FARMERS' VIEW

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22345, 17 February 1936, Page 12

FARMERS' VIEW

GOVERNMENT PLANS DEPUTATION TO CABINET MUTUAL CO-OPERATION QUESTION OF PRICE-LEVEL [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON. Saturday The Dominion executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union placed before Cabinet Ministers to-day the working farmers' viewpoint on the Government's proposals for assisting the farmers. Proceedings were private. At the conclusion of the meeting the I'rimo Minister, Mr. Savage, srsid the meeting was quite friendly and there was no conflict of opinion. "They promised that they would cooperate with us to the fullest extent in the country's interests," said Mr. Savage; "and we returned the promise of co-operation. The main representations made by the Farmers' Union concerned guaranteed prices, and the executive was naturally concerned that the farmer should get a better deal. "Our reply to that was simply that our programme was going to be put into operation and our object was to give the farmer a better deal." Mr , Savage said the other side of the problem—the mortgage side—had to be handled, too. Labour's promise to the farmer was that ho was to get a guaranteed price to begin with on the average of the last eight or 10 years, and that mortgage liability was to be put on the same basis, Labour's case being that that gave the man of average capacity the opportunity of working under average conditions. It also put the mortgagee in a position to have his equity established on natural conditions, and one could not expect anything better than that. Farmers' Viewpoints The president of the Farmers' Union. Mr. W. J. Poison, M.P.. subsequently issued a long statement outlining the farmers' viewpoints. He assured the Government of the executive's anxiety to assist it, and said the executive would be at the command of the Government by being constantly available if further consultation was desired before the matter of future prices of dairy produce was finally decided. ' In the course of this statement Mr. Poison said thev wished to make it clear that in advancing their claim they sought no advantage, but merely asked for tho social justice of being able to obtain the exchange value of their produce in goods as expressed in terms of New Zealand money. "We would, however, like to set out that in' our efforts to link the export3rs' recompense with the New Zealand price level, we declare that we do not wish t-o endorse the wisdom of its uneconomic manipulations. "A real and fair estimate of the exporters' right to reward would be built upon a price level of export in the country accepting it, the price level of our imports from the country which supplies us, the rate of increase in prices of the imported article due to tariffs, taxes, and charges, and tho increased weight of service costs which in turn are partly due to these same tariffs, taxes and charges. "We believe that with the recompensed return to farmers, and the reemergence of farm profits, the surge of unemployment would give place to a quickened, advance of industries in train. Domestic Price-level "Serious as the position is to-day, we are still more concerned with the consequences of the upward curve of the domestic price-level. Tho economics of farming are profoundly affected by the stability of prices over long periodSj and no clear policy of husbandry is likely to bo pursued when the costs and prices ratio is constantly changing. An assurance of a general margin of cover independent of social changes and their price-level impact would be a revitalising agent in farm life. "We wish to present to you our conception of the serious outlook for New ' Zealand's land values should there be no plan of compensation for the exporter. The value of land is determined by the wealth which it will ¥roduce' over the costs of handling it. his Dominion has large areas of infertile or marginal land which offer no return comparable with the cost of settlement. "As costs have risen the proportion of non-farmable land has increased, and any addition to the New Zealand price-level must further extend this area unless means are adopted to link the farmer's returns to his outgoings. As the unoccupied areas of New Zealand form a considerable portion of our national assets, the importance of this point need not bo emphasised."