FARMING PROSPERITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20600, 26 June 1930, Page 12

FARMING PROSPERITY.

LORD BLEDISLQE'S AMBITION. . BRITISH STOCK PRAISED. ,'» mm ■ mmmm QUESTION OF IMPORTATION. [BT TELEGRAPH.—OWN COBnKSPONDENT.iI WELLINGTON. Wednesday. "I have one great ambition," said the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, when opening tho annual conference of the Royal Agricultural Society to-day. "That is, that when I am leaving New Zealand in five years' time the Dominion will be in a more prosperous state than she is to-day, and the agricultural community more numerous in number, more prosper ous, and more confident as to tho future of their industry than they were when I came." His Excellency was given a warm welcome when introduced by the president of tho society, Mr. W. Perry, and ,in acknowledging it said it gavo him encouragement to hope that he might enjoy the confidence of the agricultural and pastoral community during his stay in New Zealand. As an old member of the council of the Royal Agricultural Socioty of England, ho. was glad to convey its warmest fraternal greetings. He regarded with profound admiration tho courage and determination and, on the wholo, the optimism, with which the farmers of New Zealand were facing the serious, though ho believed transient, depression occasioned by tho fall in prices. Hp hoped the increased turnover in dairy produce would somewhat mitigate the effect of low prices. Tenor of Remits. Lord Bledisloo said he noticed that some of tho remits on tho order paper involved considerations of Government policy, in which respect the New Zealand society differed from tho society in England, where they rigorously excluded from ..discussion anything which savoured of Gov ernment policy or political controversy that did not refer to animal diseases, which the society had made its own province. He briefly reviewed othor remits and congratulated the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research upon its excellent work. In regard to the address to be given by Mr. Cockayne on grasslands and various weeds, His Excellency said it was im portant for farmers to realise that for tilisers should be applied to grasses of commercial value, and not to relatively worthless weeds. He hoped that larg* areas of land which were being reclaimed from fern and scrub would bo laid down in grasses which would give the best results and respond to treatment. It was with somo hesitation that he touched upon another subject, but he felt it was only fair to the Royal Agricultural Society of England that ha should do so. While he believed that many of them were anxious to obtain pedigree male stock, they were reluctant to allow animals to come into New Zealand from other countries, and particularly Great Britain, for fear of foot and mouth disease. If they were really afraid of the risk he would not press them to take it, but Great Britain had the finest stock in the •world/ of every description. Drastic Restrictions Imposed. Britain had exported stock to every country in the world for the best part of a century, said His Excellency, and there was no record of any case of foot and mouth disease being conveyed to any country in stock so- exported. There was no country in the world where the restriction's on the spread of foot and mouth disease were more drastic, and with the quarantine station in London it was practically impossible for any animal suffering from disease to pass in or out of the country. He did not ask or expect farmers in New Zealand to accept those views, but ho would be insincere and lacking in practice if he did not present things as they saw them in tho Old Country. (Applause.) His Excellency expressed his readiness at any time to give the farming community any help and advice in his power. In declaring the conference open he hoped its deliberations would be of lasting benefit to those with whose lot he warmly sympathised.