CALL TO FARMERS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 124, 24 April 1940, Page 11

CALL TO FARMERS

DAIRYING IN WARTIME. GREATER PRODUCTION SOUGHT. New Zealand dairy farmers had the opportunity, as never before, of showing their characteristically practical patriotism hy producing every possible ounce of butter, in the knowledge that civilians in Britain and our armies overseas could absorb more than would bo available for them. Thus stated Mr R. B. Tenncnt, Director of the National Council of Production at a meeting yesterday, of the Dannevirke District Council of Primary Production. “The present position wherein Britain’s foreign sources of import butter are either completely cut off or are threatened, is such as to causo no little concern over the adequacy of alternative sources,” lie added. “In 19:38,’’ Mr Tennent continued, “the needs of the United Kingdom for butter were met as follow :—Produced in United Kingdom, 925,000 cwt. (9 per cent.) ; Empire supplies, 4,803,000 cwt. (46 per cent.) ; foreign supplies, 4,706,000 cwt. (45 per cent.) ; total, 10,434,000 cwt. (100« per cent.). “Of the Empire supplies 2,582,000 cwt., or just over half, caifte from New Zealand, while about a third was provided by Australia. “The sources of supplies which are now cut off, or in the case of the Netherlands arc threatened with being cut off. make an imposing list, accounting for 9S per cent, of the foreign supplies, the only considerable exception being the Argentine, which in 193 S sent 00,000ewt. of butter to the United Kingdom. The sources mentioned above are : .—-Denmark, 2,3G5,000ewt.; Netherlands, 712,000ewt.; Latvia, 340,000 cwt. ; Sweden, 300,000 cwt.; Lithuania, 228,000 cwt.; Finland, 210,000 cwt.; Poland. 199,000 cwt. ; Esthonio, 183,000 cwt.; Hungary, 21,000 cwt. ; Austria, lo.OOOcwt. ; Norway, 13,000 cwt. ; Czechoslovakia ll.OOOewt. ; Belgium, oOOOcwt.total, 4,602,000 cwt.

“This quantity amounts to 44 per cent, of the total consumption of the United Kingdom, and is nearly double the total export of butter from New Zealand. The butter ration when first introduced stood at 4oz per head per week, hut in view of accumulated stocks this was raised to Boz., which is above the normal average consumption in the United Kingdom. There can be little doubt that this action will be revised in due course and the primary resources of the Empire will be strained to the uttermost to meet the position.

“For this reason I appeal to the patriotism of New Zealand farmers to grow more hay, ensilage, and turnips, io reverse the tendency for dairy cow numbers to decline, and to produce more hutterfat as their essential war effort. This can be done most rapidly by improving the supplementary feed provision ; after that by better general management and by increasing the size of herds, in the first instance hy culling fewer cows and after that by saving more calves,” Mr Tennent concluded.