FARMING NEWS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 145, 22 May 1939, Page 5

FARMING NEWS.

RURAL BAKINGS. FARMERS’ UNION FEES. "All meet honestly admit that a subscription of £l per annum is totally inadequate unless every farmer pays, as ho should do —just about 4jd per week, and much Jess than members of other unions pay to have their causa protected. But your executive has decidod that an increase in the subscription at tho present time is not desirable —rather would it aim at 100 per cent. membership,” stated tho report of the president (Mr J. C. Bolton) ai the annual meeting of the Southern Ilawko’s Bay executive of the Farmers' Union. Restoration of Esk Valley. Largo tracts of green pasturo are now reappearing in tho Esk Valley, though sonic of tho farms that wore silt-covered during the heavy floods last year are still little better than weed-covered desertsConsiderable progress with flood-prevention work has been made, and with the emergency straightening of its course the Esk River should now be able easily to cope with the normal winter volume of water. Bv next year the appearance of the valley should show a return toward normal. Working of Farmers’ Union. “On the whole the group system has worked well, our group being Manawatu, Wanganui, Wellington’ and Southern Hawke’s Bay provincial districts, with Mr Lloyd Hammond as the representative on, tho Dominion Executive,” stated Mr J. C. Bolton (president), in his annual report to the Southern Hawke’s Bay executive of the Farmers’ Union. “The secretary and myself have attended the group executive meetings at Palmerston "North. We thank Mr Lloyd Hammond for his good work. Ho has willingly attended our meetings from time to time and kept us fully informed of the work and decisions of head office at Wellington. It is onlv because of Mr Hammond that our group has 1 functioned successful!v. However, the pro- • vincial district is still of the opinion that each provincial district should have direct representation on the Dominion executive, and we feel that the rides should again bo amended to bring this into effect.”