r•7 77-0,7 • •••••,,,I,T A 30 1...1 1_ T I PR. L trotti COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA LINSEED A Statistical Analysis of Area Production and Yield per Acre in Australia 1947-48 to 1956-57 BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS CANBERRA. A.C.7. COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA LINSEED A Statistical Analysis of Area Production and Yield per Acre in Australia 1947-48 to 1956-57 BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS CANBERRA. A.C.T. FOREWORD This investigation has been directed towards obtain- ing information on area, production and yield per acre of lin- seed grown in Australia during the period 1947/48 to 1956/57. This particular period is recognized by the linseed industry as the first t6n years of commercial production. .Acreage and production da.6a were supplied to the Bureau of Agricultural i.con.omics by Meggite; Ltd., and from these records the stati.tical analysis has been made. The investigation was carried out by Mr. L.W. McLennan. .ivir.K,L. Kinsman advised on statistical techniques and was responsible for the special statistical study repoited in Apfiendix. A. Mr. W.R. Hinchley compiled the tables. Maiden Director. CONTENTS FOREWORD es INMODUCTION Scope of Study 1 Early Efforts t o Establish Linseed Past Assistance to the Industry 2 Linseed Oil Utilization and Substitutes 3 Australia's Linseed Requirements 3 liarketing ,of Linseed A STUDY OF THE FIRST TEN 'YEARS OF COlvilviERCIAL LINSEED PRODUCTION: Number of Crops Grown Acreage Australia and States Statistical Divisions Average Area of Linseed crops 11 Yield per Acre 13 Australia and States 13 Statistical Divisions 15 Localities 15 Distribution by Yield 19 Distribution by Number of Crops Grown 19 Production 22 Impurities and Oil Content 22 Percentage Impurities in Linseed 22 Percentage Oil Content of Linseed 24. LINSEED-WHEAT RELATIONSHIP Comparison of Linseed and Wheat Yields Comparison of Linseed and. Wheat Prices 30 APPENDIX A Factors Affecting Decisions to Grew a Successive Crop of Linseed in Queensland 31-38 APPENDIX B Statistical Tables 39-54. LIST 01: ILLUSTRATIONS MAP Page Distribution of the Total Area &awn to Linseed. Australia: 194.7 to 1956 9 .GRAPHS I. Area of Linseed. Australia and States: 1947 to 1956 12 II. Average Yield. Australia and States: 194.7 to 1956 14. III. Frequency Distribution of the Total Number of Crops by Yield per Acre. Australia and States: 1947 to 1956 17 IV, Cumulative Frequency Distribution of the Total Number of Crops by Yield per Acre. Australia and States: 194.7 to 1556 20 V. Yield per Acre of Linseed as a percentage of Yield per Acre of Wheat. Selected Divisions: 1947 to 1956 28 TABLES 1. Number of Crops Grown on Known Acreage. Australia and States: 194.7 to 1956 6 2. Area, Production and Yield per Acre. Australia and States: 194.7 to 1956 10 3. Average Ar' ea of Linseed. Crops. Australia and States: 194-7 to 1956 13 4.. Area and Yield per Acre of Localities Mere more than 1000 Acres Were Sown in the Period from 194.7 to 1956 18 5. Distribution of Growers by Number of Crops Grown and Average Yield per Acre. By States: 194.7 to 1956 21 6. Percentage Impurities in Linseed. Australia and States: . 1947 to 1956. 23 7. Oil Content Percentage of Linseed. Australia and States: 194.7 to 1951 24- 8. Wheat-T..iinseed_. Yield Ratio by States -and. Statistical Divisions: 194.7 to 1956 29 9. Ratio of Price of Linseed to Price of Wheat: 194.7 to 1958 30 INTRODUCTION Scope of Study This study is a statistical analysis of the acreage, location and yield per acre of commercial linseed crops grown in Australia during the ten— (1) year period 1947 to 1956. It is based on records held by Meggitt Ltd. covering 6,008 crops grown in Queensland, New South Wales Victoria and South Australia by 2,896 farmers. These records contain details of production for all 6,008 crops with acreage known for 5,046. Thus, the analysis of yield per acre, which is one of the main objectives of the study, embraces 84 per cent of all come. mercial crops grown in Australia in the 10 year period. The chief purpose of the study is to provide factual answers to Questions relating to linseed yield and production in Australia which have arisen on many occasions in the post—war years when the desirability of en— couraging linseed production has been discussed. For a better appreciation of the analysis some introductory references are made to the more important features of early experience with linseed. Early Efforts to Establish Linseed The State Departments of Agriculture and private firms interested in linseed and flax fibre production have, from time to time, established experimental areas in many Australian environments, but for many years little continuous production took place and the emphasis was on flax rathgr than seed. The turning point came in 1927 with trials of new varieties from America and India introduced by the N.S.W. Department of Agriculture which showed yields up to three times greater than the specialised fibre flax varieties previously tested. This changed the outlook for commercial pro— duction of linseed and economic harvesting with the wheat header. Following some years of cultural experimentation and strain and variety testing the first worthwhile commercial crop of linseed, amounting to 363 tons, was delivered to Australian crushers in 1947-48. In 1956-57, nine years later,production had reached 19,122 tons. (1) Meggitt Ltd., Sydney received all linseed grown in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia on behalf of the four linseed crushing fiTms, Moggitt Ltd., Harold Meggitt Ltd., Vegetable Oils Pty. Ltd. and James Barnes Pty. Ltd. Past Assistance to the Industry As far back as 1907 the Commonwealth Government, in an attempt to help establish the industry in Australia, authorised a bounty of 10% of the value of flax and seed produced. Although £13,000 was available annually during the currency of the bounty, the greatest amount ever paid in any one year was £635. In the year before the granting of the bounty the area sown was 655 acres; on the expiration of the bounty in 1917 it was only 443 acres. From 1918 to 1922 the Commonwealth Government, as part of a plan to encourage the production of flax, guaranteed a price to growers. This led to an expansion of acreage and in 1921 the area sown was 1,640 acres, primarily for flax fibre. On the termination of the Government price - guarantee, acreages sown were again reduced. In 1928, the Tariff Board recommended that a bounty be paid on the production of fibre and seed. The rates were incorporated in the Flax and Linseed Bounties Act 1930-31, and provided for an initial bounty of 15% of the value of flax and seed produced to operate from 1st March 1930 to 29th February 1932; falling to 10% to 28th February 1934; and then to 7% to 28th February 1935. The rates of bounties payable under this Act were reduced by 20% under the Financial Emergency Act 1931. Althou,gh provision under the Flax and Linseed Bounties Act 1930 was made for the payment of a bounty of £100,000 for the five years, 1930 to 19359 the payments to 23rd October,1934 were only £1,343 for seed and E.1,088 for fibre. The poor response to this assistance led the Tariff Board in February 1935 to recommend the discontinuance of bounty payments on flax and linseed. The failure of these bounties to increase linseed production was attributed to the lack of suitable varieties. The introduction of the variety, Walsh, in 1936 altered this position but linseed production in Australia received no further financial assistance until 1944 when the Commonwealth Government guaranteed growers £34 a ton for the Walsh variety. The total quantity of seed produced as a result of this guarantee was 32 tohs. In 1945 the supply of Walsh linseed owned by the Commonwealth Government was taken over by two firms interested in the establishment of 2 a linseed industry in Australia, This led to production of what is accepted as the first commercial crop of linseed in 1947, the commencing year of the ten year study recorded below. Linseed Oil Utilization and Substitutes Linseed contains approximately 40% oil and yields about 36% when crushed. The residual linseed meal remaining after the oil has been ext- racted from the crushed seed provides a valuable high-protein stock feed. Linseed oil is the most important of all drying oils and is used in the production of paints and varnishes, linoleum, oil cloth, polishes, printing ink, stock and some human medicines, in foundries, and for other purposes of minor importance. When the manufacture of linseed oil was commenced in Australia some forty years ago, only raw and boiled linseed oil were produced. Now, more than forty different types of refined linseed oils are made. However, the main use of linseed oil has always been in the manu- facture of paints and varnishes. The appearance of synthetics has affectedthedemand for linseed oil in the manufacture of certain types of paint, but it is still the base even of many synthetic paints. Substitute oils which tend in part to replace linseed include safflower oil, soybean oil, castor oil, and fish oil. These are inferior to linseed as drying oils but safflower has the advantage that it is pale and free from the yellow colouring of linseed. For this reason it is of special value for pastel shaae paints, but for external and decorative use linseed oil seems likely to retain its predominance.