THE TRACTOR ON THE FARM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17251, 29 August 1919, Page 3

THE TRACTOR ON THE FARM

INCREASING PRODUCTION. A FARMER'S POINT OF VIEW. The following interesting article oil the possibilities of increasing production in New, Zealand has been "written by Mr. Walter H. Dunnage, farmer, Katikati :— Much has been said and written about increased production. If talking can do so wo sire in a fair way towards prospeiity. But the farmer believes that something must be done in order to get this increased production. Let us examine the position. It has been suggested tha':better roads and more railways are required. This is true, but how long will it be before any appreciable extent of new railways is available, and how long will it be before we get more and better roads? It will take a good many years, 1 and increased production is wanted now. Settlement of Crown lands on. a largo scale has been advocated. This is veiy necessary, but it takes two or three yea)-* before any appreciable return can be made from Crown land. Many farmers have land in occupation, but not brought unlder cultivation, and land under poor colt ivatic n which can be greatly improved. Yet owing to the high cost of fanning opera tions and the scarcity and high wages of labour they are unable to do much to increase their production. It is from this class of land- that enormously-] production could be most quickly obtained. Cheaper Power. Then how are we to get immediate increased production at a low cost no as to reduce the, cost of living and to increasu our exports? The answer seems to be ; By obtaining cheaper power and the best of implements for cultivation at the lowest cost possible. In the United States of America and to a lesser degree in England this need has been met by the motor tractor and motor implements. In tho United States it was at first considered that the tractor would only be useful on. large areas of flat land, and large, heavy tractors were at first employed. The war demanded enormously-increased production and the brains of engineers revolutionised the tractor business as well as many other things. To-day there, are over 500,000 tractors at work in the United States of America doing the work of over 2,000,000 horn?. The small, light tractor has quite taken the place of the large, heavy tractor, and farms of less than fifty acres have their tractors. I might here quote from an American paper of July, I918:~"lnj general, I found a strong sentiment in favour of tractors, both among users and non-users, and among men who own small larms of 40 to 50 acres, and those who. havo larger farms of 160 to 200 acres.'' It may also be to the point to quote the reply of a farmer who rented 57 acres. " After listening to his, story I asked him what induced him to buy a tractor? * The labour situation mostly,' he said. ' Help is getting scarcer everv vear and wages higher. I concluded' I would either have to do my work alone or quit farming; so I bought a tractor.' " Just one more quotation from the name corrtspor lent. A little further on he savs (referring to the last quotation) : " Evidently that is the opinion of many other People in Lancaster Coirntv (U.S.A.), for last year there were 150 tractors in the county, and now tho number is at least 300 and increasing rapidly." I could quote ether places where tractors are rapidly increasing, but I think this is quite sufficient to show how the problem has been solved in the United States. And no doubt this is the answer to tfa© question here. But what has been done? The Government has done nothing; to help the farmer or give him information in the matter of tractors. Private- enterprise has chiefly imported the large expensive tractors quite unsuitable for tha average farmer, and the country is nob increasing its production as it should do. What is the Remedy? I.—Farmers should receive more iaformation and education in reference to! tractors, including th' 3 most efficient makes; in the United States of America and factory prices, and of the progress being made in' the leading countries of the world. 2.—The Government should supply to farmers direct from the best American factories tractors at coat price landed in New Zealand, giving them the advantage of the large discounts allowed by the factories when ordered in moderate numbers. For instance :On company is selling tractors (9-16 horse-power) at 1506 dollars free on board at New York lor a. single tractor. But for 20 the price is 1310 dollars each, and for 100 or more it is 1279 dollars each, or a saving of 227 dollars per tractor, equal to about £45 per tractor. This amount the Government- could save the individual farmer without any cost to itself. This is a oneman tractor, nominally ploughing nine acres in ten hours. I should estimate practically four to five acres in eight hours, on nearly level land at a cost of about two. gallons of benzine per aero and probably .one shilling for oil. Tho output of the factory when they wrote to} me. was 75 tractors a day, and- they expected to double it witihin a month., Electric starter and double-furrow plough are included in the price. 3.The Government should also import tractors for the State and place some in all large, suitable districts, and plough at schedule rates for farmers unable to get their ploughing done. These should be in charge of trained' returned soldiers, whose advice should' be at the service of all private-owned tractors when needed in the district. This would undoubtedly lead to many farmers buying tractors for their farms. 4-—All Government farms should have a tractor for the education of farmers, even if only an old one to be taken to pieces to show farmei-s the construction «nd general working of the tractor. Opportunities in Hew Zealand. Large expensive tractors mean too much interest lying idle when not in use, but i; tractor at from £200 to £300 is not a large item, and good tractors at these prices can be got in large numbers now. I think it can be taken as an axiom. that land can be ploughed and cultivated bv tractor? much more expeditiously and cheaper than by horses provided that the lane? is suitable for tractors. If we had 20,000 tractors at work in New Zealand now we should be getting the increased production which now we are only talking about. And there is suitable land for a very much larger berIn the United States of America frea tractor schools have been opened and thousands of farmers have been taught the use of tractors and how to manage them, and State tractors have been employed to educate farmers and help them in their wtrk. In England many thousands of tractors have been imported by the State for farmers and State tractors used to educate and help farmers. I do not mean to suggest that private agents are making large profits bg the sale of tractors, but that the method of obtaining them is extremely extravagant and expensive. This is not a matter for farmers only, but for every resident' in the Dominion who wishes to have cheaper food and increased prosperity.