M 



KOTAL COMMISSION ON AGRICULTURE. 



S3 S*ptml r , 1919.] 



MR. JAMES DONALDSON. 



[Continued. 



11.730. Therefore, U it your suggestion that you 

 have to make tlio position ni iln fanner on tin- poorer 

 oil .s.< ure, anil at tht same time hand over to other 

 farmers a very largo p. .tit through tho guarantee; 

 in 1.1. :. an excessive pi- M K not tii.t tho difficulty 

 with all flat rates? Has not it been the difficulty with 

 coal mines, too? 



11.7*1. 1 put thi- i|iii<hi KHI to you? Well, it is a 

 difficulty. The same difficulty applies in other Indus- 

 trie That will bo my answer. 



11.783. 1 mean when it is 75s. a quarter. We an 1 

 informed that a farmer on 66 acres has made 

 346 10s. profit, plus 33 interest, which means 380 

 on G6 acres at 75s. That hardly suggests tho necessity 

 for 80s., does it? I cannot speak on that particular 

 instance. 



I !.".'-.'<. It was evidence given here by a farmer? 

 I cannot be responsible for another man's evidence, 

 and I am not going to be. 



11.784. But you do not doubt it as a statcim-nt of 

 fact, do you!' It was given here as evidence by a 

 farmer? I am neither going to say it is true nor 

 untrue. I am not in a position to make any state- 

 ment in regard to that. 



I 1 .7 *."!. Hut if it is true, to increase tho price of 

 wheat, ns you suggest, would simply mean adding to 

 the profitti which you are already making!' On ti. 

 other hand if I were to produce, as I can, farmers 

 who would show their yield will not be 2 quarters 

 per acre and will show a decided loss, would you agree 

 that the price should be raised? 



Chairman: You must not ask questions. Will you 

 answer the question Mr. Smith asks you? 



11,786. Mr. .S'mi/fc : Do you think it is possible for 

 land to be kept under wheat production if it grows 

 only 2 quarters? Yes; it might be through the exi- 



(The Witness 



MR. JAMBH WYLLIE, B.Sc. (Agri.), N.D.A. (Hons.), 



England, called 



11,7'M. I'hiiiiinun : You have put in a finds of 

 your v idcncc and attached to that are various ap- 

 pendices. May I formally put them in as part of 

 your evidence? Yes. 



11,790. You have also sent the Secretaries to-day 

 a statement headed: "Analysis of cost of produc- 

 tion of wheat, I'.n'.t crop." I am sorry to say the 

 regulation of the ( ommission is that we cannot ask 

 questions until tho Commissioners have had the 

 opportunity <>f ooonderiitg tin- statement upon which 

 they base their questions, and, therefore, to-morrow 

 I daresay you will be informed whether the Com- 

 missioners will be prepared to ask you questions 

 baaed on the analysis of cost which is now circulated. 

 You have also put in, which is to be circulated: 

 " Summaries of costs of productions of cereals 

 potatoes, mangels, or oate, etc.," which is included 

 in the new sheet? Yes. 



Eriiirncr-in-chief handrd in by Witness: 



1. The Witness has been lecturer on Agriculture 

 and Agricultural Hook-keeping since 1910 at the West 

 otland Agricultural College, Glasgow, and, by 

 permission i.f the Governors of this College, ho is 

 misting the National Farmers' Union in the pre- 

 paration nf its evidence upon costs of production. 

 Hi- h.-n had aOMkknkll experience in farm costings 

 work; i a farmer's .tun and has a thorough knowl.-.lg.' 

 and experience of practical farm work and manage- 

 ment. 



Hie Willie** appears for, and on behalf of, the 

 National ' I'nion. 



:l ' "il Farmers' Union has, so far as cir- 



mitted, end, . iv, , iirc,| to ensure that tli" 

 statement^ nf cost* should be drawn up a. r,,i ding in 

 * uniform pl.ui. -n that comparable results might be 

 >bUiirod from various district*; aU, that only reliable 

 and bond pdr tatemenU should be presented to the 

 Commission. 



4. Tho Union prepared a series of Schedules (see 

 Appendix IV.. Part A) sotting out tho constitii' n 

 item* that should He dealt with in the preparation 

 of statement* of oosU for various agricultural pro- 

 ducta. 



guncy of the season that you will only get 2 quarters. 



11.787. Do you suggest that this season is a poor 

 wheat season? Certainly. \\ . ,ue decidedly under 

 the average. All the returns show that. 



11.788. You also stated that you wanted this with 

 a free market. Do you suggest, therefore, that you 

 are to have the full play of tho market when prices 

 are up, and then to be guaranteed when prices come 

 down, and to be guaranteed at a point which shows 

 a substantial profit? If we had a free market next 

 year, we should ask for no guarantee whatever. That 

 was my answer; that I would be prepared to take 

 the free market. 



11,788. I think you gave one answer, a minimum 

 price with a free market? That is for the future 

 policy, but not for next year. 



11.790. When you state that farmers can get on very 

 well under any policy, do you suggest that you are 

 speaking for tne general body of farmers in that 

 respect? I can only say that this has been before the 

 Council, and has been approved by the Council of the 

 National Farmers' Union. 



11.791. Would you agree that there has been a 

 demand for guarantees? Certainly, there has been 

 a demand for guarantees. There" is a demand for 

 guarantees. 



11.792. Could you tell us where that demand has 

 come from? From the general farming body. 



11.793. Therefore, this statement that they are not 

 seeking it as they can get on well under any policy, 

 would not represent the general mind of the fanners? 



No. not that. There is a demand for guarantees 

 because, as I have affeady stated to this Commission, 

 we have been put out of joint by the war, and by 

 the demands made upon us by the Government. 

 That is my answer. 



Chairman : We are very much obliged to you for 

 your very interesting evidence. 

 wUhdrvt.) 



N.D.I)., C.D.A., the National Farmers' Union, 

 and examined. 



The-,- were sent, to the Committees <of tho County 

 Branches or the. I'nion with a request that representa- 

 tive farmers, who would be able to put forward state- 

 ment- of costs of production based on these lines, 

 should bo approached, and that from their record- 

 er by a process of estimation, draft statements should 

 be prepared. The Witm-tw the,n undertook a five 

 weeks' tour through M-l.vt.ed districts and met the 

 farmers who had been invited to prepare statement- 

 of costs, and collected the statements. The Vnion has 

 been heavily handicapped on account of the shortm--- 

 of time at its disposal, but. it is able to present 

 200 statements of exists obtained from various parts 

 of the countryf. A summary of tin-so is also set out. 



5. The statements submitted have all been sub- 

 jected to a very careful scrutiny, and only tlm-c 1 

 upon considerable detail have been accepted. The 

 farmer, in each case, has been asked to give explana- 

 tions of any figures which differ much from the 

 normal, and every figure put foiward is submitted as 

 honest and l>t>inl )i<lr in eycrv respect. 



6. The statements have been taken from individu.il 

 farmers farming holdings of various sizes and of 

 various grades of land, and the <|uestion at once M 

 how far they can be taken as repr. sentati\c of the 

 costs for the whole country. I'pon this point the 

 Union is of opinion that the evidence has been ob- 

 tained mainly from the better and more skilled class 

 .if farmers. This condition must be kept in mind in 

 attempting to draw from the statements conclusions 

 applicable to the whole country. 



7. The following Appendic.* are- annexed! : 



A.- Principles followed in tho preparation of the 

 Statements of the Cost of Production of 

 the various agricultural staples. 



B. Summary of the Statements of Costs, with 

 observations. 



C. Detailed Statements of Cost of Production. 



D. Memorandum on the basis for calculation of 



mamma] values in milk costings. 

 [Thit concludes the evidence-in-chief,] 



t 8re Appendix No. IV. 



