FARMING PROBLEMS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 31 August 1929, Page 16

FARMING PROBLEMS.

LJ Li BAN AND RURAL RELATIONS.

EFFECT OF MODERN TRANSPORT

Some of the problems affecting pre-sent-day farming were dealt with by Professor W. Riddel, Logan Campbell professor of agriculture at Massey Agricultural College, when be iaiddresised! members of the Hamilton Rotary Club at a special meeting this week. Until about 150 years ago, file said, rural interests held a supremei position in fh© commercial world. Within comparatively irecent years, however, there had 1 been a remarkable change and' town and country interests had become specialised This had resulted in the creation of certain problems which ) would tend, to increase. Professor Riddel- classed the ,prob- > lems affecting agriculture under three headings—population, transport and social. As a result of the great increase in population during the last few years there bad been created an agricultural and racial problem. There had been an increased’ demand for food, but no corresponding increase in the price of primary products because of the development of scientific methods of agriculture It was only by assiduous research that the farmer would ultimately get the best .returns from big land 1 . TRANSPORT AND AGR [CULTURE. Another problem was the effect upon farming communities of modem transport.. The utlimiate effect, of cheap and speedy transport would he that distance would become an almost negligible factor in the marketing of produce. As a consequence the country with the lowest .production costs would _ command the markets through which it sold its output. Professor Riddet referred to the effect mod'ern methods of transport bad upon the dissemination of disease. He said that (plants in particular were quickly infected with disease, from other countries and precautions should be taken to prevent parasites from flourishing. Owing to the expansion of industrialism, there had been a redistribution of population. Rural and urban occupations had become segregated! and tbe two communities didi_ not. understand one another. A problem of the. day was the need for establishing greater J sympathy between tbe two interests. THE DRIFT TO THE TOWNS. I Discussing the drift- to tbe towns, he said that this wag a world-wide problem. The fundamental question was whether a man could get more ixrofib in the town than he could in the country tor tiie expenditure of similar amounts of capital or labour. There were many men working in the country to whom rural occupations did not .appeal, but there were also a large number of men in cities who were not satisfied with life there. It was necessary to have some medium whereby agricultural and urban workers could discuss their problems with a. new to assisting each other. At present more attention could be paid to agriculture. The ultimate returns from agricultural pursuits were, in many cases, as good as those from a life spent in the practising of one of the professions. There were many types or agrioulturril education available in the Dominion. _ It was the object of tbe Massey Agricultural College to assist farmers by research and by promoting greater efficiency. It took time to secure' reliable results from research work, and it was only by painstaking care and patient endeavour that, the best results could l;o obtained.