THE FARMER AND HIS CRITICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3314, 19 September 1917, Page 8

THE FARMER AND HIS CRITICS.

The farmer is never without his critics, even an peace time, but the war seems to have increased rather than lessened the number of his sage advisers. No doubt a great deal of the advice is given in good faith, but usually by an armchair critic, who carefully eschews the discomforts pertaining to the tilling of land, the milking of cows, etc.; and it the truth was known, conducts his own home garden section—if not ashphalted—in the most slovenly manner. The fact of the matter is that high costs of all farm products have to do, with so many turning from being producers into consumers because of the war, and the immense, deduction of food products incident to war. There is no remedy for the high prices while such conditions last except the remedy of thrift and increase of production. The fact of land transactions taking place "as usual" to-day means that in many instances if the prices of products were to come back very much that many farmers would go under—that is obvious. Under the present conditions of farming with the extreme prices ruling for all necessaries in the shape of seeds, implements, manures, etc., including of course the increased cost of unskilled labour plus high taxation, many farmers are only just hanging on. On the surface it no doubt appears that the farmer is making exceptional profits, and in many cases there have been excellent wool and stock profits, but to assert* that because the output of any particular farm has doubled in value, that therefore the farmer's profits are commensurate, is absurd. He is no "profiteer" in the sense that a speculating dealer in stock may be so termed. It has been our aim to steadily deprecate speculation in foodstuffs during the war, and on several occasions we have urged the wisdom of curtailing forward sales._ The Government early took steps to eliminate dealings in wool, and this no doubt helped growers a lot. (Speculation in grain, too, was handicapped to some advantage, this time to consumers. Meat for export was taken over at guaranteed prices per lb by the Imperial Authorities, who also secured the bulk of our dairy products. Stock alone seemed the only valuable goods left on the farm to gamble with, and promised on a rising market with ample shipping, an easy way to fortune.

The submarines, however, have altered the outlook considerably, and whatever justification there may be for speculative dealings in stock at the present time it would seem at least to justify the closure on forward sales. To what extent lambs and calves have been sold for forward delivery may not be generally knervn, but it is very material. Not perhaps to tJio same extent in the Otago and Southland province as further north. There is. too, the storage question, on which practically, after all, depend stock prices. There is certainly promise of increased storage being arranged for at the various freezing works, but whether the individual companies' increases will supply the maximum storage required to avoid congestion is a moot point. Early in August we pointed out that the total space in all the freezing works in the Dominion was sufficient for nearly 5,000,000 carcases, and that instead of the stores being empty at the end of this year there would probably be some 3,000,000 carcases still held up in the various works, and that the new season's 7,000,000 would be coming along. Tift position to-day shows littlo or no improvement. True, there may be ample storage in time, but who is to guarantee that there will be without any doubt in the matter if each company is left to make its own arrangements. It is no way to face such an important problem, and. farmers should demand what is doiner without delay, and let it be known widely. In any event the position to-dav certainly does not warrant countenancing forward sales; and stock and station agents and farmers are well advised if they call a "halt."