Fortunately farmers have full confdence in Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith end his first-hand knowledge of the problems they have to meet in speeding the increase of production from their farms. But many of them are in low financial water and, anxious as they are to play their part, they and those upon whom they depend for credit need the assurance that additional undertakings will be covered by prices which will give a reasonable return.
Prices to be Fixed The Minister has now been able to state with the full authority of the Government that prices for wheat and other crops next year will be fixed, when the time comes, at a fair level, taking into account increased costs of production and the fact that farmers are now being asked to undertake the cropping of land which would not in normal times be considered economic. While 459, a quarter may have been a proper price in pre-war days to give wheat-growers on good land a fair return, now, when wages and other costs are rising and second-class land is being planted, this standard price becomes inadequate.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.