asked the Minister for Agriculture whether, in view of the fact that an extensive acreage of land has this year been cropped with oats, he has considered the position that will arise when the crop is harvested, due to lack of storage facilities; also whether he will consider the payment of a guaranteed minimum price so that merchants will be prevented from taking unfair advantage of the farmers' difficulty, or the adoption of such other measures as will ensure that a reasonable price will be paid for the crop.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Guaranteed Price for Oats.
At all times the great bulk of the oat crop from upwards of 500,000 acres grown in the country has been fed to live stock on the growers' farms, and the storage of this or of the relatively small balance available for direct sale has not presented any difficulty. Although an increase in the area under oats is anticipated this season, it is also anticipated that this will take place mainly on farms where the grain will be substituted in the feeding of live stock and poultry for the increasingly expensive imported foods, and I feel satisfied that the farmers concerned may be relied on to store their grain in a suitable manner. They are, of course, aware that in the absence of suitable lofts or granaries oats and other cereals may be safely stored in the stack over winter, provided steps are taken to guard against damage by vermin. It is not proposed to institute a guaranteed price for oats.
Is the Minister aware that numerous farmers who up to this have not engaged in tillage to any great extent, have this year cultivated considerable portions of their lands and that a great proportion of that land, in fact in the majority of cases, has been planted in oats? Once this is harvested and threshed there will be only one alternative open to the farmer and that is either to keep it and feed it to his stock or dispose of it. Most farmers dispose of it to a merchant in the nearest town. The farmers will be absolutely at the mercy of the buyers who can offer any price they like for the crop. The result will be that the farmers will have to take whatever price is offered and in the circumstances there is a reasonable prospect that the farmers will not be fairly treated and does the Minister——
Does Deputy Bennett desire to ask a supplementary question?
Will the Minister not consider taking some action that would prevent the merchants offering a ridiculous price for the oats and compelling the farmers to take it and does he not realise that in the absence of adequate storage facilities the farmers will be compelled to take the price that is offered?
If the farmers hold on to the oats they will be all right.
Does the Minister realise that in certain areas in this country it is not possible for the farmers to retain their oats in the stack because the number of threshing machines in the area is so small, and that if the farmers do not avail of the first one that calls into their district, they may expect that no other threshing machine will come there that year and that it will be impossible for them to thresh at all? Will the Minister in these circumstances consider making some provision for storage or making some arrangement with the local grain merchants to take the grain off the hands of the farmers, if the grain has to be threshed early in the season?
The whole question with regard to the supply of threshing machines will be examined in the very near future, and I am sure advice will be given to the farmers with regard to the threshing of their grain. I imagine if threshing machines are scarce that will be all the more reason why the farmers should keep their oats in stacks—that is if there are not sufficient threshing machines to thresh it. That would make it all the more convenient for the farmers to keep the oats in the stacks.
There may be areas in which the threshing machine comes say in October and the farmer may find himself faced with the fact that no other machine would come into that area that year. That is true of the area in which I live and it is also true of Deputy Bennett's area. Will the Minister say in the event of that dilemma he will intervene to provide us with threshing machines in the spring, if we hold over our oats?
Yes, that would be the proper solution. I intend having this whole question investigated before the next harvest season.
And in case of difficulty we may approach the Minister and discuss the question with him?
Yes.