258 JouriKii of A i/riciiJ(iire, Victoria. 



furnished a triple incentive to urge farmers on — 



(1) The prospect of good prices for wheat. 



(2) Tlie probability of a year of drought being succeeded by a 



year of abundant winter rainfall. 



(3) The necessity of making the crop of 1915 recoup them for the 



losses of 1914. 



The Victorian Government advanced more than £600,000 to cover 

 cost of seed, manure, and fodder to necessitous farmers, and urged 

 farmers to put in as much wheat as possible. The official objective, 

 announced early in 1915, was the seeding of an area of 4,000,000 acres 

 and a crop yield of 50,000,000 bushels. At the time of the annoui: ce- 

 ment the general opinion was that the objective, though laudable, could 

 not, in view of the difficulties confronting farmers, be realized. 



The response of the farmers was magnificent, no less than 4,160,000 

 acres being sown to wheat — an increase of 35 1 per cent, over the 

 previous year s acreage Of this ai-ea 3,679,971 acres were reaped for 

 grairj. 



Owing to the favorable season, the abundant and well distributed 

 i*ainfall. the Victorian harvest amounted to 58,500,000 bushel?. 



This response of the farmers was beyond praise At the same tim.'^, 

 had it not been for the bold lead given by the State and the liberal 

 advances made — which incidentally strengthened the whole fabric of 

 rural credit throughout the country — this fine result could not have been 

 consummated. It is an interesting- exami^le cf the m'^nner in which 

 judicious financial assistance accelerates primary production. 



A similar appeal was made to farmers by the Governments of all 

 neutral and belligerent countries to increase the acreage sown to wheat; 

 and it is interesting to note that the response in Victoria was relatively 

 greater, both as regards increase in acreage and increase in yield, tha»' 

 that of any other wheat -growing country in the world. Thus the increase 

 in area in Victoria was 28.5 per cent, as compared with 1914, the previous 

 record; and 63 per cent, above the average acreage for the five years 

 prior to the war. Canada showed an increased acreage as compared 

 with 1914 of 26.2 per cent.; Great Britain, 22.5 per cent.; Egypt, 21.6 

 per cent. ; India, 13.2 per cent. ; United States, 10.9 per cent. No other 

 oountries managed to secure increases in acreage of 10 per cent, save 

 the British Possessions and the United States. 



The full details are set out in tabular form in the appendices. The 

 season of 1915 was exceptionally favorable for wheat-growing, and, as a 

 result, Australia's crop will probably exceed 170,000 000 bushels, thus 

 providing an exportable surplus of 135,000,000 to 140,000,000 bushels— 

 a surplus double that of any two previous consecutive seasons. This 

 following on the heels of the most disastrous drought within living 

 memory is a remarkable illustration of the racuperative power of Aus- 

 tralian soils. 



Long before this bumper harvest was assured problems relating to 

 the marketing and financing of the crop began to exercise the minds of 

 those in authority. In view of the world-wide shortage of freights and 

 the rapidly rising rates for ocean carriage, the State Governments, acting 

 in co-operation with the Commonwealth Government, decided to under- 

 take the responsibility of financing and marketing the crop and making 

 necessary advances to growers. The details of the Wheat-Pooling 

 Scheme are now well known to farmers. 



