SHEEP FARMERS’ POSITION

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20783, 18 April 1939, Page 6

SHEEP FARMERS’ POSITION

Co-operative farming experiments recommended to and adopted by the Labour Party conference, the institution of a moratorium pending an inquiry into the position of sheep farmers, and the appointment of a committee of Labour members of Parliament to investigate the position of the farmers all fail to take notice of the most serious complaint made by the farming community. The first complaint is that while prices are not unduly low, increases in the costs of production have made sheep farming in particular an unprofitable undertaking. The plain fact is that production costs are out of proportion to world market levels. And while costs are increasing steadily, and will continue to increase, there is little prospect of world market prices increasing proportionately. It is contended in some quarters that sheep farmers do not operate their holdings economically, but the truth is that many have endeavoured to cut their costs to such an extent that their land is deteriorating seriously, thus making their position progressively worse. Any system that makes for more efficient farming will be welcomed, but can co-operative farming or any other procedure or palliative overcome the basic fact that market prices do not return a sufficient balance over production costs ? Eventually, will even the most favourably financed land return the sheep farmer an adequate profit on his operations ? The whole position rests on the general policy’ of the Government, which sets out to lift living standards by increasing the costs of every industrial activity. If the world’s markets could be similarly controlled, or if the market were wholly or substantially internal, something might be done to improve the position of the producers. But New Zealand’s markets are overwhelmingly external and must remain so for many years. Thus if the producers are to enjoy increased earnings commensurate with the higher standard of other sections of the community, those other sections must make substantial contributions to the income of the producers. Therefore the standard of living generally is not really raised, though wages and internal prices are certainly on a much higher level. That is the logic the Government must face when it seeks to rescue the sheep farmers from their present position.