OUTLOOK FOR FARMERS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 November 1930, Page 11

OUTLOOK FOR FARMERS

; VARIED CIRCUMSTANCES ’ FINE FIGHTING SPIRIT SHOW. ’ '■ J • '■•••• ■' . MEETING DIFFERENT CONDITIONS 3 - ; The prospect before the fanning cpm- ’ munity is a subject upon which it is ’ impossible to generalise because “the 5 farmer” as an economist does not really exist. There are several classes ’ in the economic sense, bu£ there is a world of variation between the indivi- > dual" position of men in each group. ■ A city man may say: “The farmer’s : income is likely to be down by one- - third this year. What about it? Can ' he weather the storm? Can be ex--1 tend his credit? Can he economise with- > out jeopardising the value of his asset • or the security of his mortgagee?” > But once again it should be remark- ■ cd that ‘‘the farmer” is as vague a > term as “the merchant,” ‘The shopkeeper” or “the agent.” One may guess at the average position of the., farming community, but guessing is not much use. One must have- the .combined knowledge of a banker, the secretary of a dairy company, and the manager 1 of an institution that supplies rural credits to talk, confidently on averages. The best way of securing information of any value is to quote men whose business offers- special opportunities of acquiring knowledge of the farming position and average prospects. . VARYING ’CONDITION'S. ' “You cannot generalise,” eaid one authority. “If you take, a dozen sheep men or a dozen dairy farmers you will find that each is working to a different capital scale, but perhaps some of those who have the heaviest capital burden may offset that disadvantage by possessing better business brains, or higher skill in management. Often, it is not so much the extent of the credit available for them, but the manner that credit is used. “At the present juncture I would say that the first need of farmers faced with a falling income is to cut out luxury expenditure. Many have done so. Numbers I know have prepared for the slump. Others are still burning unnecessary benzine and wasting time their farms need. At once you see. a different prospect between two men apparently on the same mark. “Perhaps some- may decide that in view of the lower income they will this year save on fertiliser. They may argue that as they have top-dressed for Several seasons in succession they may chance a year without. The present indications are that there will be a reduced amount of top-dressing in the autumn, but the fact must be borne in mind that top-dressing has proved of immense value. It has raised the capacity per acre and good farmers will look for another avenue of saving. Fur- > ther top-dressing has already caused a 1 great saving to the average farmer by reason of reducing the amount of cultivation. PRESERVING THE SECURITY. ‘‘ln such a question mortgagees have an interest. They know that nothing preserves the value of the „ security better than regular top-dressing, and I am inclined to think that many mortgagees would rather wait for their interest than see the fertilisers cut out.” Another man with a wide knowledge] of the situation said his firm ■ would stretch a point to give credit for fertilisers to old clients, but he added that it would not be prepared to extend this credit to new ones. . He remarked that one of the effects ( of the slump had been to force up the price of dairy cows to what he considered too high a figure. The reason was that many dairy farmers who already had culled for a better average i yield were out to meet the reduced < prices by still higher production. They 1

a-t once looked for cows, and at a time when by the ordinary laws of commerce the price of dairy. cattle should have fallen. The idea was sound, but its realisation was difficult because the competition forced up prices. Ho had to tell farmers that buying more cows which would not average more than 2501 b of butter-fat was not good business with butter-fat at its present figure. As to wool, some farmers who could hardly afford to become speculators might decide to hold their clips in the hope of a better market later, but rarely was such an action payable when all costs were considered. A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION. “You must remember, when dealing - with this matter,” lie continued, “that even in the Auckland province there are many farmers whose land was never in tlie market during the boom, and who, therefore, are working-upon a prewar value. Gfertainly their costs have increased, and local rates have often become unduly high,'but they still own cheap land that is not unreasonably encumbered, and their stability is a strong factor in the general economic- situation. These are not among those who say 'we are beaten before we begin.’” A third business man, in daily touch with farmers, said he had never 'heard so little grumbling among farmers. “They seem to be glad to know that the industry has at last touched bottom,” he said. “They show a better spirit of optimism than the city people. You would be surprised at the size of some recent orders for fertilisers. “I asked one man who went from the city to a farm seven or eight ,years ago how fie was doing. This man, I should say, worked like a slave during the first three or four years. This year he says he can take it easier, notwithstanding the prices, because the capacity of his dairy farm has been increased from 60 to SO cows. A SPIRIT OF CONFIDENCE. “Three farmers who have called here in succession have spoken in tones of quiet confidence. They may all have been lucky in the matter of capital com-

mitments, but it is not merely on the experience of these three men that I speak. It has-been a .constant surprise to me this cseason to find the farmers so cheery. Naturally, they would like higher prices, but several have remark-, ed that they had always expected that the price of butter would fall to the present level, and that it was just as well the day had not been longer postponed. They believe that the lower price will stimulate consumption and. for that reason the decline should reach its limit. , ' ‘•Another significant fact, to my mind, is that there has been no talk about walking off. the farm, which was bo common during the last slump. Then every second farmer who came into this office said> ‘lf you send along a buyer he can have the place at his price.’ Not so to-day. Ido not remember one man saying he intended to quit. There is a good fighting spirit in the rural community. Doubtless some men who have never been out of deep water may have , to go out, but the average working farmer is not considering giving in. You must remember that during the last slump a farmer'who decided to walk off could get a'. job fairly easily,'. Today he knows he would run a gfave risk of becoming one of the unemployed, and that fact is an added incentive to him to put his heart into the struggle.”-— New Zealand Herald.