1921.] Payment of Corn Claims. 703 



During the next few years every farmer will need to produce 

 everything possible from his holding (whether it be large or 

 small) that will yield a profit, and he can no longer afford to 

 regard poultry keeping as of no importance. Many farmers 

 to-day, by keeping well-bred poultry on modern lines, are 

 making a profit which goes a long way towards paying their 

 rent, but whether they keep poultry as a serious adjunct to 

 their business or not, there is no reason why on many farms 

 a breeding pen of geese and some well-bred laying ducks* should 

 not be kept. This would not entail the displacement of any 

 other stock, and in the aggregate would add considerably to the 

 revenue derived from the farming industry and also to the 

 food produced in the country. 



In accordance with the Corn Production Acts (Eepeal) Act, 

 1921, payments in respect of wheat and oats of the 1921 crop 

 Payment of payable on 1st of January, 1922, and 



Claims under the P^^^^^* cannot in any case be made before 



Corn Production . , ^ 



The Ministry will, however, endeavour 



to issue by the end of November a letter 

 of notification to each claimant who made a claim in the pre- 

 scribed form before 18th July. This letter will only state the 

 amount due, the actual Pay Order being issued at the end of 

 December. The above arrangement will not, however, apply 

 to claims made after 18th July or to claims which require fuller 

 investigation. These will be dealt with as soon as possible 

 after the completion of the examination of the first batch of 

 claims, and Pay Orders will be issued without any letter of 

 notification. 



The total number of claims now received is approximately 

 200,000. The task of dealing w^ith this number of claims is a 

 very considerable one, and it is hoped that farmers will appre- 

 ciate the fact that the Ministry is making every effort to ensure 

 that payments shall be made by 1st January next. 



Occupiers who have made a claim on the proper form and 

 liave received an acknowledgment are requested to refrain from 

 writing to the Ministry on the subject as such correspondence 

 tends to delay the work of examining and dealing with the claims. 



* See this Journal^ April, 1921, p. 54. 



