MANY FARMERS TURNING TO WHEAT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 39, 16 February 1939, Page 8

MANY FARMERS TURNING TO WHEAT

C’A\TERBI K Y EXPERIENCE I Per Pres* Association. I CHRISTCHURCH, Feb. 15. Canterbury’s wheat harvest this season is expected to yield an average of something like 31 bushels to the acre, compared with last year’s return of 34.88 bushels. 3’he harvest is now well under way and in different districts there are marked variations in yield and quality. In a number of districts "take-all” is fairly common and in two or three cases at least has caused almost the entire loss of the crops. A fair amount of straw break has also been experienced.

I Mr. R. McGillivray, Fields Superinitendent of the Department of Agriculture, said in his opinion the next ;.season’s sowing would be greatly increased and it was likely . that the whole of the 250,000 acres necessary to meet New Zealand's requirements would be put down In wheat. With the uncertainty of the prospects for mutton and lamb many farmers were [turning to wheat, with its guaranteed ! price. The Wheat Committee’s estiImate of the yield this season is 82.40 bushels to the acre. This figure was arrived at from the returns sent in by (farmers throughout the province, but |it is considered by many to be too I high.

The position with oats is uncertain. A lot of the crop has gone into stack, but it is fairly certain that with aut-umn-sown oats there has been a distinct reduction in the yield. Barley promises good yields, probably only slightly under last year's average. In Marlborough a lot of the crop will only be feed quality, as barley was badly affected by the adverse weather ni January and has not filled out.