RURAL AFFAIRS FARMERS' UNION IN CONFERENCE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3901, 11 June 1929, Page 7

RURAL AFFAIRS

FARMERS' UNION IN CONFERENCE

COUNTRY'S ECONOMIC POSITION PRESIDENT'S COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY DUNEDfN, June -J. Members of the Otago Provincial Council of the New Zealand Farmers' Union commenced their twenty-ninth annual-conference in the Public Trust building this morning. Mr 1). M'G. Ueid (Milton) 'presided over'a good attendance. ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report of the executive stated that the union believed that much useful work had been done during the year in promoting the first and final aim and goal of the union—namely, the "improvement of the conditions, economic, social, and educational of the man on the land." Although they had been working towards that goal and had met with a jiood deal of success, it was disappointing to find that following three succeedin» ibeasous of good yield and prosperity there was yet aniarkV'd decline in the ranks of farmers in the country! there being 3,318 fewer on the land at the present time than there were last year. Although the drift from the land was a world condition, and although it might be a desirable thing in some c entries, it was not a good thing for a growing country such as New Zealand. The prevalence of unemployment showed that tho urban drift had proceeded too far, and that the distribution of population between town and country had become unbalanced. Conditions in New Zealand weiti such <bai the whole of the prod ids of tne secondary industries must be aiarkettd within the country—there | was no exnoit outlet—and tho market ' for town pivuucts and the demand for town labour was therefore strictly limited at any 'time. j EMPLOYMENT OF BOYS. Recently the Department of Labour approached the executive seeking its co-operation in urging the employment of lads on farms, the object being to absorb lads who were leaving chool i and whose prospects of securing employment in the cities was indeed bad as a result of unemployment and the inability of town industries to absorb them. " The chief difficulty from tho union's point of view was that tho boys, while not coming under the Arbitration Act, would be controlled by a special apprenticeship Act. That, in the initial stage, might be quite safe, but as the scheme advanced there would be a tendency to draw to the Arbitration Act. It was agreed to cooperate with the Department of Labour, whereby boys could be placed on suitable properties without the requirement of any Act for either their protection or the protection of the employer. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. This season just passed has again j witnessed close co-operation with the fields division of the Department of Agriculture. During the year over seventy co-operative field experiments have been carried out on farmers' properties throughout Otayo, and it is gratifying to record that a great amount of extremely valuable information to farmers has resulted. Special investigational work in regard to topdressing, crop manuring, rotational grazing, and the control of diseases in crops has been undertaken, and it is a pleasure to record that the efficacy of such work is the outcome of the happy inter-relations existing between the department and the Farmers Union. WHEAT DUTIES. It was resolved to support the Canterbury Executive in its effort to maintain the present sliding scale of duties on wheat and flour. It had been well established and proved to the satisfaction of the Government that with the present high production costs (which to a very large extent were beyond the control of the farmers) wheat could not be grown profitably under (3s per bushel in Canterbury, and the aim of the sliding scale was to protect the grower against outside wheat up to that amount. RAILWAY EXCURSIONS. The executive fully appreciated the great amount of good that resulted from fanners' excursions, for not only did they provide an excellent holiday at a reasonable cost, but fanners saw new country, compared different types of fanning! and learnt a great deal of the problems and ideas of their neighbours. That must lead to closer co-operation between various sections of the farming community. MEMBERSHIP. The coining financial year would commence with a membership of 1,73 ( J, as against 1,128 last year, and the increase was due largely to the very excellent work of the organiser, Mr W. R. Harris, who had made his workfelt in all the districts visited by him. REPORT ADOPTED. la moving the adoption of the report, the Chairman said he did not wish to say much about it except that although the balance-sheet showed a smalt deficit there were some; outstanding monies, and the year bad really ended with the financial matters on the ri'dit side. He would like to brum bofore members the fact that much benefit to themselves could be gained it they would only avail themselves of the services ol the wool expert. Mr Taylor. When Mr Taylor first came along some of them were a little dubious 0 about approaching, but several well-known farmers who really did know something about sheep had a meeting with him and were greatly surprised at the benefits that hail accrued from that meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr 11. E. Steele. .Mi- J Preston endorsed the remarks ot the chairman regarding the benefit derived from the services of their expert Mr Taylor, and urged on all present to do 'their best to get rid ol their scrub rams, and to improve tie cpuditv ol their flocks. Even if lambs were intended only for the freezer, tho

producer would got a greater return from the skin if the wool had been of good quality, and this could only be brought about by having good rams. j\lr J. Christie stressed the benefits to fanners by selling their lambs or their wool through the pool. The result of his first attempt of selling by this method had been a great surprise to him. Mr F. Waite said that on going through the figures he found that there were more men but fewer women in the country at the present time. He thought the introduction of milking machines had a great deal to do with that matter, and if the introduction of such machines was going to lighten ihe burden of the women in the country, it would be of great benefit to the country and to New Zealand as a whole. The report was adopted. ORGANISER'S REPORT. The union's organiser (Mr Harris) I delivered a report on the work he had i done during the year, referring par- i j tieularJy to the increase in the mem- J bership. In this connection, he said, j the effect of his work would not be felt until the present financial year. He mentioned the districts he had visited, and expressed satisfaction at the fact that meetings of fanners in those districts were being held, and he stressed the fact that the development 'of the social side of those meetings encouraged fanners to attend. At meetings which he had addressed, the matters mostly dealt with were the constitution of the union and topdressing. He urged that farmers should on every possible occasion endeavour to obtain outside speakers to address them, as it meant that more interest was taken by members. One of their greatest problems, however, was membership, which had in the past waxed and waned. During the last four years the membership had increased by approximately 11,000, and at the present time they were on the greatest rise that they had ever been. Thre were now about 15,000 or 16,000 members throughout New Zealand, and they wanted to maintain that position. On the motion of the chairman, Mr Harris was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his report. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. '' During the year many matters have occupied the attention of the executive," said the retiring president in his annual address. "Among the most important of these have been affairs relating to arbitration, education, ■ finance, and animal and plant diseases. ARBITRATION. " In regard to arbitration efforts | have been made to bring about an I amendment to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act in accordance with the recommendations made at j last year's industrial conference. It ). very regrettable to learn that the Prime Minister has decided not to con- ' tinue the conference this year, as it is difficult to estimate the amount oi ; good that would result from such a ; conference. It is very gratifying to know that employees have learned that strikes act very much to their own detriment as well as to that of the rest of the community, and that, with the exception of the brief general strike and the prolonged coal strike in 1926, the figures for Britain show ii marked decline from 1,352 strikes, involving 2,591,000 workers in 1919, to 298 strikes, involving 124,000 workers in 1928. EDUCATION. "Considerable attention has been given to educational matters with a view to bringing about a system which will more adequately meet the needs of the rural community than that which obtains at present. In this connection you will be glad to note that the present Minister of Education has signified his intention of endeavouring to move in that direction. " For some years past the necessity for an adequate flow of finance for rural development has occupied much of the time of the Dominion Executive. The resultant legislation enacted to effect this purpose was felt by the executive to be inadequate, inasmuch as the process of securing loans through these measures appeared to it to be made cumbersome and slow. The result has proved that the opinion ot the executive has been correct. I would like to point out here that the Dominion Executive will not relax its efforts in this direction until the whole question of rural finance has been put on a satisfactory footing. I PLANT AND ANIMAL DISEASES. | "As the years go on and the farm lands of New Zealand become more highly developed weeds and animal diseases will become mora plentiful and troublesome unless the most careful watch is kept by the farmers themselves and bv the Government departments set up to assist them to combat these things. Farmers all over 7<e\y i Zealand are alarmed by tho attacks ot ■ some of these pests upon their fields or . crops or herds. The Government departments are to be congratulated upon < tho success they have obtained in tho short time they have been operating. The Cawthron Institute, too, deserves special thanks from us for its efforts in the combat- The introduction ot foot and mouth disease must be stopped at all costs, for unless the greatest cave is taken there is a possibility of its introduction, and should it get in it is authoritatively stated that our exportable surplus would require to bp written down by 75 per cent. In this mat. ter I would UVge the absolute prohibiI tion of the importation of any animal from any country affected by this disease. „.«„.» FISCAL. "The members of our oxocutl.ro who have attended dominion conferences must have been impressed by the amount of attention tliat fiscal matters have always received. The amount oi research and study given to this question by menibejs of tho oxecutivo ot both island* has marked it as one of supreme importance to 1 armors. As a matter of fact, it is of supreme importance to all sections of the community. The conference of 11)2/ asked the Government to appoint a commission, with wide powers 10 inquire fully into this matter. 'lhe headings of the inquiry to be—(l) What are the natural and essential industries of the dominion? (2) The order which such industries should lie developed? (3) The conditions necessary to thoir efficient establishment? '(4) The extent of the assistance such industries, it efficiently established and conducted, will require for their maintenance from time to time? ,- 5) The best method of stimulating Imperial and interempire trade? Tho reasons for the necessity

I of a commission of this kind was the I fact, apparent to everyone, of the marked divergence of opinion among the leaders of all sections of the community. No reasonable objection can bo offered to the setting up of such a commission. " I wish to enlarge somewhat upon the effect that the present system of customs taxation has upon the various sections of the community. Fingers are pointed at this union for agreeing to assist the wheat growers in retaining protection. This protection has become necessary to them through their high costs of production, which have been brought about largely by high protective tariffs. ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. "There are those who blame the primary producer for not being progressive and not running his place economically or efficiently. One has only to look at the way in which the volume of our exported primary products has increased in receit years, due to the application of top-dressing and more scientific methods, and how the quality has improved so as to be able to compete successfully in the world's markets. Look at the increased production per cow! It is just questionable whether we are not forcing the pac-3 too quickly and taxing the capacity of some of our stock with the result that serious disorders are beginning to affect some of our dairy herds and causing our dairy experts considerable concern to know how to eliminate these disorders. The same remarks apply to sheep. PROTECTION. " I do not suggest the immediate abolition of protection. 1 believe that some industries may require protection, but I consider that the Commission is the proper body to express an opinion on that matter. I realise the vast sums that have been sunk in secondary industries. They do not, and cannot, under present conditions, produce at a price at which they can export, but I would suggest a gradual withdrawal of protection which will call for greater efficiency in production, will reduce the cost of living, and be followed by a reduction in wages, and so in turn bring a lowered cost of production. SLUMP IN 'NINETIES. "During the slump in the early 'nineties the difficulties which were known to lie the result of unwise government were remedied by. business men. At the present time matters are left to Governments whose policies, almost universally, tend to intensify the disastrous economic and financial effects of the war. Why is it that Governments who arc advised by responsible men do not heed that advice? Why is it that they appoint Commissions, presumably of the best men available, and then disregard their findings? When a disaster occurs after they have refused to follow authoritative advice they simply go out of office and leave the community to suffer." % The election of office-bearers resulted as follows:—President. Mr J. 1 D Revie (Crookston); vice-president, Mr C. R. Shea,t (Milton).