WHEAT-GROWING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 54, 4 March 1918, Page 2

WHEAT-GROWING

A FARMER'S EXPERIENCE. •Speaking to a Lyttelton Times reporter on Saturday a farmer, whose property is within 15 miles from Christen urch, gave his experiences of wheat growing. He said that he had been tollowing general agricultural farming for many years, .but after tli 6 experiences of fh e last coupjs <sl years he was quite convinced that at the prices fixed by the Government "wheat growing- was not a paying 'proposition. He said' that there should clearly be /some differentiation- in prices, since varieties differed -greatly in .flour-production, and he thought that this point should receiv e some consideration when prices were being fixed. However, this appeared to have been entirelv overlooked, and it behoved those in- authority to review the position without delay, and fix prices at such figures as would' encourage farmers to go in more extentively for the production of cereals-. It was simply deplorable that -we should be under the necessity of going outside for our supplies of grain, since the Dominion "was capable of producing in i abundance all the cereals required'. Speaking- of his own experiences this season, the farmer said that he had devoted 115 acres- of good, land- "to wheat, and from this the gross return wag 1705 2-3 bushels, or an average of nearly IS T>ushels per acre. That, of course, ivas a relatively- low yield, but this season it was- not an uncommon one in the district .in -which he resided, whilst in some cases the return was l even smaller. thrashing mill took 31 hours to get through the stuff, which had been stacked, and the charge was 40s per hour, or a total of £62, the cost of this operation alone working out at over BJ,d per 'bushel. In: conclusion, he said that as far as h e was concerned, he was satisfied that other branches of farm business gave much, -better promise of crood returns, than wheat growing, and it seemed inevitable that if we were to be a selfsupporting country something must be done 'ts induce farmers to devote increased] areas- to wheat growing. The question was, without doubt, one of the first- importance, and' it was incumbent that ..the Government shouM deal immediately* -with what threatens to "become a very grave problem.