EFFECTS BEING FELT

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 75, Issue 6442, 5 November 1947, Page 8

EFFECTS BEING FELT

GOVERNMENT’S CANCELLATION OF FERTILISER SUBSIDIES REHABILITATED SHEEP COUNTRY 1 “An aspect Q)f the Government’s recent decision^, to cancel subsidies on fertilisers which has not, apparently been considered, is the effect it will have' on rehabilitated sheep class country,” writes Mr L. R. Neilson and eight other ex-servicemen settlers of Te Akau, to the general secretary of the R.S.A., Wellington. “The direct effect of the removal of the fertiliser subsidy has been to increase the cost of superphosphate by £6 2s a ton. As all ex-service-men who are forming op rehabilitation loans have guaranteed to apply a minimum of 2cwt of superphosphate per acre per year, the increased annual cost per acre will be approximately 12s 2d. Increased railage, cartage and wages would bring this to approximately 12s 9d per acre. “It has been stated that the full cost of their increase will be made up by an increase in the schedule price for fat stock. This increase as far as fat lambs are concerned has now been announced at Sd per lb. Allowing for an average weight per lamb of 361 b, this represents an increased price per lamb of 2s 3d or, in other words, the fat lamb breeder has to turn off six lambs per acre at an average weight of 361 b to recover the increase in cost of fertiliser alone, to say nothing of the increase in rail and transport costs, a manifest impossibility on second class land. Reliance on Stores

“As far as the ex-serviceman who relies on the store lamb and ewe trade is concerned, the position is even worse. In most cases these men Are not producing more than two lambs per acre. If the increase in the price of fat lambs is going to be only 2s 3d, it is fair to assume that the increased price of the stbre lamb will not exceed 2s. That will give these men an increased return per acre of about 4s to offset an increased outlay of 12s 9d per acre. “To quote one case which can be substantiated. On a farm of 500 acres, 300 acres are estimated to be in grass. According to the covenant entered into with the? State Advances Corporation when the rehabilitation loan was granted, the man who farms this property is obliged to apply, yearly, a total of 35 tons of superhphosphate. This increase in the cost of super this year will involve him, if he observes his covenant, in an extra outlay of £213 10s for the purchase of superphosphate. He breeds approximately 600 lambs which he sells as stores. Allowing an increase of 2s per head he will receive an additional £6O for his lambs, resulting in a net loss, compared with the old price, of £153 10s. This is a typical case, not an isolated one. “Virtually Impossible” “ In very many cases returned servicemen have taken up partly developed properties and are endeavouring to improve them with their own labour and resources. It is generally conceded that without adequate phosphatic fertiliser it is almost impossible to convert scrub and fern land into reasonable pasture land. It therefore follows that the increased cost of the fertiliser has made it virtually impossible for these men to further improve their properties.” 1