Early in the year the new Government took positive steps to revive the drought-hit Australian wheat industry and face up to its duty to provide as much wheat as possible for a grain-hungry world. It accepted the wheat industry's recommendation for a record 514m bushel delivery quota for 1973-74 and established an additional floating pool of 20m bushels in case any individual State exceeded ils own State quota. The Government also provided a special 10c a bushel incentive payment on top of the $1.10 first advance. This was the only increase in the first advance for 15 years. In May the Government approved a second payment to growers who delivered wheat to the 1969-70 pool. The payment had been delayed because of large sales from that pool on long-term credit. The Government recognised that there were many growers urgently in need of money to finance the planting of the 1973-74 crop.