PRIMARY PRODUCERS

Taranaki Daily News, 31 January 1931, Page 6

PRIMARY PRODUCERS

WIDER CO-OPERATION.

A UNITED FEDERATION. I

A plan of campaign for reducing costs, improving quality and stabilising prices economically in an endeavour to further the principle,of co-operation in farmers’ activities, was submitted to the Dominion executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union by Mr. L. W. Bagley, of Dunedin. Mr. Bagley said there was only one way to go about it, and that was by making a determined effort to rationalise the activities of the primary producers and those trading co-operative and marketing industries which were so closely allied to them. The one definite object should be to reduce the cost of production, transport and marketing, and yet increase the efficiency of the service and the quality of the product.

Mr. Bagley's suggestion was to create a united federation of primary producers which would embrace every producer, either directly or through his class organisation. There would be a federation board consisting of seven members, each elected to represent for a term of three or five years a class of producer —one for the dairy farmer, the sheep farmer, graziers, grain growers, orchardists, bee-keepers and poultry farmers. The board and federation business officer, who would be a member of the board ex officio, would nominate an economist as a board member, making a total of nine members. Each board member would bring forward the views of his section of the industry and endeavour to find the points of contact with the other sections in order to promdte measures of unity, economy and service for the industry as a whole. The provincial organisations would appoint a representative advisory council on similar lines to keep in direct touch with the board members.

Mr. Bagley also placed a scheme before the executive for the rationalisation of the handling and classing of wool. The executive was impressed with the completeness of what seemed to be the basis of a practical scheme, and referred it to its wool i committee to confer with Mr. Bagley for further investigation and research.