34 



ROYAL COMMISSION ON AGRICULTURE. 



86 Amgtut, 1919.] 



MR. M. D. BANNISTER, F.S.I. 



[Continued. 



8047. You think that that would be safer than 

 rually trusting to the Government? I would rather 

 trull to my" sons than to the Government. 



6043. Mr. 1'arktr: I waut to get your opinion on 

 on* point, and I will first a :,.n >.,;.n.il j,, r 



acre is required in your district for arable land. 

 Would it be anything from 15 to 20? 1 should sav 



6049. Thon what capital would be required for the 

 ame land in grans : would it be a different < 

 Yea; I waa rather thinking it would be under l'l(i. 



6060. l.j you oiiy for arable, and 10 for ^ 

 I should think i'.S would cover it for gram. 



6051. It is more than I thought. Supposing a 

 farmer has 20,000 capital in arable land at the pre- 

 sent time and would only require, putting it at my 

 5 but you say a bigger difference, 15,000 for the 

 same land in grass, it would be good business at the 

 present prices for him to put that land down to grass 

 and withdraw the 5,000 capital and invest it in 

 something safer than farming:' He has got to get it 

 down to grass first. 



6052. Yes; but is not there a strong temptation to 

 a farmer, unless he is protected by a good guarantee, 

 at the present time to put the land down to grass 

 and withdraw so much capital;* Yes, I think there 

 U. 



6053. Unless he is protected? Yea. 



6054. It seems to me a strong, point that many 

 farmers make so as to realise some of their' capital .>'. 

 very good prices and have a les, risky time in farm- 

 ing. Would that I*- your opinion? V. - 



6055. Mr. Smith : I should like to get some clear 

 idea with regard to these figures that you have placed 

 before us. Do you suggest that these are actual 

 figures of expenditure for the purposes enumerated? 

 I do not suggest that he has hired somebody to 

 plough his land and paid him 36s. for doing it; 

 because he employs his own horses and tackle and 

 paya his men by tfie week, and they may be ploughing 

 one day and doing something else the next. 



6056. Do you seriously suggest that it costs 36s. an 

 acre to plough light land? I do. 



6057. How much has the oost of ploughing in- 

 creased since the war? I should think somewhere 

 from 125 to 150 per cent. 



6058. Is not it generally taken by valuers that' the 

 cost has doubled? No; or not in my district. I do 

 not know about others. 



6059. Would the extra cost in your district be 

 greater than in some other districts then?. \V e are 

 Here in private, so I think it is permissible for me 

 to say that our Valuers' Association covering thi se 

 three Counties, had our meeting the week before last 

 to decide on the prices to be put for this current 

 year's valuation. After A very long discussion, it 

 wa agreed on a 125 per cent, increase over pre-war 

 prices. Personally, I was in favour of 150 per cent., 

 as many others wore; but it was very close voting, 

 and 125 per cent, won it. 



6060. And that is the standard now taken for -vour 

 County P Ye. 



6061. Ig not it true that some valuers before i In- 

 var, ay in 1913, estimated tho oost of ploughing 

 light Und at 10*. an acre? They may have dono in 

 om* Counties ; I do not know. 



6062. But are not thero what might be termed 

 standard works which valuers to some extent take 

 as their guide, which lay down that 10s. an acre for 

 light land is a fair price? You will find some ..Id 

 standard works of many years ago whero they say 

 10m. ; in fart. I think yon could find some when- they 

 ajr 8. I believe I could find you some. 



6063. You would not call n work published in 1914 

 an old book, would you ? \ 



0084. If f suggest that there are publications by 

 rccogni^d authorities as recent as 191 I. where 10s. an 

 ar re i> taken a* the cost for ploughing light land - f 

 I should ny they were undoubtedly wrong. 



6065. I cannot deride between you. Still, it in a 

 fact that has been stated. I am quite prepared to 

 take that from you. 



6086. You hnve got a wonderful crop of wheat hero 

 which has already bwn referred to in No. I. I 

 von hnve got .V. 'quarters of wheat there On these 

 heavy-bearing crops, is not thero generally (- 

 much straw P You, there is t.<-ua11v. 



0007. Thon can you explain how it is that on a crop 

 of 36 quarters thure are only 4 tons of straw, whilst 

 on a poor crop of 124 quarters for 5 acres. - 

 quarters to the acre as against U quarters, there are 3 

 tons of straw? On the heavy -yielding crop then was 

 very short .straw indeed and a thirk piant, wlioi. 

 the other land thero was longer straw and ii MTV 

 poor plant-, 



It It is rather a remarkable difference, is it not: 

 :i ions of straw from 12J quarters and only 1 tons from 

 .'tti quarters?- 



'. Then I see in No I you put do 11 'Cutting 

 and binding and harvesting.'' \\hat exactly do you 

 mean by that? You separate them. The two are 

 generally considered as part of the harvesting opera- 

 tion, are not they? 1 have taken cutting and binding 

 on the cost of doing it per acre. The cutting ana 

 binding are done by two men and a boy, or one man 

 and a boy and the horses, whereas when you come to 

 the actual harvesting you have to have a big mini I NT 

 of horses and a bigger number of men and work in a 

 gang ; that is why 1 took it separately. 



6070. What is your explanation of the fact that it 

 takes just as much to harvest the corn per acre w hen 

 there are only 2J quarters to the acre, as it does when 

 there are 9 quarters? It is a question of the distance 

 from the buildings and the hilliuess of the land. 

 Obviously, if you have a very heavy hilly district \<u 

 cannot get on anything like so fast' as you can with a 

 big plain Held. 



0071. It is rather strange, is not it, that allowing 

 for difficulties of that description, the harvesting of 

 w heat at 2J quarters per acre should cost as much as 

 the harvesting of the w hiyt at 9 quarters to the acre? 

 ^- 1 do not think so. 



6072. There must be an enormous difference in tin- 

 bulk to be carried and the rickyard of your heavy- 

 crop is at the end of the field? In fact, is in that 

 field. 



6073. It is rather remarkable that it should happen? 

 There are many remarkable things happen. 



6074. Then in No. 9 you have down 15 sacks of wheat 

 for 15 acres. That is a sack of wheat, m- I bushel-, to 

 an acre. Is not that rather a large amount of seed? 

 Not for hill land. 



6075. Four bushels an acre is not an exces-ive 

 amount, you think? No, not on this land; it would 

 be on underbill land. 



6076. I should think it is almost as exceptional as 

 the 9 quarters, is not it? No. I can find you ir,.(HM 

 acres where they will put n sack an acre. I will show 

 you the farms if you like. 



6077. Can you give us any idea what the general 

 impression of farmers is regarding the future of thf> 

 industry; what are they expecting or what are tin ir 

 ideas in regard to farming in the future?- T tlrnk 

 they are, on the whole, satisfied with the meat side 

 of the question. I believe- those prices have ab~o- 

 lutely satisfied them or I will not say absolutely 

 satisfied them, but satisfied them. 



UO7X. It would be almost too much to say that with 

 regard to farmers? Yes ; but taking them as a whole 

 I think they are satisfied with those prices. As to 

 milk. I believe they will be satisfied- or perhaps I 

 ought not to mention any prices for milk ; but they 

 .are rather doubtful almut milk, and T think they are 

 very doubtful about corn. 



(1079. What do you think their trouble is with 



regard to corn? I think they arc so frightened of 



imports and a very big drop in the price. 



i. Do you think then that they are expecting 



some help in that direction? Expecting or hoping? 



6081. Whichever you like. I am trying to learn 

 what their opinions are? 1 think they are hoping, 

 but rather doubtful about expecting. 



6082. Do you think they look forward with any lack 

 of confidence to the future as far as the industry is 

 concerned? Yes, I do. 



6083. Due to this uncertainty of price? I think 

 due to the whole uncertainty of everything at the, 

 moment. There is the uncertainty of the | 



are going to realise; the uncertainty of the price's 

 they have to give for all their feed ing 'stuffs and their 

 implement*, and also the uncertainty of their labour. 



been 



'"-I Did T understand you to say that there had 

 en sales of land in vour district?-' Yes. 



