LAND, STOCK & CROPS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 210, 18 June 1935, Page 7

LAND, STOCK & CROPS

NOTES AND COMMENTS. (By "The Tramp"). During <the winter months when cows are dry and skim milk, etc., is in short supply, the necessity for supplementary feeding arises. One farmer who will be carrying his pigs through the winter proposes to use meatmeal, molasses and carrots; lib of meatmeal a day, 81b of molasses mixed in 40 gallons of water, and an adequate supply of carrots will be used. The diluted molasses will enable eacli pig to receive three to four gallons of this food per day. Grass will also furnish part of the diet. Addressing a gathering of farmers at Kaiapoi, Mr J. H. .blackwell emphasised the possibilities of extending tdie pig export industry, and urged that full advantage should be taictn of the industry, b,vi farmers. 'He said that, the secret of success rested in the correct breeding of pigs which would satisfy the demand overseas, and ii New Zealand studied the home market demands he felt certain that the industry would develop tremendously and serve as a great support fo the already harassed dairy farmer. The correct size and type should be studied. It was.very important, especially when prices for dairy products were- so low, that olairy farmers should exploit pigraising, a branch of production in which there was scope for development.

The bull is the most important single factor in dairy herd improvements. Professor E. S. Harrison, of the New York State College of Agriculture, U.S.A., says that a good bull is a sound investment, and a poor one is expensive at any price. ''Each, cow has a definite inherited ability to produce milk, beyond which feeding and management cannot develop lier," he asserts. "In general, the sire and dam contributes equally to this inherited productive capacity). Therefore, if the bull . can transmit higher production than the dam, the daughters will show an increase in production compared to the dam. If the bull transmits factors for low production, the daughters may produce even less than the dams. Professor Hairison says he has met many dairy men who were willing to appreciate that bulls in service to-day pay from five to ten times as much for good, young cows as for the bull they place at the head of their herds. These dairymen, he notes, fail to determine to a great extent the production of females in the herds five years from to-day. The true value of a bull can be determined only by careful comparison of his daughters to their dams. A proved bull should be used whenever possible. Since the number of such bulls is limited, the risk can be reduced by selecting a bull from a proved sire and dam. Special attention should be given the dam, though the rest of the family should not be neglected. When a bull is selected from a proved sire and dam whose ancestors are proved, the chances of disappointment are greatly reduced.

Sir James Parr, High Commissioner for New Zealand, has written as follows in support of the contention that it will pay farmers to carry their pigs on to bacon weight, states an exchange : "I am satisfied that there is a huge market in this country for good bacon, but one or two important facts must be borne in mind. There must be the right pig, it must bo properly 'fed and conditioned, and last, but not least, it must be efficiently cured by experts. New Zealand is a dairying country like Denmark, but there is this vast difference : New Zealand treats bacon as a sideline, whereas Denmark gets • the huge sum of £20,009,000 a year from the English people for her bacon. Indeed, slie gets more money for bacon than for butter. ISew Zealand should note these facts. At the present time New Zealand is producing pigs for the porker market in this country m large quantities. This may be profitable for the moment, but we should not neglect bacon possibilities as we are doing. There is a great opportunity open to Neiw Zealand at the present 'moment of sharing in the expansion of the English bacon industry, brought about by the increasing restriction of Danish and foreign bacons. The increase .in English pigs has been enormous during the past two years, and this course has been mostly responsible for making up for the reduced imports of Danish bacon. The bacon market in England is a very large one, and much more important than the porker market, which is restricted. The quota allowed last year for New Zealand baconers was not reached, and for this year the English Government departmental authorities proposed a reduction in the quota Only after considerable discussion was I 'able to get them to agree to 12,500 i tons for this year. Ido hope that this quota will not be short-lived, for if we do not make full use of the quota allowed us it is' possible that the English Government may insist on reducing our allocation. Producers in New Zealand should, therefore, make a point of paying greater attention to the production of baconers, and should not allow what I fear is a. temporary -favourable market for porkers to lead them astray. Without doubt there are opportunities at the present time of getting a substantial share of the English bacon trade, but these will disappear if we do not take our chances."

The application of nitrogenous manures, such as ammonium sulphate and sodium nitrate, has met with indifferent success. These fertilisers mainly encourage the growth of grasses, and these in turn tend to suppress the clovers, which are rich in protein and ash. The feeding value of the pasture is lowered, as an adequate amount of clover is essential to maintain the grasses in a vigorous productive condition, states the Victorian Journal of Agriculture. If sulphate of ammonia is used in conjunction with an intensive rotational grazing system, under which the stock are feeding on the pasture always when it is short and rich in protein and ash, the alteration of nutritive value of the feed does not amount to much. Intensive rotational grazing has been adopted in a few places only in the non-irrigated districts of Victoria. Tests with ammonium sulphate, over a number of years, have shown that it generally gives a sharp stimulus to pasture growth for a short time after application, but that following this, there is a long period of depression, and over the whole season it does not give payable returns. In trials carried out by the Department of Agriculture, the best results with sulphate of ammonia have been obtained on the red

hill country of .Gippsland. Here, early spring dressings together with superphosphate and lime have improved the pasture considerably. Besides the increase in growth which follows the application, of phosphates, the quality of the pasture is materially' improved, mainly because of the larger percentage of clover encouraged, which is rich in protein and mineral. Experiments have shown that the soluble ash content of the pasture may be doubled by using superphosphate, while one of the biggest increases is in the phosphorus content. This is important in cases where mineral deficiency diseases occur. The disease "cripples," which is due to a phospherous deficiency, has been cured by top-dressing with superphosphate. The effect of superphosphate on pasture growth is noticeable throughout the growing season, although it is most marked in the early springy and the extent of* its effect, to a large degree, is dependent on the season. Growth lasts longer into the winter and commences earlier in the spuing, which means a longer growing; period and additional growth, providing opportunities for collecting reserves for lean periods.