G—lo,

Waikato.

The holdings at Gordonton are too small to allow of much advancement, and units will have to rely to some extent upon outside assistance for their support and maintenance. Attempts to solve the water problem by means of spearpoints and hand-pumps have met with varied success, and it is not possible to guarantee a constant supply. The one unit in this scheme at Huntly, a Native woman, is making good progress, and her returns for the year from a small herd are very satisfactory. The unit established at Tauhei is now milking twenty-two cows and, since his land has been taken under development, he has, in addition to maintenance work, increased the area of his pastures annually. Although the two units at Parawera have only just recently come under development, much work has already been accomplished, and both the settlers are good workers. A serious problem affecting this area is the spread of ragwort, one unit, who was farming before coming under the Department's development scheme, suffering heavy losses of stock from poisoning, in spite of every effort to keep the weed in check. Development on other portions of the Waikato scheme such as the Karamu area has not yet commenced, the question of occupation being still under consideration. Tabulated information in regard to this scheme shows a marked increase in butterfat production.

Te Kuiti Base Farm. Situated about four miles from Te Kuiti Township, this property was taken over in 1932 from the Waikato-Maniapote District Maori Land Board, which was then mortgagee in possession, for the sum of £9,723, of which £8,000 is still due to that Board as a liability free of interest. It was considered that, by using the area as a stock base farm for the Native land development schemes and for the farms financed by the Board in the district, the property would be maintained in good order and pay the cost of such maintenance. The estate comprises good papa country, and is well watered by running streams. It is being carefully and efficaciously managed, and to-day is being utilized as a distributing centre for stock for Mahoenui and Waimiha schemes, and also for wintering stock from the former. In addition, the farm wintered 1,368 sheep, 744 lambs sold realizing £657, while the proceeds of the sale of 36 bales of wool produced £397. The revenue from the sales of stock during the season amounted to £959, 125 head of cattle being on hand as at the 31st March, 1936, which number, however, is considerably less than the maximum carrying-capacity of the land. Of the total area of 617 acres, 360 acres are in good grass, 120 acres in poor grass, and 100 acres consist of gorse, fern, patches of bush, and steeply faced hills. The season's activities embraced the erection of new stables, implement-sheds, and sheep-yards ; 35 acres of ploughing and subsequent sowing of swedes and ehou moellier, which incidentally proved highly successful ; 148 chains of new fencing, together with 117 chains of repairs to fences ; and 4 chains of draining. During the course of the year ten men with fifty dependants were assisted from unemployment funds to the extent of nearly £100. The prospects for the coming season are definitely good and, generally, from the point of view of a successful farming venture, the property is now in a promising condition, and when viewed in retrospect the wonderful improvement achieved in comparison with the state of the farm when taken over from the Board in 1932 exemplifies the successful management of this farming enterprise. Oparure. Five small individual farmers were embraced under this scheme, which is located near Te Kuiti and covers an area of 602 acres, of which 410 acres are under development. At the close of the year there were only three active units, the other two having liquidated their loan accounts. As far as the remaining three are concerned, it is apparent that they will need strict supervision and a certain amount of financial assistance from the Maori employment grant. Works carried out last year mainly under unemployment contracts included 52 chains of new fencing, 30 chains of new draining, while 14 chains of existing drains were cleaned, 15 acres of ploughing, and 55 acres of clearing, all of which provided employment for the five unit farmers and nineteen dependants. The proceeds of the sale of ewes and wethers for the year amounted to '£380, which, together with the cream cheque of £71, resulted in the total receipts of £457. One of the units is concentrating on sheep-farming, and at 31st March, 1936, there were 220 head on the section, while one of the other units is tending a dairy herd of 36 head, of which number 21 are in milk.

2—G. 10.

9

Item. Gordonton. Huntly. Tauhei. Parawera. J Totals. ' j J ' I Area under development . . 73 acres 52 acres 66 acres 133 acres 324 acres Units ...... 3 1 1 2 7 Number of dependents, 11 3 4 12 30 Dairying stock .... 42 9 27 24 102 Horses ...... 6 2 2 2 12 Butterfat .. .. .. 6,209 1b. 1,847 1b. 4,429 1b. 3,058 1b. 15,543 1b. Average .. .. .. 206 lb. 307 lb. 201 lb. 191 lb. 210 lb.