CARTAGE RATES

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20839, 24 June 1939, Page 10

CARTAGE RATES

BOBBY CALF TRADE NEW AGREEMENT REACHED CONFERENCE AT TE AWAMUTU (Special to Times.) TE AWAMUTU, Friday At a conference between the Te Awamutu District Bobby Calf Committee and the Waipa Master Carriers’ Association this week the No. i 'Transport Authority, Mr E. J. Phelan, presided. Messrs 11. Anderson, the department's transfer and investigation officer, and Mr G. Walsh, organiser for the South Auckland Transport Association, also attended. Mr Phelan said that he hoped every avenue had been explored with a view to effecting a settlement. If lie had to give a decision, he would want all the facts, because, on the one hand, the farmers said they could not pay the charges, and, on the other hand, the carriers declared that they could not carry on at the present charges. He suggested that if tlie parties conferred. they could reach sortie settlement which would be better than leaving the matter to him, as his decision might not suit both. The chairman of the Bobby Calf Pool Committee, Mr W. G. Neill, said that when tenders were invited there was no response for some of the routes, the .Master Carriers’ Association offering a quotation to cover the whole of the area. The Pool Committee felt that it was not receiving proper consideration. First-year Trial Mr R. G. Andrew, for the Carriers’ Association, said that they regarded the first year as a trial, and every support had been promised. Before then, private operators had taken contracts, the price per calf being in the main Is 6d. The Master Carriers’ Association had agreed to make the price Is per calf as the pool was in control of all the calves. The arrangement was that, at the end of the season, the parties were to meet in conference to discuss the arrangement for the coining season. However. a conference had been offered but had been refused. Several individual carriers had made contracts. The farmers had not been exploited and the fact that several contracts had been made on, or approximately on, the same basis as last year was evidence that there had been no exploitation. As there was no ill-will between the jjarties, Mr Phelan suggested they should'adjourn to allow the parties to confer. Mr Neill said that the Transport Authority had been quoted as saying that the average return to carriers was Is per head, to which Mr Andrew replied that, under ordinary conditions, this was correct, but in the Te Awamutu district the number of calves a mile was probably greater than elsewhere, his estimate being 60 calves on a five-mile run. On a time basis, the charge was insufficient, and ordinary carting could not be compared with the calf trade because the animals had to be collected at every gate and there was not merely a straight run from one terminus to another. 920,000 Calves Handled After some discussion as to minimum weights, Mr Phelan explained that 920,000 bobby calves were dealt with last year in the Dominion, the percentage picked up under pool conditions being sixtv-six. Cartage, handling, trucking and rail freights came to Is lOd per head, leaving to the farmer 77 per cent of the value, about 6s sd. Weight of the animal was not vital, but if the minimum were made lower, the farmer would be relieved of the rearing up to -the standard weight. Out of 66,000 carried last year, only 3000 had been rejected at the works. The average price there was 9s Id. which costs reduced to a net of Gs sd. It was pointed out that the return for the. Te Awamutu pool was 7s 9d. The parties then adopted the Transport Authority’s suggestion to adjourn for the purpose of conferring, and on resumption, Mr Andrew announced that, with the exception of the Te Mawhai, Pokuru and Te Rahu routes, an agreement had been reached. Mr Neill asked the carriers to accept Pokuru at lid and the others at Hid, and after the Transport Authority expressed the ouinion that, in view of comparison with other districts, the offer was reasonable, Mr Authority expressed the opinion that, suggested Is and the pool ltd, they met fifty-fifty. Costs to the carriers had increased, but as they were not being passed on to the farmer, actually there was a reduction. An agreement was reached, and Mr Phelan commented on flic friendly feeling between the parlies, wishing endorsed by Mr Neill and Mr Andrew, who said that the parties were quite happy in their relations and there was no reason why they should nut continue to be so.