WHEATGROWERS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23259, 21 July 1945, Page 4

WHEATGROWERS

Minister’s Solicitude (F.0.P.R.) WELLINGTON, July 20. Tile Government had given a great deal of help and consideration to the welfare of wheatgrowers, and the leaders of the industry recognised that on the whole those efforts had been reasonably successful, declared the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) in the House to-day. He said he hoped that members as well as people outside the House would make some endeavour to be fair and realise what the Government had done.

There was criticism, he continued, that growers had been penalised by the fixing of the price at 7 1 a bushel and then providing that unless the growers reached an area of 235,000 acres they would be progressively penalised at the rate of Id for every

5000 acres less than 235,000. Actually that was a total reversal of the true position. The price was fixed at 6 6 a bushel and for every 5000 acres over 200.000 there was a bonus of Id. The statement made by some branches of the Farmers' Union and some members of the House that such an arrangement was in the form of a penalty was incorrect. Mr T. H. Macdonald (National, Mataura i; That means bad weather, no bonus. , . The Minister said that the thing that disturbed him was that the position had been accepted as satisfactory by growers in the South Island, but, in spite of that, there was some pretty drastic criticism. That, was disappointing and made one wonder what one could do to satisfy the critics. The bad weather in Canterbury had caused hopes of what spring sowing would Yield to deteriorate. Mr Sullivan expressed sympathy for the growers for whom, he said, he had always acne his best.