SUGAR CANE GROWING.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 2713, 22 June 1925, Page 3

SUGAR CANE GROWING.

FEILDING BOY IN QEENSLAND. HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS HELPING. In writing from Landsborough, Queensland, to his parents in Feilding, Mr. Jack Kitchen, who, after seeing war service and gaining some little farming experience in this district struck out on his own in that State, makes interesting reference to the difficulties experienced in getting a start in the sugar-cane growing industry. “Up till now” (May 10) he writes, “life has been one series of hard work, worry and trouble, as seems the lot of every beginner, but I have now overcome all the main obstacles and things look more encouraging. Several times I felt on the verge of disaster and it. was discomforting when I reflected on the extra hard manual work I had put in to get on .. . . Just when I started, the industry was in the state of a boom and over-protection. The remedy decided on was to limit planting and not to treat new areas imassigned to any mill, so you can see what I had in front of me. I had the manufacturer to fight and this I did for twelve months, after which 1 got consideration. I also had the chairman of the Cane Growers’ Association to contend with and atfer a battle, I won. He was pnt out of office and to my surprise I was installed in his place. “My cane this year is looking very well, but would have been better only for the excessive amount of rain. Since the beginning of the year we have had about sixty inches of rain and it does not look settled yet. In January and February, we had some very hot days, as high as 110 degrees in the shade and 120 degrees in the shade in the Western Country. . . , I had about two acres of cane to cut last year or at least at the beginning of this year and it turned out rather well —about 35 tons to the acre at £2 per ton. This year, I had five acres and it costs only about fifteen shillings per ton working expenses. The Government has an embargo on imported blackgrow,n sugar and carries out cane to the milts on the railway free of charge. ’’ “The season has been generally good right through Queensland—-wool has been realising remarkable-flgures .... The season for sugar-cane has been a record one so that the majority are fairly prosperous. There has been a bit of free sentiment here lately over the large number of Southern Europeans arriving in Queensland —particularly Italians and also Japanese. Recent statistics disclose that about fifty per cent, of the cane-cutters in North Queensland arc foreigners, while many Britishers arc idle. The foreigners are acquiring cane farms by the group sjrstem, and, of course, threatening us by their low standard of living which will make a very serious position in the near future. The recent, action of our organisation, not to grant permits from now on for new areas to he planted, should tend to check things in the. meantime and also help keep our price up and enhance the value of our property.”