The Growth of Fertiliser Use in New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 95, Issue 2, 15 August 1957, Page 186

The Growth of Fertiliser Use in New Zealand

By

A. N. TAIT,

Department of Agriculture, Wellington

K |EW ZEALAND farmers have, with the 3 assistance of agricultural scientists,

evolved a unique system of management and use of pasture in which fertilisers, especially phosphates, have a part which is important now and which will become progressively more important. Almost all easily accessible dairy and sheep land in New Zealand has been topdressed regularly for more than 30 years. The present trend is to use fertilisers in maintaining production in those areas, but also to apply it in one of the several steps necessary for the development of second- and third-class land and land which in the past has been regarded as problem country.

BECAUSE most soils in New Zealand are deficient in phosphates, phosphatic manures, chiefly superphosphate, have always been the most widely used fertilisers. About 1,100,000 tons per year, of which some 1,000,000 tons are represented by superphosphate and its derivatives, are used. Superphosphate is made locally from Nauru and Ocean Island rock phosphate and American sulphur. From 70,000 to 100,000 tons per annum of other phosphates, mainly basic slag, soft rock phosphate for direct application, and concentrated superphosphate are also imported. The next most import-ant group of fertilisers in tonnage are the potashes, mainly muriate and sulphate, imports of which are averaging about 35,000 tons a year. About 15,000 tons per year of various types of nitrogenous manures are imported, and local sources contribute 35,000 tons a year of organic manures such as blood and bone, which contain both phosphate and nitrogen. In contrast to practices in many other countries approximately threequarters of New Zealand fertiliser sales are of straight superphosphate or superphosphate reverted with crushed serpentine rock or limestone. Fertiliser mixtures in total are not relatively important. In the main they comprise superphosphate with which has been mixed trace amounts of boron, cobalt, copper, magnesium, and molybdenum or mixtures of superphosphate and muriate of potash. Special-purpose mixtures are compounded for crops, market and home gardening, and orchardists. ■ The local superphosphate industry thus holds a dominant position in the

supply ■ of fertiliser : which most vitally affects farming in New Zealand. There are now 9 superphosphate works and 3 more are under construction. The manufacturing industry has met the increasing demands for superphosphate very well, except when there were interruptions in the supply of raw materials or of materials to expand existing works or to build new ones. In these instances, however, circumstances were beyond the control of the superphosphate manufacturers. Surveys by the Department of Agriculture indicate that ultimately New Zealand will require twice the present available tonnage of superphosphate. Much of the increase is expected to be required for areas that have been brought within reach of topdressing through the introduction of aerial application. The farming industry is becoming directly interested in the building of works. . The newest operating, that near Napier, is owned by several thousand farmers, and two of the three now under construction are being built

by farmers’ co-operative companies with assistance from producers’ pool funds. Most of the older works have recently completed or are still working on expansion programmes. The correct placing of new works to provide a network to cover the whole country with maximum economy in distribution is now being given much emphasis. Pioneer Farmers At about the time colonisation in New Zealand began Leibig in Germany and Lawes in England were working independently on the chemistry of soils. Before this the only manures used were animal excreta, crushed bones, seaweeds, and any other natural organic materials which were easily obtained.

In 1840 Leibig published his finding that the phosphate contained in bones became available more quickly in the soil if they were previously treated with sulphuric acid. In 1842 Lawes went a step further by patenting a process he had evolved for the manufacture of superphosphate from a mixture of phosphatic guano and phosphatic rock. In 1843 he started commercial manufacture. About this time also Peruvian guano came to be used widely in European agriculture, and for about 30 to 40 years it was the main commercial

fertiliser. During that time about 12,000,000 tons were taken from Peru and by .1875 supplies were almost exhausted. However, in its place superphosphate was coming into prominence. Pioneer farmers brought with them to New Zealand not only experience of traditional British farming but some of the new concepts of crop feeding which were taking hold slowly, though about which there was still much scepticism in Europe. However, in New Zealand the pioneer farmer faced an entirely new set of conditions. His first task was to break in and develop virgin land, and all his available labour and capital were fully engaged on this. The milder climate made stall feeding, with its resultant accumulation of natural

manures, unnecessary. The first crops flourished in the virgin soil and the main concern was not the maintenance of fertility, but the quickest method of exploiting the natural fertility. Old records and statistics show that as more and more land was developed progressive farmers soon became conscious that most New Zealand soils needed fertilisers, especially phosphates. With the flair for improvisation typical of pioneer New Zealand farmers, they turned first to the materials closest to hand. Production and Imports 1867-80 Before the introduction of refrigeration on ships in New Zealand in 1882 enabled frozen meat to be exported many of the surplus carcasses were boiled down to recover the tallow.

Canterbury farmers particularly were quick to improvise methods by which the resultant crushed or otherwisetreated organic remains could be used in crop manuring. One procedure described in a journal of the period was to heap up bones and lime, saturate them with urine, and cover them with earth; next year the material was ready for use. Another article described a circular concrete trough with a heavy, horse-drawn, concrete wheel moving round to crush the bones. The first record of fertiliser imports into New Zealand is for 1867, when 459 tons of Pacific island guano were imported. Varying amounts up to 1700 tons of phosphatic guanos and natural rock phosphates are shown in old statistics (under the heading of “Guanos”) as coming in each year from 1867 to 1880. The only shipment of guano to come from Peru to New Zealand was in 1875. Up to 1880 about 9500 tons of guanos had been imported. This was augmented after 1880 by substantial imports of bonedust and “Unenumerated” manures. The latter probably consisted largely of superphosphate, a small quantity of which was first imported in 1880 by W. E. Ivey, the first Director of Canterbury Agricultural College, and used at Lincoln to demonstrate its value on New Zealand soils. Production and Imports after 1880 In 1878 a meat-preserving works at Timaru began producing steamed bonedust. This is the first record of fertilisers being produced on a commercial scale in New Zealand. With the establishment of meat-freezing works after 1881 production of organic fertilisers increased rapidly. Demand increased even move rapidly, and large imports of bonedust were made from 1880 onward from Australia and later from India, reaching their* peak in 1902, when 14,000 tons were imported. Considerable quantities of guano, which by this time were being worked in various islands in the Pacific, were also being imported. Detailed records of other imports are not available, but superphosphate appears to have come in from England in larger quantities after about 1882 and potash to have been imported initially (from Germany) in 1888. Basic slag was first used in New Zealand in 1891, and about this time Japan and Australia, where the superphosphate manufacturing industry was well established, were also supplying superphosphate. The first detailed records (for 1909) show that over half the fertiliser imports, apart from rock phosphate, were of superphosphate (21,910 tons). Superphosphate Works Established A small commercial sulphuric acid plant at Burnside, near Dunedin, established in 1881 by Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne, founder of the wellknown chemical firm of Kempthorne Prosser and Company’s New Zealand

Drug Company Ltd., was extended in 1882 to manufacture superphosphate. In sharp contrast to the modern works, where plant . and machinery costing £1,000,000 or more is employed and all bulk fertiliser is moved and turned by large grabs, bulldozers, and conveyer belts, the first method of manufacture was exceedingly simple, wheelbarrows and shovels figuring prominently in the manufacturing process. With the increase in demand the Dunedin works was enlarged several times and was rebuilt in 1929. The success of the Burnside venture induced Kempthorne Prosser to build another superphosphate works at Westfield, near Auckland, in 1887. This works served the Auckland Province for many years before it was destroyed by fire. It was soon rebuilt on more modern lines. The decade 1878 to 1888 thus saw the establishment of the commercial fertiliser industry in this country, with several freezing works producing blood and bone manures and two superphosphate works operating. There '■ is no record of the production of these two superphosphate works in their early years, but it is known that some of the superphosphate was made from bonedust and some from low-grade phosphatic guanos and phosphate rock from Pacific islands. However , as dairying developed in the Waikato in the 1880 s and 1890 s the demand for superphosphate in the north grew. In

the South Island production also increased considerably as use of superphosphate for crops became more general. . /; Estimate of Fertiliser Use 1870-1900 . The figures available show that the use of fertilisers increased rapidly between 1870 and 1900. In 1870 imports were about 1000 tons, but by the 1880 s about 8000 tons a year, including manures from local freezing works, was being used. '' During most years of the 1890 s the quantity used remained fairly constant at about 20,000 tons until the passing of the world-wide economic depression of this period. In 1897, 1898, and 1899 there was a rapid increase in use, due partly to the encouraging results being obtained by the more progressive farmers, who were pioneering the practice of pasture topdressing. In 1900 28,817 tons of manures were imported, comprising 6779 tons of bonedust, 9935 tons of guano, and 12,103 tons of “Other Manures”, which are not classified in the records. These imports would include any raw phosphates used in superphosphate manufacture and would consequently more or less cover local superphosphate manufacture. In addition, about 12,000 tons of organic manures were being produced by local meat-freezing and boiling-down works. In the last 30 years of the 19th century fertiliser use

rose from less than 1000 tons per year to over 40,000 tons per year. These quantities seem small in comparison with recent figures, but they provided the basis for soil maintenance and improvement on the pattern that has since become standard practice and it marked a new era in the fertiliser industry and in farming. North and South Island Development The pattern in fertiliser use during the first 60 years of colonisation differed a good deal in the North and South Islands. This was due largely to the nature of the land being developed and to the turn of events. Though the first organised settlements were established in the North Island, development was faster in the South Island. On the Canterbury Plains particularly the natural cover was light, roads and railways were easily formed, and early subdivision of the large grazing runs led to a period of large-scale wheat farming and annual cropping. Otago, too, had developed the cropping system and .settlement there progressed steadily, after a hesitant beginning. . Canterbury and Otago development was given early impetus by the demand for food from the Otago and West Coast gold rushes of the 1860 s, and farmers were able to establish themselves quickly. Though subsequent subdivision and other factors have since produced modifications, cropping is still an integral part of much South Island farming. In the North Island, where at present about 75 per cent, of New Zealand’s total tonnage of fertilisers is used (mainly on pasture), development was retarded by the Maori Wars, the problems of clearing bush-clad land, and difficult access. In some areas the settlers had been allocated small and sometimes uneconomic blocks. The influx of new settlers was smaller than in South Island centres and most of the developing farming areas were not close to profitable markets. Offsetting these difficulties was the fact that bush-burn sowings initially provided more than adequate feed for the limited number of stock available. ■ However, on the poorer soils of some extensive areas, notably in the Waikato, new concepts of manurial practice began to take shape, because they appeared to offer hope of development of livestock farming, to which the area seemed best suited. When settlement in the Waikato began, after the Maori war ended there in 1864, it was soon found that the volcanic soils of the central and northern North Island could not maintain a good sole of English grasses. Much of the Waikato land could not be farmed successfully in the original, small military land grants ’ and by 1875 many such holdings had been aggregated, and the owners attempted to develop a typical English rotational cropping system.

For a time large areas were sown to wheat and other cash crops, but these soon . exhausted the soil. Grain prices were uncertain and often uneconomic. Most attempts to establish the traditional English system failed and the cropping phase soon passed. , ,„,,., , . , . After the introduction of refrigeration in the 1880 s Waikato farmers turned to dairying on grassland. From that time North Island and South Island farming systems began to diverge.

As yet pasture topdressing on a large scale or as a regular practice was undreamt of, except perhaps by . a few of the bolder pioneers in .the Waikato, who toward the latter end of the century were beginning to sense the possibilities of applying fertilisers other than in the then conventional manner of a dressing for annual crops. It was noticed that fertilisers used for _ crops noticeably improved pastures sown subsequently and this, led to the practice of using fertilisers when sowing down to grass.

To maintain the fertility of the poorer soils farmers on these soils were forced to explore the possibilities of topdressing of established pastures with artificial manures. ■ Even so farmers who were bold enough to try it appear to have been derided by those who were fortunate enough to be on the better land. However, the results of the use of fertilisers on pastures were convincing enough and saved many of the Waikato farmers during the lean times toward the end of the century. Later when prices became more stable and the overseas market for farm produce expanded farmers were anxious to increase production. All that was lacking was a lead on how best to accomplish their objective.

Factors Stimulating Use after 1900

In 1899 the Department, of Agriculture appointed its first soil chemist, Bernard Cracroft Aston, a pioneer in fertiliser research and for many years an ardent advocate of the use of fertilisers. In 1904 at the request of farmers’ organisations in the Auckland district pasture topdressing trials were begun by the Department of Agriculture at Ruakura and other experimental farms in the area. Reports on these trials published in the annual reports of the Department of Agriculture from 1905 to 1909 caused widespread interest not only in the Waikato, but in Taranaki and other dairying districts by stressing the fact of “phosphoric acid being the dominant manurial ingredient required in most soils in this Dominion”.

Initial responses on run-out pastures at Ruakura reported in 1905 were in marked contrast to untreated portions and “now other grasses and white clover are appearing. . . . This would lead up to the idea that, in place of the usual routine hereroots, grains, grass, or vice versa, then after a few years in grass, the process repeated the grass should be laid down, with the land in the best condition, and having sown this grass conserve it with judicious topdressing”. This, in fact, forms the basis of present grassland farming in New Zealand. Rock Phosphate Discoveries A development which opened the way for the expansion of the superphosphate industry in this country, was the discovery of rich deposits of highgrade rock phosphate on Ocean Island and Nauru, some 2000 miles north of New Zealand, just before the turn of the century. An interesting account of the development of the phosphate deposits on these two islands is given in the book “Ocean Island and Nauru” by the late Sir Albert F. Ellis, who was closely connected with . the discovery and working of the rock phosphate deposits for over 50 years, both with the Pacific Phosphate Company and later as the first New Zealand

Commissioner on the British Phosphate Commission. In 1902 deposits of a lower-grade phosphate, containing about 60 per cent, tricalcium phosphate, were discovered at Clarendon, Otago. The Clarendon deposits, however, proved of little significance, as they could not compete either ,in quality or in price with the richer, Nauru and Ocean Island rock. Nevertheless they were worked on a small scale, producing up to 10,000 tons per year until 1926. Most of this output went to the superphosphate works at Burnside. British Phosphate Commission Rock from Ocean Island was first imported in 1900. Imports increased

steadily, being supplemented by supplies from the German possession of Nauru after 1906. Not until after the First World War were deposits exploited to the best advantage, when the Pacific Phosphate Company’s plant and concessions on Nauru and Ocean Island were bought and taken over jointly in 1920 by the Governments of Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. The British Phosphate Commissioners, representing the three Governments, have since 1920 greatly improved loading facilities at the two islands, and have been singularly successful in supplying the raw rock phosphate to the superphosphate industry in Australia and New Zealand at a very low, standardised price

covering cost of production, shipping, and sinking fund on the capital invested. They have also acted as buying and shipping agents for the sulphur and nitrate of soda used in superphosphate manufacture. 1900-16: Fourfold Increase in Use The increase of local superphosphate production between 1900 and 1916 can be gauged from the steady increase of imports of rock phosphate from Nauru and Ocean Island and from the . Clarendon production of rock. These figures indicate -• that superphosphate production had reached about 75,000 tons by 1916.

The production of organic fertilisers also increased steadily, and imports of manufactured fertilisers reached over 100,000 tons a year before supplies were curtailed by the war. These imports included as much as 14,000 tons of bonedust in a year, mainly from India and Australia, 30,000 tons of basic slag in 1914 from Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and up to 58,000 tons of superphosphate from Australia, Britain, Holland, and Japan. Small but increasing quantities of potassic and nitrogenous fertilisers were also included.

Largely as a result of strong advocacy by the Department of Agriculture, fertiliser use more than quadrupled in the 16 years, but during the latter part of the 1914 18 war slag from the Con-

supplies of basic slag from the Continent were entirely cut off and lack of shipping curtailed superphosphate and other fertiliser imports from elsewhere. ? The. total fertiliser supply from all sources dropped from the record figure of 187,000 tons in 1916 to slightly over 100,000 tons in 1919. The available supplies were augmented to some extent by imports of “Ephos”, a North African soft natural phosphate brought from the Red Sea by returning troopships. Imports of this type of fertiliser reached 15,000 tons in 1920, but supplies from this source soon dwindled after the war. War Aids Local Production During and after the First World War imported phosphates (superphos-

phate, basic slag, and North African phosphate) were in short supply and had increased in price. Supplies of locally produced superphosphate were insufficient to meet the increasing demand. There was a widespread feeling among farmers that under competitive conditions the local product could be produced more cheaply and in greater quantity. Six New Works The confidence of farmers in the local industry led to the formation of the New Zealand Farmers’ Fertiliser Company Ltd., a farmers’ organisation, in 1917, but the company’s first works at Te Papapa, near Auckland, was not completed until April 1921. In the same year. Wright, Stephenson and Company Ltd. were erecting: a large works at Otahuhu, also near Auckland. Their mixing plant was completed in 1921, but the manufacturing units were not finished until 1924 and 1925. This works, which had in the meantime been formed into the Challenge Phosphate Company Ltd., was then able to produce about 90,000 tons of superphosphate per year. With greatly increased production capacity today it still remains the largest works in New Zealand. With three works established near Auckland the province was assured of adequate fertiliser for many years. In other parts of New Zealand increasing demand led to the establishment of four new works in quick succession. The Hornby works, near Christchurch, and a works at Aramoho, near Wanganui, were established by Kempthorne Prosser in 1922 and 1925 respectively, and the New Zealand Farmers’ Fertilizer Company Ltd. took over a freezing works near New Plymouth and converted it to superphosphate manufacture. Production began there early in 1926. The Dominion Fertiliser Company Ltd., formed in 1929, built a works at Ravensbourne, near Dunedin. This works is the only one in New Zealand up to the present which has unloading for its raw materialsphosphate, sulphur, and nitrate of sodadirect from overseas vessels. One fused phosphate works at Huntly produced “Heskett” slag for about 10 years, but closed down in 1950.

Rapid Advance in Topdressing

The work of the A Department of Agriculture in developing and teaching sound agricultural practices was now bearing fruit. Farmers throughout the country were becoming aware of the advantages of fertiliser use. The sowing of fertiliser with crops had become practically universal and the topdressing of pastures was becoming general, especially in the dairying and fat lamb areas. Government action in connection with Nauru and Ocean Island had assured New

Zealand of adequate quantities of the basic raw material. Superphosphate manufacturing capacity was more than keeping up with the demand, and the publicity created by the keen competition between the rival manufacturers was a factor in increasing the interest of the farming community and hence raising the demand. By the ■ 1929-30 season the total quantity of fertiliser used was 526,000 tons, including about 300,000 tons of locally made superphosphate, 95,000 tons of imported basic slag, and 25,000 tons of blood and bone and other organic manures. Bush Sickness and Cobait During the world-wide depression of the early 1930 s fertiliser use was restricted because farmers could not afford to buy all they needed. However, about this time a discovery was made that is important in the history

of the fertiliser industry and which immensely enhanced the productive capacity of parts of Auckland, Nelson, and Southland. It was found that cobalt deficiency was the cause of bush sickness. This was the name given to a wasting disease that was making livestock farming unprofitable in substantial areas, particularly in areas of pumice soils. Experiments proved that the most effective means of supplying cobalt to cobalt-deficient soils was by topdressing with cobaltised superphosphate (superphosphate to which cobalt sulphate was added at the rate of only soz. per acre). Provided regular dressings were made, this was adequate to correct deficiencies and keep stock healthy. Today about 90,000 tons of cobaltised fertilisers are used. As other soil deficiencies have been proved it has become standard practice for fertiliser manufacturers to in-

elude small amounts of other elements in superphosphate. Copper, boron, magnesium, and more recently molybdenum are now incorporated. These mixtures, though in total a relatively small percentage of all the fertiliser used, are an important feature of fertiliser manufacture. Fertilisers containing insecticides also have a small sale, mainly in the South Island. (

In the year ended 30 June 1956 the following sales were made:—Fertilisers < ” . . containing ? ■ Tons Boron . . 3.665 Cobalt . 90,445 Copper 17,603 Molybdenum 38,032 ■lnsecticides . . • ■ 8,221

/Mixtures containing various percentages of potash are also in demand for soils showing signs of potash deficiency. Superphosphate works sell about 70,000 tons of such mixtures and many proprietary mixtures containing potash are also sold. Recovery up to Second World War After the depression of the early 1930 s fertiliser use again began to expand. From the 360,000 tons to which it had dropped in 1932 it reached 737,000 tons by the 1940-41 season. At that stage the Second World War had begun to affect the industry. Because of the dislocation of shipping after 1939 and the occupation of Nauru and Ocean Island by the Japanese in August 1942, new sources of phosphate rock had to be found. It was brought mainly from the French island of Makatea in the Pacific Ocean, from Kossier in North Africa, and later some from Florida, U.S.A. The deposits at Clarendon, Otago, were reopened for a short time and supplied small tonnages for South Island works. However, supplies from all sources were insufficient to meet normal requirements and fertiliser rationing was introduced. The system was concerned primarily with the maintenance of dairy and vegetable production, and every effort was made to conserve and make the best possible use of the fertiliser available. Serpentine Superphosphate Another innovation in the industry about this time became most useful in helping out fertiliser supplies during the war and has since made a valuable contribution to manurial practice. This was commercial production of serpentine superphosphate, which was begun in July 1940.

The 1955-56 production of j 289,300 tons gross of serpentine superphosphate reflects not the extent of the farmers’ demand for this fertiliser as

much as the present difficulty of obtaining sufficient available supplies of serpentine rock. Serpentine superphosphate contains 25 per cent, of serpentine rock, which is found in certain parts of New Zealand. It is a free-running, non-acid, citrate-soluble type of fertiliser which has found popularity over a wide range of conditions in New Zealand. Post-war Shortages The phosphate-loading installations on Nauru and Ocean Island were extensively damaged by the Japanese, and it was not until 1950 that these and other supply difficulties were fully overcome and the fertiliser industry in New Zealand regained its pre-war output. The stage then seemed set ; for rapid expansion, but difficulties in securing plant continued to retard development. In 1950 also a world shortage of sulphur developed. The Sulphur Committee of the International Materials Conference was set up to allocate supplies, but at one stage New Zealand’s quota of sulphur for sulphuric acid in the manufacture of superphosphate represented only about twothirds of its requirements. At this time the development of aerial topdressing was creating fresh demands for fertilisers for hill country. As farmers were anxious to avoid a return to the rationing system which

operated during the war, the alternative was adopted of prohibiting the sale of straight superphosphate and bulking up superphosphate at the works with untreated rock phosphate, serpentine rock, and lime. This had the effect of increasing the total supply of fertiliser from a reduced supply of sulphuric acid. The difficulties caused by shortages of materials have now been largely overcome. Local production of superphosphate and superphosphate mixtures reached 1,000,000 tons for the first time in the 1954-55 season. The discovery of extensive new deposits of sulphur in Mexico and the United States and the development of new sources elsewhere have extended the probable availability of Frasch-process sulphur beyond 1960 — earlier predicted as the limit of visible resources. Alternative methods of acid manufacture overseas have also relieved pressure on world sulphur supplies, restrictions have been lifted, and New Zealand’s sulphur requirements seem to be assured for many years. Aerial Topdressing Expands Rapidly It is singularly fortunate that the aerial topdressing industry, which has developed rapidly over the past 7 years, has not been unduly handicapped from lack of supplies, as this method of application, which now

absorbs more than one-third of the available fertiliser, is already considerably increasing pastoral production on much of the second-class hill land. The following table shows the rapid expansion in this new industry: —

AERIAL TOPDRESSING Year (ended Hours No. of Weight Area 31 March) flown flights distributed treated (tons) (acres) 1950 .. .. 2,137 - 32,055 . 5,003 48,741 1951 . . . . 16,080 241,200 44,957 428,737 1952 . . . . 27,992 448,710 88,869 802,212 1953 .. .. 40,727 649,908 144,802 1,376,118 1954 .. .. 54,038 832,181 203,110 1,929,499 1955 .. .. 70,789 - 1,079,269 279,006 2,783,802 1956 . . .79,747 . 1,155,310 404,933 3,853,169

Still more second-class hill country can be profitably topdressed. Aircraft specially designed for topdressing, with a loading capacity of f ton to 1 ton, are now replacing the smaller Tiger Moths which pioneered and established the industry. Planning for the Future ' To meet expected demand several of the existing works are being enlarged. The manufacturing capacity of the new Napier works been substantially increased and Kempthorne Prosser are extending their Canterbury works. Further expansion of the other existing works can also be expected.

A farmer-owned works at Tauranga, a privately owned works at Morrinsville, and the co-operative Southland farmers’ works are now under construction.

A Government-sponsored delegation recently visited Japan to report on .the possibility of fused calcium, magnesium phosphate manufacture in New Zealand, but considered this type of works not suitable for New Zealand at present. Consequently all new production is being planned on the basis of superphosphate manufactured with imported elemental sulphur. Fertiliser Legislation and Administration The first legislation which sought to control the standard of fertilisers, the

Manure Adulteration Act, was passed in 1892, a year before the English Fertilizers 'and Feeding Stuffs Act. The 1892 Act and subsequent Fertilizer Acts, which have been administered by the Department of Agriculture, have been aimed at enabling the farmer to know exactly the manurial value of the fertiliser he is buying and to protect him, and the fertiliser industry, from exploitation. . The Department of Agriculture has maintained a close' interest in the industry in many ways, including control of the quality of fertilisers, field and plot experiments, extension of existing and new knowledge and techniques, and personal advice to farmers on fertilisers.. Importance of Fertilisers Though earlier records are not complete, the graph on page 189 gives an approximate reconstruction of fertiliser use from 1885 to the present day. Short-term fluctuations due to the various factors affecting supply and demand are evident, but the general upward trend in use undoubtedly has brought in its train increased production. Fertilisers have been the foundation on . which most improved farmmanagement practices have been built and have therefore played an important part in the economic development of this country. Indeed, livestock farming based on grassland could never have been developed so rapidly or so intensively as it has been without the contribution of the fertiliser industry. References “Fertilisers in New Zealand 1867-1929”, thesis for M.Agr.Sc. (Canterbury Agricultural College) L. W. McCaskill. “Agricultural Organization in New Zealand”, Institute of Pacific Relations, edited by 11. Belshaw, published by Melbourne University Press (1936). “Ocean Island and Nauru”, Albert F. Ellis, published by Angus and Robertson (1935). “The New Zealand Journal of Agriculture”, October 194.2, "Serpentine Superphosphate Increases Production”, A. H. Cockayne. “The New Zealand Journal of Agriculture”, October 1946, “Serpentine Superphosphate", G. H. Holford. “The New Zealand Journal of Agriculture”, July 1947, “Farming in New Zealand: Topdressing”, J. M. Miller. New Zealand Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 180, “Cobalt Deficiency in Sheep and Cattle". - "New Zealand Department of Agriculture Annual Statistical Review of the Fertiliser Industry in New Zealand” (1955 and 1956). New Zealand Department of Agriculture Annual Reports.