Seek Long Term State Finance For Farmers

Northern Advocate, 22 May 1941, Page 6

Seek Long Term State Finance For Farmers

[Special to “Northern Advocate”! AUCKLAND, This Day.

Keen interest was taken by the delegates to the Auckland Provincial Conference of the Farmers’ Union, which resumed its sessions today, in a remit from the Bay of Islands, advocating the provision of long-term table finance for advances to farmers on land and stock security, from the Reserve Bank, also to dairy companies and other farm finance institutions, at the rates of interest charged the Primary Produce Marketing Department or such low rate of interest as would make possible long-term farming methods. Mr. E. A. Morphett referred to the heavy drain on the capital of a farmer to keep his farm productive. Extra cultivation was required to keep pastures healthy and vigorous. Finance Greatest Difficulty The greatest difficulty in checking deterioration, particularly of marginal lands, was that of finance, and much might be done by providing long-term finance to stimulate long-term methods of farming. One delegate pointed out that large areas of land in his district, which 30 years ago carried three sheep to the acre, would now carry barely one. The chairman (Mr. Rushworth) stated that experiments in Great Britain had shown that there were 16 mineral salts vital to the life of animals and humans, and that in all countries some of these salts had been mined cut, with consequent detriment to the health of the people. The remit was carried unanimously.