REHABILITATION FARMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27044, 31 March 1949, Page 6

REHABILITATION FARMS

Sir,—We ere hearing much to-day about rehabilitation men on the land. In Saturday's Daily Times I saw where a homeserviceman had applied for 198 acres of land on the Otago Peninsula, and it was sold by the Crown to two other men, who already held farms alongside, who did not qualify for rehabilitation. According to the Minister this farm was uneconomic to work. If the Minister goes back to when he was a boy he would find that thousands of families were brought up on less land than this 198 acres, with larger families than to-day, on poorer land than these 198 acres. In the vicinity of this farm three sheep are carried to the acre without growing winter feed, and where many families were brought up it took three acres to one sheep and prices were poorer, compared with to-day’s returns. In many cases the land was as dear to buy then as now. What does the Minister call uneconomic? How much capital and security has a returned soldier to have to qualify? He must possess all the qualifications to be an A Grade farmer. Accordingly a mixed farm, cropping and sheep, should carry 800 sheep. Can one man do all the work to run this farm? Perhaps the Minister will explain? The Crown purchased one block of land for soldiers and started dumping lime, etc, on it. In one instance they brought fencing posts from the West Coast to south of Balclutha and then carted them by motor lorry a number of miles to their farms, instead of obtaining posts nearby, for instance, at Owaka, using railway wagons which are supposed to be urgently needed. I was informed that one of the blocks, about 18 miles from Balclutha, never drew an application when ballotted for. —I am, etc.. Square Deal.