OTAGO A. AND P. SOCIETY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20426, 5 June 1928, Page 10

OTAGO A. AND P. SOCIETY.

ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Otago A. and P Society was held last night, the President (Mr W. O. M'Kellar) occupying the chair! The Minister of Lands nf- a D M'Leod), Sir John Roberts, Sd Mr J.M. Dickson, M.P., were present, and there was also a large attendance of members. BALANCE SHEET. Commenting on the annual halance sheet prior to moving the adoption o the annual report, the Chairman said that whilst their balance sheet showed a la of £3ll Is 4d for the year, this amount in eluded £209 2s written off as depreciation, and in addition they had expende £2lO 7s in repairs and maintenance. In committee fully realised the nec«s,ty of keening the buildings in good repair, and limiting full provision for depreciation of the show and office fittings. , their liabilities, these amounted, in round figures, to £7700, whilst their assets stood itftheir books at £26,000, leaving a margin of £18,600 which members must consider a satisfactory position. They knew, from recent valuations, 7ailof their properties was consl d e rably n excess of what they appeared . in their books, in fact, he might add, the y ere too valuable to hold for ehow purposea and the 1 time was not far distant when the society would have tc ? . seriously obtaining premises which would provide more accommodation at considerably less capital value. He tuny recognised the assistance the socle Y + received as the result of the appeal that was made to the business community which had enabled the committee to redeem debentures to the value of £5601 and to place on deposit £4400. The interest received on the money invested, and the saving of the interest on the debenturs had greatly assisted the society in carrying through its operations and nice ing its obligations. PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. In moving the adoption of the balance sheet, Mr M'Kellar said that on this occasion he was fortunate insofar that the season it fell to his lot to review had, on the whole, been a profitable one for those engaged in the farming industry. In fact, it could be said that (at all events in the South Island) it as a good many years since they had the desired combination of good yields and goodprices. It usually happened that bad yields and consequent scarcity created good prices, when producers could not take advantage of them, but this season, the yields had been good and the prices equally so for most classes of farm produce. The spring was late and the outlook, up to nearly the end of December, wan none too promising, but the fine weather of January and February meant many thousands of pounds to those engaged on the land. An encouraging feature for next season was that practically all their markets for produce had closed firm with the demand still unsatisfied. All that they could hope was that prices, more especially for wool and ta.t lambs, did not reach too high a level so as to cause a decreased consvimption of those articles —a position which, unfortunately, they had seen occur in recent years, and _ had still unpleasant memories of iter reaction upon the producers in the slump of 1921. Statistics showed a wool shortage in the world, but although statistics were very useful in many ways, what never had, and never could, be accurately estimated was the effect of the decrease or increase in the consumption of any article in common use as it rose or fell in price. They could all remember, when wool was very low a year or two after the war ended; the statement made by Sir Arthur Gold’ finch. It was to the effect that if all the woollen mills of the world worked day and night, it would take four years to work off the accumulated surplus, and that no rise in values could be looked for under that time. Sir Arthur Goldfinch was chairman of “ Bawrn,” and all the statistical information it was possible to obtain he was in possession of, yet in about two years wool was higher in price than it had been for 20 years. .Che average price of the wool sold in New Zealand this season had been about 5d per lb higher than the average for the last 10 years. No one could say when the danger point had actually been reached, but it was always there, and should never be lost sight of. To consolidate their position,while they had the. chance, by reducing mortgages and spending money only on reproductive improvements, was undoubtedly the policy for everyone engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits to adopt just now. In conclusion, Mr M'Kellar said he would make an appeal to everyone interested—directly or indirectly—in stock or land to support the society by becoming members. In order to run a really good show they must have members and intereeted supporters. The educational value of a good show was enormous-farmers went away from it wdth a mental picture of the high-class stock they had seen, and this could not fail to have a beneficial effect upon their own stock, -and, of course, eventually upon their banking account. Old-established agricultural and pastoral associations, such as, theirs, were of great importance in securing, and must always be a considerable factor in maintaining for New Zealand, the prominent position she now occupied among the agricultural and pastoral countries of the world. Mr G. Black seconded the motion, and congratulated Mr M'Kellar on his comprehensive and interesting review of the society’s operations during the past year. Speaking to tlje motion, Sir John Roberts said that Mr M'Kellar had drawn a particularly correct picture of the present position. It was a peculiar thing, he said, that many people looked on wool as a stationary quantity, but they could not get behind the that the dearer an article was the less it w r as used. He thought, however, that producers during the coming year could look forward to a good and even level being maintained, and in his opinion, there was no fear of a slump in prices. During the past season he thought the colonial growers had benefited in price more than the market justilied, and many of those who bought this year made a loss on their purchases. In the slump two years ago the losses of buyers in Australia and New Zealand were serious, and it was reported, moreover, that one firm in Bradford had lost £3,000,000. He thought, however, that next season there was every possibility of these buyers recovering their losses. As to surplus stock, lambs were selling well, and there appeared to be every possibility of the market continuing good. He was' convinced that they could look forward wdth hope to the coming year, which should bring satisfaction for all producers. . The motion was carried. OFFICE-BEARERS.

The following office-bearers were elected for the ensuing year:—President, Mr W. O. M'Kellar; vice-president, Mr H. C. Campbell; hon. officers—Dr C. J. Reakes, Messrs J. Danskin, W. D. Snowball, P. M'Gregor (veterinary surgeons), E. B. Tennent (instructor, Agricultural Department) ; auditors, Messrs Barr, Kerens, and Co.; secretary, Mr E. F. Duthie. The following retiring members of the committee were re-elected: —Dunedin— Messrs W. O. M'Kellar, James Begg, and A. M'Kay; Bruce and Clutha, Messrs H. M. Driver and Walter Murray; Taieri, Mr T. J. Gawn.