Guaranteed Prices

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19371, 8 July 1937, Page 10

Guaranteed Prices

Sir,—l would like to say to all my farmer friends that we ought to thank Mr. Savage and his party for the introduction of the guaranteed price scheme. We farmers ought to be satisfied with this scheme. The dairy farmers do not wish to go back again to the 4d and 5d per lb. for butterfat. Let us stick to the guaranteed price. It is a good thing that the Labour Party was just in time to save the farmers from the “slough of despond." The dairy farmer has got the worst time of all, having to keep on morning and night, whereas the sheepfarmers could sleep and let the wool grow. The dairy farmer cannot do that; he has to dig his big boots into mud 2ft. deep. Some dairy farmers will grumble because they have to pay out high wages to the struggling workers, but they do not think that the workers have to live the same as everyone else. A man who is milking from 50 to 100 cows ought to do well with the guaranteed price, whereas when we were only getting 4d for our butterfat we could hardly pay for a bag of flour or a bag of sugar. The prices then were 13s 6d for flour, and sugar realised 23s Gd a bag, but now we can meet the present prices. 1 know some are not satisfied with the guaranteed price, but they ought to remember that all through last season the price of butter was below the guaranteed price. If we were then dependent on the prices from the Old Country we would not get Is for oui butter. I think if the Government was generous enough to give us 5s for butterfat, most of us would never be satisfied, but still sing out for more.— Yours, etc., STRUGGLING FARMER.