Readers Write

Northern Advocate, 20 July 1938, Page 6

Readers Write

The topic of conversation among ■ farmers and carriers on the street to-, day seems to be criticism of the meth-' ods being adopted in BOBBY CALF , the district for the INDUSTRY, purchase and collection of bobby calves. At Maung’atapere, it appears that although farmers were agreeable to pool their calves when their signatures were being obtained, they were not told that their calves were going to be given to one exporting firm to the exclusion of all other exporting firms without lenders being called for their purchase.

The fact remains that tenders were not called for their purchase, and no tenders were called from carrying firms for their collection.

At Waipu, by a strange coincidence,

the very same firm very humourously' invited tenders to be opened by themselves from the other exporting firms for the purchase of the calves. Tho other exporters did not bite, 'and no tenders were put in by them, with the result that the Waipu Dairy Co. called tenders for the purchase of the calves and for their collection and settled the business fairly to everyone. The position in Wh'angarei, as I understand it, is that tenders have been called for the purchase of the calves from about five exporting firms, but, although there are probably 40 or 50 carrying firms in Whangarei district who would have been very pleased at this slack time of the year to tender for the collection, tenders have not been called, because I hear that the 50 carriers might get their heads together, and prices might not be competitive, although the four or five exporters might do so. So arrangement has been made whereby a man who is agent for the same firm again has the job at one penny per calf out of tho farmers’ money to make private arrangements for the cartage among his own carrying friends, who no doubt will for the farmers’ benefit and to prove their gratitude to the man who appointed them, cut the cartage costs to the finest point. In the past, each exporting firm has had its own carrying organisation, and if the same conditions were in operation now every carrier would have the same chance of securing the carrying as their exporter employers have of securing the calves. In conclusion, where future pools are being formed in other districts farmers will be well advised to see to it that their farm produce is not being gradually socialised before their eyes, and that whoever handles their' freezing stock has 100 per cent sympathy with Moerewa freezing works—the farmers’ own concern—’“LET IN THE LIGHT.”

Conditions of the tender issued by the Whangarei Co-op. Dairy Co., Ltd., are as follows: (1) Area is company’s cream collection area, including Whangarei company’s suppliers on main highway between Oakleigh and junction of One Tree Point road, (2) Purchase of calves to be at per lb live weight at farm gate. (3) No calves to be collected or purchased under 521bs weight or underfed or immature. (4) Purchaser to specify works at which calves will be killed. (5) Purchaser to pay for calves at farm gate basis contract price less cost of carting and less one penny per calf on all calves handled to be paid to Mr J. R. Babe. (6) Purchaser to pay carters and Mr Babe. (7) Calves delivered on railway trucks.

There has recently been a lot of publicity given to the forming of bobby calf pools, the alleged purpose of which I understand A FARMER’S is to save overlapping QUERY. and unnecessary expense so that the producer can get the full value for his product—surely a worthy object and one deserving of all support. But, sir, there is something about this whole business that does not seem clear, particularly to the dull-witted, such as myself. The Whangarei Dairy Company has called tenders for the purchase of all calves at the farmer’s gate, the point from which the calves become the buyer’s risk, and the nat- 1 ural thing would be for the buyer to arrange his own transport. I am informed, sir, in this case that - the P.M.A., who are handling calves from other centres, are to be j paid a commission of Id per c*alf to j supervise the cartage and trucking, • notwithstanding the fact that the, calves will at that time be the pro- ; perty of another concern. 1 Further to this, the local agent for the P.M.A. is reported to be engaging carters for the various districts as he thinks fit. If there is sufficient reason to call tenders for the purchase of the calves, why not for the carting? I would like to ask the chairman of the Whangarei Dairy Company, through you, sir, why it is necessai y for the farmers of this district to pay a com|iission (small as it may seem) to one firm to look after the affairs of their declared opposition, and does he not consider that he would have get better terms for his suppliers by calling tenders? It has often been said that the farmer sells on the open market and buys on a protected one. Here w'as a chance to buy on an open market and he is not taking advantage of it, —“CARTER.”