King Country Chronicle. Monday, June 26, 1939. POSITION OF THE FARMER.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4802, 26 June 1939, Page 4

King Country Chronicle. Monday, June 26, 1939. POSITION OF THE FARMER.

Probably no more striking way of illustrating New Zealand’s dependence on the farmer could be found than in the contributed article, “Problem of the Farmer,” which appeared in last Friday’s issue. No one can doubt the contentions of that article, which quotes New Zealand as a farm, the primary producers supplying' the outside world, and the secondary producers seeking so far as they are able to satisfy the wants of the homestead. Because they fall far short of doing 1 this, and therefore like the farmer New Zealand is dependent on outside conditions, the prosperity of this country must be bound up entirely with the prosperity of the primary producer. Today we find that internal costs, raised by the causes detailed in the article referred to, have become so great that farming throughout New Zealand is facing a desperate situation, particularly so in the case of the grazier. Undoubtedly the most eflicient producer in New Zealand is the farmer. Competing in the

world’s markets against countries having' a much lower standard of living, and therefore much lower costs of production, lie has, with the application of improved methods and high quality production, proved this again and again. Even though his own

costs, the costs of the “homestead,” have mounted greatly since the war, he managed in some measure to keep pace with them, and even when the bottom dropped out of his market there followed an amazing increase

in production. To-day what is the position? The total farming area occupied has been reduced by

121,000 acres from 1935-36 to 193738, while fern, scrub and second growth land increased during that period by 187,000 acres. Barren

and unproductive land has increased by 162,000 acres. The total of dairy cows was lower by 78,000 and pigs by 52,000, while wool production decreased by -7,500,0001 b. That is but part of the story. The decrease in occupied land and production has been becoming progressively worse since the period t£> which these figures apply. As the costs of the

“homestead” has risen, the net revenue of the farm has fallen, the process being accentuated by a decline in overseas prices and an exceedingly poor season. Exports for the 1936-37 season totalled about £65,000,000; for the 1937-38 season

just on £62,000,000, but the latest Abstract of Statistics shows that for the 12 months ended April, 1939, exports totalled £53,731,079, as com-

pared with £58,177,306 for the preceding 12 months. The situation is a serious one, and there is but one remedy—the placing of farming on

a payable basis. And this is possible only by the reducing of ' internal costs, whether this be by reduction of wages or by letting the exchange

run to a normal level. Talk of guaranteed prices for all farm produce is idle—it is utterly impossible on the

basis of present costs for the country to afford sufficient money to place farming on a payable basis.