WELCOME TO DELEGATES

Taranaki Daily News, 28 June 1934, Page 12

WELCOME TO DELEGATES

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS DECREASED OUTPUT EXPECTED. CHEESE QUALITY IMPROVED'. A civic welcome was accorded to members of the conference by Mr. E. R. C. Gilmour, mayor of New‘Plymouth, who said the people of the town appreciated such an important conference being held at New Plymouth, and would do their best to make 'the delegates’ stay enjoyable. . . In view of the present dairy crisis the conference was of national importance, and would have some extremely difficult problems to discuss. The townspeople thoroughly realised the importance of the dairy industry to the welfare of the Dominion, appreciating that the prosperity of the whole Dominion depended almost entirely upon .the efforts of the men upon the land and. successful marketing of the primary products. While the dairy farmers were passing through difficult times, so too were the townspeople. That was . only natural, as their interests were mutual, and it was essential for the welfare of the Dominion as a whole that the utmost goodwill, co-operation and understanding should exist between them. Continuing Mr. Gilmour pointed out that the world had faced many severe, depressions in the past, and though they might not have been so severe as the present, they had been faced with pluck and determination, and the world had emerged to prosperity again. History would again repeat itself, and there were already signs- which encouraged them to believe that the worst was over. Gfeat Britain had set an inspiring exampde to the rest of the world, and there was every reason to believe that she would be the first to overcome her troubles. Australia had made a strong move forward, and even in N?w Zealand there was light on the horizon. Even if better times were delayed, he urged them to emulate the pluck, selfreliance and optimism of the pioneers, facing the future with a steady determination to overcome their troubles. PLEA FOR SUPPORT.

TMr. Gilmour urged all, farmers and townspeople alike, to support the men that had been placed in power to guide the country through its darkest hour. Their task was heavy, and their responsibilities great. They were honestly doing their- best in the face of unprecedented difficulties. That was not a political statement, as he would say the same whatever party was in power.

In conclusion he urged the conference to let its criticism be constructive and not destructive as the latter led backwards instead of forward. He expressed the hope that the conference, which he then declared open, would prove successful, and that the deliberations would prove a benefit not only to the farming community but also to the Dominion as a whole.

The chairman, Mr. Arthur Morton, thanked Mr. Gilmour for his welcome, in which he personally joined, as New Plymouth was his home town. During the past twelve months, said Mr. Morton, there had been a .large increase in production. Never in recent years had there been, as there was last year, an increase of 20 per cent, in butter-fat. Without doubt the increase was partially due to sheepfarmers, who at one time thought dairy farming a second or even third-class occupation, turning to milking cows while the prices for wool and meat were so low. Prices for those commodities having risen, upon which the farmers could be congratulated, it was probable that sheepfarmers would cease milking, and revert to their original methods of farming It was probable th?t the coming year would show a reduction in dairy produce. A portion of the past year’s increase was undoubtedly due to improved methods. They had only to look at the figures of the various herd testing associations to see the increase that had been brought about not only in the number of cows tested but also in the production of the cows tested. IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY. Unfortunately the increased production had happened at a time when, owing to the world-wide depression, it really caused some embarrassment. If prices had been the same as they were two or three years ago the high production would have been a tremendous thing for the Dominion. Unfortunately all New Zealand produce had still to be disposed of in the one market, a market which was used as a dumping ground by the Dominion’s competing rivals. Those rivals sold their products in Great Britain at prices far below the charges made for the same products at home, and such trading could only be called dumping. Notwithstanding the increase in quantity, continued Mr. Morton, the quality of butter had been maintained, and as

regards cMeese a distinct improvement had been made. In butter he questioned if quality could be much further improved, though there was room, for further research in regard to flavour, so as to get New Zealand butter into markets where butter of a certain flavour was desired, such as the Midland and- Northern counties of England and in Scotland. They could already manufacture butter with the right flavour, but it did not have the necessary keeping qualities. Further research was proceeding, and should aid in developing sales of Dominion butter. Cheese had undoubtedly shown a distinct improvement, but there were still difficulties to be overcome. One of the greatest was “openness.” Research in regard to this had been proceeding for some time. The cause had not yet been discovered, though the scientists, were probably very near doing so. Until they could rely upon the general manufacture of cheese showing firm and closer body they could not be satisfied that all the research necessary had been undertaken. Mr. Morton’s opinion was supported by a cable sent by the High Commissioner. Unfortunately the industry had not received a price that would compensate it for the improvement shown. Prices during the past year had not improved. They had fluctuated a little, but they had neither receded nor improved very much. He thought the pay-out of most factories would somewhere approach those of last year. In this connection Mr. Morton chailenged the statement made by the president of the New Zealand Royal Agricultural Society in which he claimed that the past season had been the best the farmer had had since 1914. That might be true so far as the producer of sheep and wool, was concerned, but the dairy farmer had never had a worse one. ... In addition to the failure of prices, to improve, the industry had been faced with restriction or quotas in the markets of Britain. They all knew the discussions which had taken place, but the restriction had been postponed and, if there was no further increase in production in New Zealand, Mr. Morton thought the question of quotas might not be revived. The increase of consumption in Great Britain might make restriction unnecessary. Mr. Morton detailed the steps taken by the Farmers’ Union to induce the Government to come to the assistance of the industry, and the conference of dairy ward delegates called last March, when a direct request for a subsidy of 2d a lb. butter-fat was made, or failing that an advance of 2d to be repaid by deductions when the price of butter-fat reached lOd. Those requests were not approved, but the commission of inquiry also sought by the conference had. been set up. The Royal Commission had been given a wide order of reference. There was little in the dairy industry that was not covered. The commission was formed of men who knew the business thoroughly, and they were making a thorough investigation. In Mr. Morton’s opinion the commission’s main recommendation would be towards improving the internal . management of the industry. He did not think there was any chance of a subsidy being approved, because it would have to be paid by the rest of the community. Even the higher exchange from which the farmers were benefiting was carried to some extent by the whole of the community, and he did not think any’ assistance by way of subsidy was likely. However, he thought the report of the commission would go a long way towards putting the industry into a better position. The commission would deal with matters which the N.D.A. conference had long regarded as burning questions. He thought, for instance, that the commission would so strongly urge national farm instruction that the Government would accept the recommendation. If they got that the whole cost of the commission would have been worth while. Probably local sales of butter and cheese would also be dealt with by the commission, and this should also clear up a troublesome matter. There was likely also to be active propaganda for greater consumption in the Dominion of milk, cheese and butter. As regards butter, he did not think much improvement could be expected, but in regard to the consumption of milk and cheese, the amount consumed was. very low, and if it were doubled it would make a tremendous difference to the industry. In connection with this propaganda the Manufacturers’ Association had made a splendid gesture. It had offered to give all the help it could to such a campaign. SUBSIDY ON FERTILISER. Referring to work during the past year, Mr. Morton said after the last conference a deputation waited on the Minister of Agriculture and, as they knew, the subsidy on fertiliser was renewed. At present negotiations were proceeding between the Minister and the manufacturers for a continuance of the subsidy for the coming year. He thought there was little doubt that an arrangement would be made. Mr. Morton urged the importance and value of testing cows. He referred also to the establishment of the Reserve

Bank, and the failure of the World Economic Conference. It had been suggested, concluded Mr. Morton, that the farmer should meet low prices with lower costs of production. He could not see how manufacturing costs could be very much further reduced. On the farm, if the cost of living could be reduced, the farmer would be able to live with lower prices obtainable. At present nearly all the goods used by the farmer were subject to tariffs, some of them to heavy tariffs, and, if they were reduced, the cost of living would come down. Interest rates had come down a little, and would probably be reduced again before long. All this, however, would not reduce costs very much. There remained the total or partial derating of farm lands, of which he was not personally very hopeful. If by improved quality they could obtain a better price some gain would have been made.

There was also the question of better utilisation of by-products. With prices in Britain stabilised there was room for a much increased production of frozen pork. Valuable work had been done in this direction by pig recording clubs, but it must be remembered that the pig industry required just as careful management or attention as any other farming operation. It,had been shown that successful pig farming might mean an increase of 2d per lb. on the butter-fat produced. There was also the question of diversifying the produce of farms by the production of fat lambs and wool. The most hopeful factor was the improvement in the position in Great Britain. That was undoubted, and prompted the hope that the coming season would not only be no worse than the past, but really better.