FARMING STABILITY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10728, 27 October 1928, Page 6

FARMING STABILITY.

LAND AGGREGATION CONFUTED.

PRODUCTION STEADILY INCREASING.

VALUABLE STATISTICS MADE PUBLIC BY PREMIER.

-(Special To The Times). AUCKLAND, Oct. 26. After Speaking of the Government’s record during the past three years and tile work ahead the Prime Minister in his speech at Whangarei last night dealt with points of . criticism raised by the Opposition speakers. “The Opposition,” he aaitl “has charged the Government with failing to settle the land, but I ask straight out how many people have really wanted to go on the land.” The Prime Minister said the task was to helo on the land the people who were already there. It had been stated that there were . 14,000 less people on the land than in 1923, five years ago. The official figures showed that" in the year 1922-23 there were 146,380 farm employees, including working proprietors and managers, and in 1926-27 there were 132,799, a reduction of 13,581. The crites held that these figures showed that the position wa s getting desperate, but an analysis of the statistics showed that the reduction was made uo of 5615 males or five per cent and 7966 females, or 3 per cent. Land in cultivation excluding unimproved land was greater in 1927 by 412,947 acres than it was in 1922-23, while the occupied lands increased from 85,519 acres to 85,628 acres, showing conclusively that there was no wholesale abandonment of farms. The Prime Minister said that the mechanical equipment of farms had grown tremendously. Electric motors and agricultural tractors had increased five fold, and .the capacity of the milking machines from 50,000 to 61,000 cows. The number of separators in use had also increased from 40,916 to 55,246, and there had been similar increases in shearing machines and wool presses. The possession of this equipment incidentally must have had an effect on the number of farm employees. The Prime Minister remarked the value of the export produce had also increased, in 1923_ the value of the exports . was £45,372,G00, the latter total being calculated on the 1923 values. For the purposes of comparison in the sam'e period, the population had increased by 107,000, so, therefore the actual increase in production, maikng allowance for the local consumption, was much greater than the export returns indicated. Moreover, the area in crops and permanent pastures in 1927 was greater by, 839,354 acres than it was four years previously. The year 1918 held the record for the number of sheep, until the present year. in 1918 there-were 28,168 sheep owners m 1923, there were 23,370 and in 1928 there were 25,i*’2 or 2600 moi-p than five years ago. Sheep had increased bv 4,000,000 and the increase liad been in the smaller flocks, the returns showing that in 1918 there were 849 flocks exceeding 500 sheep, in 1923 there were 738, and in 1923 onlv 670. while the flock* exceeding 20,090 had been reduced from 50 to 25 in the ten years.

Tha?e facts. t!Te Prune Minister said, challenged the oft repeated assertion of land aggregation. T’ere y»ve now 25,244 owners of below 6 f 'oo sheep, or 2541 more than in 1923. The official ngures further slewed that in 1918 there were 793.215 dairy cows, in 1923, there were i,24S 643, and in 1928 there- were 1,312,126. The Prime Minister sa"d that these increases in the two great branches of primary production were proof of the stability and vitality of farming, and fii complete, reply to the cry of people walking oft the land. It was a striking fact that in practically all branches of the industry production was steadily increasing.