Need So Lift Meat Output

Northern Advocate, 26 May 1949, Page 4

Need So Lift Meat Output

WELLINGTON, Thu. (Sp.). —The need to increase meat production was stressed at the annual conference of the Society of Animal Production yesterday. The consensus of opinion was that New Zealand should increase the amount of meat sent to Britain by 50,000 tons in the next seven years. It was generally agreed that if this programme was to be fulfilled greater efforts would have to be made to increase the' number of stock carried on the hill country which provides the ewes for fat lamb production. The effect of high taxation on production was described by Mr S. McGuinness, of Poverty Bay. He said that the production of phosphate fertilisers was inadequate. The farmer was also faced with enormous increases in the. costs of improvements to his property. In 1930 fencing cost 33/- a chain, but today the cost was £6/4/-.

Many farmers had been unable to carry out full maintenance work and had been making a false profit. Certainly they could make a claim for deferred maintenance from the Income Tax Department, but no interest was allowed on the money. TAX REBATE SUGGESTED. In the meantime the farmer might be working on an overdraft. Mr McGuinness suggested that the farmer might receive some rebate on taxation for expenditure designed to increase the carrying capacity of his holding. Dr W. M. Hamilton said that the census figuress of 1936 and 1945 showed that there had been a decrease of 25 per cent in the number of persons engaged in thd" farming industries. The drop was greatest in dairying, in which it was 35 per cent. Farming made its greatest advancement when labour costs in relation to gross returns were between 30. and 40 per cent Today, under the guaranteed price, labour cost between 52 and 53 per cent of the gross return. There was therefore a tendency to use as little labour as poS' sible.