FARMERS’ PROBLEMS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19364, 30 June 1937, Page 2

FARMERS’ PROBLEMS

SUBSIDY ON MANURES : ,TE ARAROA REQUEST FERTILISERS -NEEDED NOW (flpprial to (lip Herald.) 'i. „ TE ARAROA, this day. *. Farming problems were touched on when a deputation waited on the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. W. Lee Martin, in Te Araroa last night. Messrs..W*;F. Metcalfe and C. R. E. t Wood asked the Minister to grant the " .settlers a subsidy on manures, seeing ,» that they had no railway and other I;! amdttities of l.ife enjoyed by other dis- — tricts. -■ To get fertilisers to their properties would cost from £7 to £8 per IL ton. The price was prohibitive, yet ‘ at the same time their lands were fast deteriorating. Mr. Wood pointed out '“that owing to poor pastures the farmers were losing every year a large . percentage of hoggets. He also asked "for the introduction of the Chilean saw-tly to destroy bidibidi. -- Mr. A. H. Cockayne, Director of Agriculture, gave an instructive ad- £ dress oh the management of farms and the application of manure. He said the Minister had given him credit for improvement in his farm. He asked the Minister what would he have done without fertiliser. Deterioration was going on all over the country, and unless manure was welL applied farms ultimately must be abandoned. •‘Necessary to Save Farms” Fertiliser, he said, was absolutely necessary to save the forms. Of course, added Mr. Cockayne, there was always the bugbear of finance. He felt sorry for the man who could nol secure manure for his farm. Therefore, some means must be found for providing him with it. The kind of manure to be applied depended on the type of land. To apply manure to, dairy farms would Inevitably bring in increased returns. Manure was more essential to dairy fanners than to sheepfarmers. Notwithstanding this, fertiliser also must be applied to sheep country. Mr. Cockayne said it grieved him to see land that had been .cleared of bush going back into secondary growth, for unless checked would mean ultimately the abandonment of the farm. In regard to sheep country, proper .stocking was essential. The sheep- • farmer’s best instrument to keep his 1 country right was cattle. He might .not be able to use mechanical instruments, but he must use cattle. • Subterranean Clover Referring to subterranean clover, Mr. Cockayne said that unless the land -was fertilised it would be better to leave It alone. He recommended the use of pampas grass as feed for cattle. It would grow in any soil, even in poorJand, „ In reply to a question regarding the use ofdime, Mr. Cockayne said he •would advise them, to apply fertiliser, and ...with the profits obtained lime might be bought. Mr. Cowan proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the Minister and Mr. Cockayne, the motion being carried by acclamation.