FINED FOR GROWING FOOD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21180, 29 October 1938, Page 15

FINED FOR GROWING FOOD

TOO MANY POTATOES While the British Government is buying stocks of food in case of emergency, and also fostering the spirit of “Grow More Food” is is astonishing that Mr A. E. Browning, one of the most successful farmers in Hampshire and Dorset, has been fined, £360 for growing too many potatoes. That is not all. Three years ago this farmer obtained a piece of land which was almost unproductive. He spent £7OOO on the land, tilled and fertilised it until it was capable of growing fine foodstuffs. He grew on it a thousand tons of potatoes and other vegetables.

Local agriculturists congratulated Mr Browning on what was an outstanding performance in turning barren land into fertile soil. The Potato Marketing Board, however, considered Mr Browning's efforts a crime. Because they are anxious to keep up prices, the supply of potatoes must be limited. Enterprising people like Mr Browning are apparently not allowed to develop land in this country—and if they do so they must be punished. .How long must this farce go on? If it is necessary for the Government to buy tons of wheat to make an emergency store, it is equally imperative that farmers should be encouraged and not fined. The cry “Grow More Food at Home” should be fostered into reality—and not damned by the intolerate interference of boards and contrlling authorities.