MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 February 1940, Page 10

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE

VISIT TO ROTOMANU DISTRICT PROBLEMS DISCUSSED Farmers of the Rotomanu, Inchbonnie and Kotuku districts and of the Taramakau Settlement met the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. W. Lee Martin) at the Rotomanu Public Hall, yesterday, arid discussed with him various matters affecting their interests, the chief of which was the question of the guaranteed price and the zoning system in connection with the supply of butter-fat to the factories. Several speakers expressed dissatisfaction with the management of the local factory, but others defended it. The Minister urged the farmers to give the local factory an opportunity to prove its efficiency. Before the meeting the Minister and his party were entertained at morning tea. Mr. H. E. Hodgkinson, president of the Rotomanu branch of the Farmers’ Union occupied the chair. He extended a hearty welcome to the Minister and his party. Fie said it was. not often that they, had a visit to the district from a Minister of the Crown. Past visits had generally. resulted in benefit to the district, and he hoped this one would be no exception. He hoped the Minister would have a pleasant tour on the West Coast. Mr. J. O’Brien M.P. also welcomed the Minister to Rotomanu and Westland. He knew that the Minister was one who did not spare himself in his official duties, and he (the speaker) wished him to meet, as many farmers as possible, and see as much of the country as possible, so that he would have a better idea of .the possibilities of the West Coast.

Mr. John Ryan said that, on behalf of the railway, sawmill and County Council workers of the district, he had been asked to convey good wishes to the Minister and Mr. Savage, with, a hope that the latter’s health continued to be satisfactory.

In reply, Mr. Lee Martin thanked the settlers for their hospitality, which had been in accordance with the well-known tradition of the West Coast. It was 51 years ago that he worked on the railway from Reefton to Stillwater for Bignell and Banks. Ho had always had a happy recollection of the time spent on that job. He was deeply' interested in the Coast, and he was pleased to visit the district and particularly the farming areas. He thought there was not another drive in New Zealand to compare with the 1 one they had had that morning,, and he hoped it would be preserved . for all time. However, he was more-interested in' the ; question of primary production, and ha was anxious to meet, farmers sd that they could discuss their problems. About 30 years ago he had gone farming in the Waikato. He.had not much experience, but fortunately he was near the Government farm at Ruakura, and this had been a great help to him. He always took off his hat. to the officers of the Agricultural Department, for any success he had achieved as a farmer had been largely due to their advice and help. IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCTION In the Rotomanu district he had seen- some very nice land, and he hoped‘.the farmers were, experiencing a good time. The Government was anxious to keep production at the highest possible level in accordance with the

request of the British Government. They wanted all the butter, cheese and meat they could get, and for that reason he hoped the farmers of Rotomanu were doing well. In their negotiations with the British Government, they had tried to get as good a price as possible and one that was still fair to the British people. He thought it could be said that the British Government had dealt fairly with New Zealand in the matter of prices. There had been talk that the Government had not taken the farmers into their confidence, but that was not correct. The Government had had dozens of meetings with all interested in the various products, and every step had been revealed to them, and all matters -had been fully discussed. He wanted his hearers to realise 1 that, as Minister of Agriculture, he wasdeeply interested in their problems, no matter what' they might be, and he wanted them to feel, also, that all the officers of the Agricultural Department were interested. For many years, the officers had been regarded as inspectors, but during the past few years they had been trying to get away from that idea and to foster the idea that the officers of the Department were instructors and advisers to the farmers. They were striving to the ideal that the officers of the Department were the best friends the farmers had.

Mr. Lee Martin paid a tribute to Mr. O’Brien for the persistency with which he had advocated him to visit the Coast. Mr. O’Brien was looking to the future. He saw that in the years to come agriculture' would, play a greater part in the activities of the West Coast than ever before. On the West Coast they had a butter-factory that was graded the highest in New Zealand ami this indicated that the stock and land were of good quality, and that the farmers of the West Coast were efficient. He would do his best to foster agriculture on the West Coast. He had been an active member of the Farmers’ Union for the past 24 years, and in the Waikato he bad helped to form a branch of the Union. So he knew something -about the Union and he was always glad to meet members of the Union.

COMPLAINT ABOUT FACTORY Dealing with the question of the zoning system as it affected the question of supply to the local factory, Mr. John Ryan' (Rotomanu) alleged that the local factory had let the farmers down badly. They had been told that id. a lb. butter-fat would he deducted to meet .bank charges, but the amount deducted was Id. The factory had also cut out one day collection a week, which meant that farmers had to go to the expense of buying extra i cans. During the past season, he had! lost £96 because he could not send I his cream to a Christchurch factory. This season he expected to lose £lOO. He considered the local factory was inefficiently ’run. They had two managers and two staffs to produce 400 tons of butter a year, compared with an annual production by a Christchurch factory of 1500 tons. Unless the Minister could release this yoke on the local farmers, they would be al) bankrupt. Mr. A. Graham said all the farmers wanted was one efficient factory to serve the whole of North Westland. At present they had two. Mr. G. Honey said that, since the: guaranteed price, the local factory had | been paying 2d. to 2Sd. less than a Christchurch factory. The farmers had no right to lose this, and the Gov-j eminent should assist the farmers. • Mr. E. Armstrong (Inchbonnie), 1 said he had been farming in the district. for 20 years. He represented ■'lnchbonnie suppliers to a Christchurch

factory, and they did not want the zoning system to deprive them of the right of sending their cream to this factory. The zoning system should be for the benefit of the farmers, not for the factory. Those he represented wanted an assurance from the Minister that their right to send their cream to Christchurch would not be interfered with. This request was supported by Mr. J. S. Matlghan, who said he had been supplying a Christchurch factory for 12 years. The price they got compared with the price paid by the local factory, helped them to keep their heads above water. Mr. A. Rothery (Inchbonnie), said be was the first supplier to break away and send his cream to Christchurch. The Otira tunnel had been put through to help the West Coast, and it would be ridiculous to stop suppliers sending to Christchurch. The local factory should either be put on an efficient basis, or else the Government should take it over. FACTORY DEFENDED Mr. W. Vallance (Rotomanu) denied that the local factory was inefficient. It had not yet, he said, had a proper chance to prove its worth under the present management. The Government should have the courage of its convictions, and stand by the zoning system, and the local factory would be a success. The sending of cream to Christchurch should be prohibited altogether, and the local factory fostered. The local factory was doing all it could to help the farmers. The factory was quite efficient, but it wanted local support.

Mr. L. Lingard (Aratika) accused the directors of the local factory with bad management. This had been going on for 20 years. Suppliers were losing id. a lb. on butter-fat, and if this went on the farmers would be insolvent and have to go on the dole. Mr. Armstrong said that those who were supplying the Christchurch factory wanted that right left alone.

MINISTER’S REPLY The Minister said he knew that there had been a lot of agitation in the district over the 1 zoning system, but he thought that perhaps a good deal of it had been parochial. The same difficulty had arisen in a lot of other places, but to-day there was hardly a complaint. In the early stages of zoning, men had preconceived ideas as regards other factories, but, when die. business got into working order .and the'farmers co-operated, the difficulties disappeared. Zoning was working well now. The only trouble now was on the West Coast and in the Ashburton district. The arrangeI ment on the West' Coast, with the exj ception of 15 or 16 suppliers, had been agreed to mutually. Hq was satisfied that the decision arrived at was in keeping with this arrangement. With regard to the suppliers, who were sending to Christchurch, they would be entitled to continue to send to Christchurch so long as they were on their present properties. That was quite explicit. As regards inefficiency, the correct thing to do was to change the directors, and put in men who could run thc factory on efficient lines. The local factory should be given an opportunity to prove itself, and put its organisation on an efficient basis. The Government had power to de-zone. as well as to zone, and this could be. done if the factory was not working! efficiently. But' they should not do. that until the directors of the local; factory had had a chance of showing what they could do. He admitted, quite frankly, that the Christchurch factory, that had been referred to, was one of

the most efficient in the industry. However, they had to look to the future and try to build up a local organisation that would serve all interests of the West Coast farmers. Farmers who earned their livings on the West Coast should not send money to Canterbury, if they could avoid it. They should take a long view of these matters. One speaker had alleged that the local factory was “using the big stick.” If that was true, the Government would regard it with very great disfavour, and would take the matter up without hesitation. The representations made would be carefully considered when he returned to Wellignton, to see if there were any grounds for an alteration. However he thought if the West Coast factory was given an opportunity, it would pay out better than some of the suppliers thought.

PRICE QUESTIONS In reply to u question about the guaranteed price, the Minister said the estimate for last season was 1/3.88d. a lb. for an efficient factory. Actually, tho guarantee was l/4id. on the average for the whole Dominion. This showed that the Government made ample allowance for expenses. Mr. Vallance said that the local factory had a lot of butter held in cool store -at Lyttelton. They bad to pay interest on the money tied up in this butter. He thought the Government should pay for butter when it went into cool store, and not when it was put on board ship.

The Minister said that the New Zealand Government had no control over the shipping. This was controlled by the Imperial Government. It might happen that there had been an accumulation of butter at Lyttelton, but it would be difficult to pay for the butter except on an f.o.b. . basis. However, he would look, into the position and see if there was a hold up at Lyttelton.

Mr. A. H. Cockayne, Director of Agriculture said he would go into all the matters brought up by the speakers when he returned to Wellington. The principle of zoning was all right and one of the essentials of a dairying industry was to have its own factory.

RAGWORT / With regard to ragwort, the Minister said he had received a communication to the effect that the County Council was taking steps to deal with ragwort. However, he would impress on the farmers' present the necessity of looking on ragwort as an absolute enemy. In some places ragwort had pushed farmers off the land. It was a terrible weed, and could practically destroy a farm. It could be dealt with easily in its early stages, but not once it had got a hold. The Government had provided practically £lOO,OOO to deal with ragwort, an din many parts of the North Island it had been brought under control. Mr. Cockayne said he had been‘assured that ample supplies of sodium chlorate for dealing with ragwort would be available for this season and next, though there was some doubt about supplies after that.

OTHER MATTERS Mr. J. A. Radford, on behalf of Kotuku farmers, asked that a loading bank should be put at Kotuku railway station. At present the nearest station with a loading bank was Mcana, three miles away. The yard at Moana was very unsuitable, as stock had to be driven through boggy land in order to reach it. The Minister said, he would discuss the matter with Mr. Webb, and they

together would see the Minister of Railways. Mr. Hodgkinson asked whether it would be possible to get a direct shipment of Australian barley to Greymouth for distribution on the West Coast. Mr. Ryan said that the ships that took timber to Australia from the West Coast came back practically empty. One of these could be used for a load of barley. The Minister said that he would have to go into the matter with other Departmetns when he got back to Wellington. Mr. Ryan thanked the Minister for the straightforward way he had answered the deputations. Their Nationalist friends would probably think the Labour Party was not so bad after all (laughter). On the motion of Mr. Hodgkinson a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Lee Martin and Mr. O’Brien. In his. reply, Mr. Lee Martin said that they -were hoping that Mr. Savage would be able to visit the West Coast. The Prime Minister had come through a very serious operation, but he was now able to' take his share in the Government of the country. . He would convey to the Prime Minister the good wishes that had been expressed to him and his Government.