FUTURE OF FARMING

Evening Star, Issue 20686, 8 January 1931, Page 6

FUTURE OF FARMING

¥ NOTABLE ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR-GENERAL NEED OF CO-OPEEATIVE METHODS LORO BLEDISLOE AMONG THE “ DIGGERS " The Governor-General (Lord .llledisloc) spent last night among a large gathering of returned soldiers. who formed a most attentive and interested audience for his address on the future of farming in Now Zealand. The mooting took place at the H.S.A. Club in Moray .IMuco, and as .His Excellency entered - the hall the National Anthem was snug. The president of the associaion (Mr J. >S. Skinner) presided. During the evening vocal items wore onjoyably rendered by Messrs Walter Strang and 11. Denrdon.

THE PRESIDENT’S WELCOME. “ On behalf of the Returned Soldiers’ Association and the returned soldiers generally of the Otago district. I desire to express to you the honour wo fool at being able’ to welcome Your Excellency to our club and also to Dunedin,” said Mr Skinner. “ Wo 'have had 'the honour and pleasure of welcoming here in this hall your two predecessors, Earl Jellicoo ami Sir Charles jfergusson, and we, who saw active service thought it most fitting to'have as representatives of His Majesty such an illustrious sailor and such a distinguished soldier. We honoured them foKthoir part in the Great "War, and after their term of office in this dominion wo not only honour them hut love them also, and it was with deep regret that wo saw them go. Ma.y 1 say, sir, that in our humble opinion wo consider your appointment oven more fitting. Except for a very unfortunate few still suffering from war disabilities, wo have long since been established in. civilian life. We have put aside tho khaki and taken Tip tho pen and put our hands to tho plough, and it is in this time of national diftieiifty, when tho greatest production is necessary to offset the * fall in prices, that wo arc glad to welcome you as a, noted agriculvurist.” Mr h-kimier wont on _ to say that a. great number of cx-soldiers were farmers, but those who were not so engaged were greatly interested in the land. They had very pleasant recollections of tho hospitality which they bad received during the time they had spent in Great Britain. (Applause.) They asked His Excellency to express in hi- correspondence to people at Homo tho lasting gratitude of the returned men. They asked also that he should convey to the King an expression of their unswerving loyalty. They hoped that His Excellency's stay in Dunedin would bo a happy one, and that they would again "have tho pleasure of welcoming him to tho club. (Applause.) TRIBUTE TO NEW ZEALAND TROOPS. Lord Uledisloe, who was received with applause, expressed thanks for Hie address of welcome and for the friendly references made to him personally as one who conceivably might do something during tho next four years or more to advance, as far_ as lay in his power, the welfare of Now Zealand. He appreciated as much as anyone the delightful tributes paid to In’s immediate predecessors—-a, very eminent and a. very lovable admiral of tho Elect and a. most distinguished general with very high ideals—both of whom had, to his knowledge, left their mark upon tho life of this country and done much to ensure its future prosperity. (Applause.) For his own part ho had played a somewhat humble part, much humbler than most of those had played during thc_ Great War. but he bad a bappy experience as military secretary to tho general in command of tho troops on Salisbury JMain in realising that, of all tho men from overseas who undertook their training in that historic place—and they could ho reckoned in thousands—there wore some who evoked greater respect for their discipline and efficiency and none who evoked warmer feelings of friendship than those who came Irony New Zealand. He bowed to no one in his general feeling of admiration for the achievements of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, achievements which would always loom largo in the history' of tho Great War as being achievements which might have been equalled but ccrtainl.v which, were not surpassed by any section of tho Allied armies. 1.1 o was glad to know that tho Dunedin branch of the I’.S.A. was maintaining its strength,- was full ol enthusiasm, and was continuing the spirit of comradeship, which was just as essential in tho days of peace as in difficult and critical days of war. Ho hoped that those who fought in tho war and who were not members of tho association would find it possible !o join—out of loyalty to their comrades, and to endeavour, by tho exercise ol the same virtues which achieved success than, to use a. popular phrase, “ to win tim peace which has yet to be won,” and to point the way in the exercise of the. three great virtues of service, .sacrifice, and comradeship. (Applause.) SOLIDARITY ESSENTIAL. His Excellency went on to say that ho had been asked to speak on the subject of the filluro of farming in New Zealand. Ho would indeed he a, rash man who would dare to bo prophetic upon such a subject, because all industries to-day, ami pre-eminently farming. depended to such an enormous extent upon world conditions, and upon tho play of economic forces over which they all had but little control. In tho economic struggle through which tho world was at present passing those nations and those people who were most likely to- surmount tho difficulties and rise ’superior to their competitors in others parts of tho world were those who could manage to obtain, to the greatest possible extent, solidaritysolidarity of classes, solidarity of interests, and solidarity (without sacrificing principle) of political outlook. In tho pacific battle which was going on in tho world for commercial supremacy they must bo convinced, as ho was, that there was no room for internal discord in. tho nations that would ultimately achieve victory. {Applause.) SECONDARY INDUSTRIES. Although ho spoke with some dillideuco on such a, topic as tho future of agriculture in a country like New Zealand, so remote from its chief markets, ho thought ho might say they could ho confident that farming would continue for at feast another generation to bo the dominant industry, morn important and more vital than all the other industries of tho country put together. That was his first confident prophecy. His second was that farming would become more intensive than it had been

in the past, more scientific, aiul. if it meant to .succeed, more responsive in detail to public, demands and public taste. Secondary industries, if prosperous, were a source of groat advantage to any country, but, if not prosperous, they v.'cro a sonreo of considerable) embarrassment to the Government and a considerable incubus to those who had to boar tho burden of taxation consequent upon unemployment and all that it meant. They had all to bear in mind that secondary industries, as carried on in tho groat centres of population of tho world, were industries of mass production, involving relatively low overhead costs, and therefore, in a country like tins, remote from those great centres of consumption, it was much more difficult to attain any measure of ultimate success._ If they wero a failure in times of inevitable depression they would involve an everincreasing burden on the people of the country. He would, qualify what he had said so far as secondary industries were concerned in respect to those which wore ancillary to or closely dependent upon, primary industries and land output, lie referred industries as butter and cheese factories, freezing works, tanneries,- and boot and shoo factories. Until Now Zealand bad at least live times its present population it would bo clangorous to set up now secondary industries unless they were branches of large-scale undertakings established in. others parts of the world. SCIENTIFIC TREATMENT OF LAND. Dealing with his proposition that farming would for at least another generation be tho dominant industry of this country, Lord Bledisloo said that it was up to all sections of the community, whether urban residents or rural primary producers, to do all in their power to maintain the welfare of the farming industry and flic prosperity of those who lived on and by tho land (Applause.) If farming wore ro continue to be the dominant industry it was clear to him that the land would have to bo developed more rapidly and on a larger scale than had been tho ease in the recent past. There wore largo areas of Now Zealand which today were under manuka, gorsc, bracken, and oilier unm of scrub growth, which if properly reclaimed and subsequently treated scientifically could bo converted into some of the most productive i.incl in the world. (Applause.) Thanks to greater scientific knowledge some of that class of land was being made more productive. To bis own knowledge there was land in both islands of this country which could be made sound from an economic point of view, even though it were sometimes said that there was only a limited area worth developing. His Excellency mentioned that in such places as the pumice lands of New Zealand there was laud to-day under scrub which could be purchased at As an acre, and which could be reduced and sown down to good herbage at. a total cost of from £7 to £lO an acre. After three years it could be sold with good prospects to an enterprising farmer at from £2O to £27 an acre. That sounded not a very bad investment. INTENSIVE TREATMENT, , Lord Bledisloo said ho would like,to turn their minds to the interesting subject of the more intensive treatment ol farm lauds. Attempts had been made in England For forty years to develop small holdings, and every Government than came into office would put forward a small holdings policy in the forefront of-- its agricultural programme. The mistake’had boon in many oases to imagine that a smallholder could earn a docent living on poor land. In some parts of England it required at least 150 acres to support a man and his wife. There was laud under fruit three iuiros of which would more than supply the requirements of a man and his family. What he wanted to indicate was that there was no unit of area which could ho described as proper for a small holding. If small holdings wore to be developed three conditions wero necessary—(l) the land must bo reasonably good; (2) there must be sufficient means of transport to the market; and (3) there must bo a full development of the co-opera-tive system, it might bo asked “ What is good land!'” He would endeavour to" make some answer. The truth way that until recently it had been impossible for anyone in New Zealand to say what good land was. There was now a reasonably large amount formerly regarded as poor land which, with moderate expenditure on fertilisers, could be made profitable. During tho last four years there had been devised a system of managing grass lands which was revohi(.ionising the pastoral industry. Jt iiad originated in Germany, and had been developed in Great Britain to a limited oxtqjifc. It had been still more developed in New Zealand. It had, strangely enough, taken thousands of years to discover that grass which was nob move than .fin high contained the maximum amount of nutriment. This opened up groat possibilities and involved concentrating large numbers of stock on a small enclosure QUALITY NECESSARY, The farmer laid a number of these enclosures. Stock were put upon them for a short period, and- they were very close . grazed, and ,subsequently cultivated and lop-drossod with nitrogenous fertiliser. There was one danger which lie foresaw with some anxiety in certain parts of the North Island, if too much nitrogen was applied to grass laud without due consideration of tho other manorial constituents, what he might eail the mannrinl balance would be destroyed, and more harm would be done. Unfortunately tho great lack was in regard to lime and phosphates, and it was therefore most essential to sec that those two constihienis wore present in adequate' quantities before nitrogen .was applied. It had been demonstrated that the new system enabled a grass farmer to carry on his land at least three times the number of stock. They might ask: “ Whnb is the most promising of ail the various forms of tho agricultural and pastoral industry In view of the fact that he was speaking before a microphone, ho would not pledge himself. lie was one of those who believed that dairying in its various forms was bound to develop, and if property organised and artificially directed it would offer a fair margin of profit to those 'who undertook it. The production of butter and cheese had good prospects in suitable! areas. As regards butter, however, ho could not help thinking that with ever-increasing substitutes capable of being sold at low prices there was going to be a shrinking market, except for_the best. There would bo an ever-increasing market for cheese of good quality and it was a product which could bo produced in this country of as high a standard as anywhere in tho world. Ho would not be so rash as to enter the field of controversy on such subjects as openness and so-called standardisation. but ho would say that if Now Zealand was to compote with other countries it would havo to put on tho market wholomillc cheese of good flavour and made from pure milk drawn from the cow by cleanly methods and in a sufficient slate of maturity to bo put without delay on the market:.. With regard to the production of but tor and choose, it would he very wise if those

who owned small farms developed the production of side lines such as pigs, poultry, fruit, or honey. They would help thorn out in times of depressed prices. ORGANISED MARKETING NEEDED. Other subjects touched upon by LI is Excellency wero fruit growing and export and flax growing. What lie did want to emphasise was that farmers all over the world would have to consider public demands and taste. If the public desired coloured cheese it should bo given, coloured cheese. If it preferred rosy apples it should be given rosy apples. One applo for which there was a very great demand, and which Otago grew uncommonly well, was the Delicious. It could be preserved and carried overseas within a wider scope of temperature than any other. There was a demand as lav as meat was concerned for small joints. The Argentine was alive to that fact, and was producing smaller and more rapidly-growing animals. Efforts to revive the pig industry were wise, but there were comparatively few in New Zealand, and most of them were of Hie wrong typo for the Britrli market. The British public required lean bacon. Ho had seen some pigs shipped from Auckland which carried too much fat on their backs. New Zealand must develop what tho British housewife wanted. Elio liked to be able to go to her domestic supplier certain that she would bo able to have the same thing every time. Uniformity was even more important than unusual quality. 'That had been the secret of the success of Denmark. Success depended to a large extent on organised marketing. No opportunity for employing co-operative methods should bo lost, for they were essential if New Zealand were to compete with other countries. There was scope for cvqn greater strictness in grading than ad tho present time. The British market did not know tho difference between Taranaki and Southland butter, but what it did was to compare New Zealand as a whole with Canada and other countries. It was up to all producers to see that the standard was high and uniform in quality as compared with products from ether countries. This could be achieved by co-opcration and strict grading. NATURAL ADVANTAGES OF NEW ZEALAND. One heard a great deal about overproduction, and it was said that in the face of world competition New Zealand would nob bo able to hold her own. “ Don’t you believe it,” was His Excellency’s advice. It was true that thoro was serious under-consumption. What ho would like Now Zealanders to remember was that they had tliu finest growing climate in the whole world. He had travelled more than any other Englishmen on agricultural tours, and of all countries he put New Zealand first in the natural advantages that slio enjoyed. There were no stoppages of growth in most parts of the dominion, and stock did not have to bo housed. The erics about over-production should nob be believed, because, with New Zealand’s natural advantages, the alertness of the people, their realisation of the value of scientific research, the fact that they were 95 per cent. British, with all the British characteristics, there should_ be no fear of her primary produce falling behind. Co-operative methods, alertness, and a feeling of optimism would enable the dominion to come out on top. (Loud applause.)

•His Excellency, who was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his highly interesting address, afterwards shook hands with all the ex-servicemcn present.