DESPERATE PLIGHT

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 211, 19 August 1933, Page 11

DESPERATE PLIGHT

FARMERS IN BRITAIN. ANNUAL LOSSES OF £3 PER ACRE. Farmers In New Zealand are passing through a difficult period at the present time and returns from the sale of produce are small. The restrictive quotas that have been put on our meat exports and . the proposed quota on dairy produce have not had a cheering effect on the farmer, and many farmers have expressed their doubts as to the advisability of quotas. A letter in the London “Times,” from Mr H. T. Hincks, chairman of the Leicester branch of the NJ*.U. and Chamber of Agriculture, gives an interesting account of the plight of the British farmer.

“A fortnight back at Leicester Cattle Market many fat cattle were returned unsold, there being no bid whatever for them, and on Wednesday, June 28, 90 per cent were disposed of from 17/- to 35/- a live cwt., showing a return of 4d to tijd a lb. dead-weight. These returns show a very considerable loss to both the breeder and the feeder. Our losses last season were fully £3 an acre; in 1931 over £2 an acre; and with a further presumptive loss this season the result will bo bankruptcy to many hundreds of graziers and as a result land will bo unlet table and have to be ranched and cause the dismissal of two-thirds of our agricultural labourers. “Many hundreds of acres of summer keeping have been let this season at from 1/6 to 10/- an acre. This is considerably less than the cost of the shop-

herding and incidental labour expenses. Much of Leicestershire has been badly grazed for several years, and is depreciating greatly in quality, and the sad dest part is that those who have produced the most meat per acre and farmed the highest have lost the most money.

“I am informed by numerous butchers that their sales of beef are from 15 per cent to 50 per cent less than was the case a few years back, and 1 be lieve that, taking the country as a whole, fully 20 per cent less of beef is eaten than in the years from 1920 to 1925, and in these circumstances to give to the Argentine a quota of 100 per cent of their exports to England for the season 1931-32 is grossly unfair. Owing to the low cost of labour there and their mild winters we are unable to compete against them at the prices now in vogue. “An increase of 7/- a live cwt. on our cattle would mean salvation to us, our agricultural workers, and our landlords. This would entail an increase on dead-weight of under Ifd a lb. and a possible presumptive rise to the consumer of under id a lb. It is immaterial to us whether this increase is obtained by quotas or tariffs on imported produce, but unless immediate attention is given to the subject the consequences to ourselves will be disastrous.”