HEAVY USE OF LIME

Southland Times, Issue 24521, 23 August 1941, Page 6

HEAVY USE OF LIME

COMMISSION’S REPORT NOT IN OPERATION (Special) WELLINGTON, August 22. “To put the Lime Commission’s report into operation during the past season would probably have cost a subsidy of £200,000,” said the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. J. G. Barclay) in the House of Representatives today. The Minister had been asked by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) what was being done about the commission’s recommendations. Mr Barclay said a new set of grievances would probably have been created. The amount used during the year just finished was 544,000 tons against 395,000 tons a year before and this year it would be a record far above last year’s figure. The time was not opportune to put into operation the whole of the commission’s recommendations. Some aspects were operating and the work had not been wasted. The Minister said that a loss in production through lime rationing would not be felt in the first year so much as in the second or third year. The Government wanted all interested to give their co-operation because it was difficult to get some rationing scheme that was equitable. Somebody had to say finally what was to be done and that responsibility fell on him. Mr Holland also spoke of the valuable work done by the Department of Agriculture for the farmers.