A BANKER’S ADVICE.

Southland Times, Issue 18969, 16 June 1923, Page 4

A BANKER’S ADVICE.

The Chairman of the Bank of New Zealand in his annual statement touched on the amount of assistance the bank had given to farmers, and he presented some points worthy of serious consideration by those who expect the establishment of Agricultural Banks to end their troubles. If the various lending institutions available to the farmer are passed in review, it will be seen that in normal times there is a wide field open to the man on the land for his financing, but it must be admitted that these institutions found themselves under a tremendous strain at the lowest point of the depression. They have not yet recovered the strength which was theirs prior to the fall in prices, but an examination of the position will show that these lending institutions stood well to the farming community in time of great stress. An Agricultural Bank conducted on sound lines could not have done any more. The chairman of the bank turned from banking questions to matters peculiar to the land, the improvement of our herds, and he advised farmers that organisations which aimed at securing better marketing and increased production from the land would be of greater benefit to them than some of the concessions being asked of the Government. In the 1921-22 season the butter-fat production in New Zealand was 168.421bs a cow in a favourable season, but in Denmark and in some parts of America the average is 3501b5. In the dairying industry this is one of the vital things: the increase of production by means of improved stock. The difference between ourselves and Denmark is enormous, and it. chows that an immense improvement on our present figures is not unthinkable. It is suggested that the Government might import firstclass bulls and hire the animals at a reasonable figure to dairy farmers of moderate means, but it is doubtful if this would solve the problem. The process more generally favoured, and one which would appear to have a better chance of giving good results, is the granting of financial assistance to organisations to enable them 16 replace scrub cattle with purebreds. Much has been done by some dairy factories in this direction, particularly in Otago, and the success that has attended the efforts

of the factories to increase the quantities from their suppliers seems to offer the best way of tackling this question. As we have already pointed out, there are financial difficulties to be overcome, but perhaps the dairy associations or the proposed dairy control board would be able to handle that end of the business. The banker has not gone deeply into the processes by which improvement can be obtained, but the production figures he has quoted are enough to show what a lot of leeway the dairying industry of this country has to make up.