FARMERS ADD FIXED DAIRY PRICE

Northern Advocate, 23 March 1937, Page 10

FARMERS ADD FIXED DAIRY PRICE

Allowance To Meet Increased Costs Wanted Mr E. S. Tremaine, chairman of the Whangarei Dairy Company, who was one of the representatives of the North Ward at the Dominion Ward Conference held in Wellington last week, returned to Whangarei yesterday. In an interview with the “Northern Advocate,” Mr Tremaine said that 25 of the remits before the conference dealt with the guaranteed price, five with local .marketing, seven with farm labour and three with the compensatory price question. “The conference unanimously supported the trend of ; the guaranteed price remits, which had, in the main, the objective of increasing the guaranteed price so as to enable dairyfarmers to be compensated for the increased costs since 1935,” Mr Tremaine said. “The conference upheld that the basis of calculation should be worked out per unit to produce 6000 lbs butterfat, and that the average return of farmers be taken into consideration, and not worked out on a basis of the most efficient dairyfarmer. Allowance Fdr Wages. “It was also considered most essential that an allowance in the guaranteed price should be made to put the farmers in a position to pay wages' on the basis of the Public Works Department’s scale, and so make possible the Government’s desire to make equal payment to all who render equal service to the Dominion. “In connection with this, the Hon. W. Nash, prior to his leaving for England, told Cabinet that the most generous interpretation in regard to farmers’ rights and increased costs must be given effect to, and the Ministers present at the conference promised that the fullest consideration would be forthcoming. “In regard to a compensatory price, the conference brought down a wellconsidered suggestion on lines conforming with the Whangarei remit on the question. Mr Lee Martin gave an assurance that the requests were on all fours with what the Government had in mind, to pay equitable wages for services, on the Public Works basi§, and to make provision for increased costs and interest on farm capital. “The conference unanimously supported that payment by the Marketing Department for dairy produce be made at grading points. Higher Prices For Butter Boxes. | (There was a great deal of straight speaking in connection with the in- . creased prices now being paid by dairy companies for butter boxes as a result of the Government’s introduction of a pooling system for the supply of boxes. The Whangarei company, for example, notwithstanding that it had another year to go with its contract arrangements for the supply of boxes at 1/2|, now has to pay 1/7, an increased cost of £2150 per annum. The proposal is for the North Island to operate under one pool of supply. The industry was assured that the system 1 was in their interests, especially in the conservation of white pine supplies, but the sore point to the conference was that the Sawmillers’ Association had got an undue advantage lending the impression that what were alleged to be unreliable sawmillers’ figures must have largely been used as a basis of calculation to arrive at the increased prices fixed. “In regard to farm labour, the conference was of the opinion that in place of training boys at farm institutions, it would be better if the Government provided sufficient money to enable farmers to engage these boys.' Better results and more satisfaction to all concmed would follow. - —■