my view may seem exaggerated." . ! Mr. Mulholland said that there werej a number of cases within his knowledge of sheep farmers who had been put off their farms or threatened- —— Mr. Lee Martin: Who by? ! Mr. Mulholland: By the mortgagees. RESERVE BANK'S ANALYSIS. I An indication of the position was the Reserve Bank's analysis of the trading banks' advances in February, he said. That analysis showed that stock and station agents' advances had increased by. over one million pounds during twelve months. That indicated! that the industry was losing'money. The Prime Minister: It is a.fair, indication that they have got sortie money, to lend. There must be some security or the banks would not lend. I think it will be admitted that when the banks j are willing to lend it is not depres-! sion. Unfortunately, they will not lend then. I suggest the farmers want] money and the banks lend because the security is good. The banks are not advancing money just to meet farmers' accounts, but because they think the farmers will make good. "That is so," said Mr. Mulholland, "and today the banks will not make advances. I admit that an extension of farming activities could be a reason for the advances, but I suggest it is because the industry has got to live on its capital.'^ Mr. Savage said he could not understand why the sheep farmers would not take a guaranteed price from the Government. A guaranteed price would give them some stability. Mr. Mulholland: I prefer not to discuss that. It has been referred to our conferences. QUESTION OF COSTS. "We want to find some means of helping the sheep farmers," said Mr. Savage, "but, if I am expected to re- j duce other people's incomes to help them. I tell you frankly that 1 am not going to do it." Mr. Savage said that the Government had been told from time to time I that costs must be reduced, but no one could say how that was to be done without reducing wages, and that was not the way to prosperity. "It is a case of the people in a grandstand," he said. "If they all sit down they will see as much as if they were standing up. If we reduce everyone,' we will be no better off." Mr. Mulholland: We want to standup with the rest. ■ j "Mr. Savage said that the Government wanted the sheep farmers to stand up. They were doing that for the dairy farmers and he knew they would not agree to return to the old | order. Mr. Mulholland said it would make a great difference to the sheep farmers' reaction to a guaranteed price if the Government could mention a figure. Mr. Savage: I couldn't give you a figure here today. We have got to have an investigation to see if the men should be kept there. The sheep farmers are not all on hill country, and their position is a national responsibility. We want to help them even if we have got to give a guaranteed price. I know that would not I please the speculators. LARGE SUM WANTED. Mr. Mulholland said they were not interested in speculators. If it could be ghown that the Government could find J£ 5,000,000 to £7,000,000 without increasing costs i would make a big difference to the sheep farmers' reaction to the guaranteed price. The sheep farmers' main prices were for wool and export lambs.

Mr. Martin: There are no complaints regarding lamb prices.

Mr. Mulholland said the rise in costs represented a considerable fall in returns.

During the last ten years, said Mr. Martin, the price of wool had been above one shillinj on only two occasions. If there had been a guaranteed price of one shilling during that period there would have been no complaints.

Mr. Savage: I don't know. One man came a long way to tell me that the vice-president of the Farmers' Union had advised members not to make any positive statements to the Government, but to put the onus on the Government to do something. That doesn't look like co-operation. We are here to help, and when the Farmers' Union forgets the political position we will get further. _ Mr. Mulholland said that party politics were no concern of the Farmers' Union, but the general political situation must. concern them all. At the Timaru meeting two Government supporters had skid that the position was understated. GUARANTEED PRICE NEEDED. Mr. Savage said that he agreed that assistance was required in some cases and he was suggesting that it should be handled on lines similar to the dairy, farming industry. It would be better to do that than to let it drag on for years while commissions and committees investigated. Whatever losses were made from time to time were a national affair. Evry single personal representation that had been made, said Mr. Martin, was made by men who were being pressed by the stock and station agents . and by the mortgagees. They had been carried through slump conditions, . but for some reason they were not being carried today. The present position had arisen through a drop in , prices through unfavourable climatic conditions. Mr. Mulholland said the effect of climatic conditions was still to be felt. ! The present position was due to the relation of costs to returns. After further discussion, Mr. Savage j said that he was still convinced that [ a guaranteed price was the solution. ' What would be the result if they took a vote of the wool farmers on a guai> ; anteed price? he asked. ; Mr. Mulholland said that where the ■ guaranteed price had been discussed !at meetings the majority had been : against it, but he could not say what i the general body of sheep farmers ; thought. Mr. Savage said that they should endeavour to arrive at some average that would give stability. The whole posi- ; tion would have to be investigated so ■ that they could get down to details and work something out. FARMERS' TAXATION. ; Mr. Mulholland also referred to the ■ graduated land tax and the need for ; considering the primary producer in national life. i I ' Mr. Savage said the incidence of taxa- ■ tion might not be perfect and should be considered during the investigation. L Mr. Martin said that if a large per- ■ centage of sheep farmers was being [ forced off the land it was being done to embarrass the Government. I Mr. Mulholland: Did you ever know ; a man prepared to lose money to em- , barrass the Government? i Mr. Savage said some were prepared : to go to considerable lengths. Mr. Martin said he was satisfied ■ something could be done, and within a few days he would place proposals before Cabinet. ■ NO ROYAL COMMISSION. \ Mr. Savage assured the deputation 1 that consideration would be given to the matter, but he was not going io !"" set up a Royal Commission, which i would only tell him to reduce costs. \ "For Heaven's sake, let us have a; ■ closed season for the Government s» ; that we can do something for the fartn- '■ ers;" he exclaimed. "You can't get '. rid of us now in any case. We want . to do something, and let us go where the truth leads us and do our best to help everybody."