FARMS AND FARMING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 241, 25 July 1935, Page 8

FARMS AND FARMING

(By “The Tramp”).

BETTER PASTURE SURFACE CULTIVATION. ECONOMICAL AND EFFECTIVE. Another view of pasture improvement is given by an Australian writer, who says: Many farmers and graziers intend sowing down large areas to introduced grasses and clover this year, realising what benefits, will result both from the increased carrying capacity of the land and the improved health of the stock. Any development, which will lessen the initial cost of this work is worth consideration, as the ultimate margin of profit will he increased in this way.

Influenced by practices developed by our ancestors under the totally different climatic conditions of Great Britain, we have been inclined to continue these practices without considoiing possible variations, and in many cases simplifications, to suit the local environment. For example—the English farmer is a strong advocate of deep ploughing followed! by .careful and repeated cultivation to prepare a seed bed for pasture grasses. Such practices, if employed on the large areas to bo sown in Australia, would entail the outlay of large sums of money, and in many cases would make pas'ture improvement an unoconqmio proposition. There are a number of practical men, however, scattered throughout Victoria and other States, who have proved over a number of years that expensive methods of seed bed preparation are unnecessary under their soil and climatic conditions. The first discovery was that subterranean clover could he established by broadcasting the seed over the paddocks with no attempt at cultivation. It was then demonstrated that even a light scratching with a harrow or drill improved the “strike.” From these beginnings it was only a matter of time before another farmer, using his combined drill and cultivator, drilled into a virgin native grass pasture a mixture of oats, perennial ryegrass, clover and manure. The results proved highly successful. One grazier near Hamilton, Victoria, has treated 1250 acres in this way,' the yield of grain from the oats paying all expenses for sowing the area to subterranean clover. Numbers of men are adopting these, methods of establishment with excellent results, and in certain districts the experimental stage has long been passed.

There is a number of factors which supply a logical reason for dispensing with the plough in establishing pastures in favourable districts. On virgin pasture the surface two inches of soil contains an accumulation of organic matter. Instead of burying this below a layer of comparatively unmellowed soil, surface cultivation leaves it in position to give the pasturo seeds a good start. Everyone admits that these seeds should lie sown on a, firm seed bed, which is disturbed by ploughing, and must ho re-established by expensive cultivation. Despite the illtreatment, many of our nativo pastures have received in the past, many of them contain valuable rooted grasses which are slow to recover‘after ploughing, but which will survive surface cultivation and form a, valuable basis which may ho built up by the introduced species of grasses and clovers.

The most important factor in favour of the adoption of this practice is the 1 tremendous saving in cost of establish ment. Pastures may ho left for grazing until the commencement of the autumn rains, and with implements cutting a strip six or eight feet wide, large areas. may he cultivated and sown in one or possibly two operations. There are certain soils which may not respond satisfactorily to this treatment, and in districts where suiface cultivation has not' been tried out, small areas should be laid down experimentally. If careful inquiry is made, however, some farmer in practically every grazing or dairying district will ho discovered who is successful ly using tliis method of establishment.

feeding the calf. SKIM-MIUK SUBSTITUTES. On most dairy farms . where the calves are raised there is an ample .supply of skim milk for tho purpose, hut in some cases, and particularly where tho milk is sold for the whole milk trade, such a state of affairs does not exist, and the rearing of calves becomes a more difficult problem. Ihe future of any herd depends largely on tho standard of the calves raised to take the place of cows that are discarded each year whether lor old ago, disease or low production. The quality of tho calves will depend primarily on their parentage, but animals that may have inherited the capacity for high production cannot be expected to return their maximum profit at the bucket unless they have received due cane and attention at birth and generous treatment during the stages between birth and maturity. It is not too much to claim that the bulk of the calves horn on our dairy far inspire comparatively neglected during the first fortnight of their existence Subsequent treatment, too, is not 'always all it should 1)6, and the failure of many cows probably con t be traced hack to the fact that they were weaned too early. If a dairy cow is' to be able to stand the -strain of hiidi production in* future years s re must have proper handling and care during her early life. The unthrifty

dairy cow usually is the oritcomc of a neglected calf. Where, for any reason it becomes necessary to substitute any other food for whole or skim milk, it is essential that the change-over from one form of feeding to tho other should be made gradually. In any case the ration should contain at least a proportion of milk for the first four or five weeks. A good plan is to change over to the substitute food in the same way as one changes over from whole milk to skim milk, as explained below. The addition of too much meal at the commencement of feeding the substitute, probably would cause digestive disorders, in which event it would be necessary to revert to a half-milk ration until tho trouble is corrected. Calves raised on meals appear to bo particularly susceptible to scours and frequently seem to bo less vigorous than those raised 011 milk. These setbacks, however, eventually are overcome, and provided it lias received adequate care and attention, there is no reason why the calf should not ho just- as healthy and just as capable of standing'up to the strain of a long lactation, as one reaiod in the ordinary way.

Whore possible, the calf should receive whole milk for at least a. foitnight. As is well known the. first milk secreted by the cow is' useless for human consumption, hut of vital importance to the newly-born calf. Apart from its laxative effect, and the fact that it - cleans .the digestive tract of faecal matter, the first mill?, of colostrum, appears to increase the resistance of tho calf to various ills. Tjiioec ordinary circumstances, the milk becomes normal within three to five days after calving. For the first week it is desirable that the calf should receive its daily ration in at least three meals, while weak sickly, calves should be fed at least four times a day. The milk should ho at a,s near body temperature as is practicable.

Quantity of Feed. The quantity fed will depend on a number of factors, including the breed of the calf and tho method of feeding to he adoptod. As an avefiage it may bo said that for the first fortnight the calf will require 101 b of whole milk or its equivalent per day. Tho process of changing to skim milk at the end of the second week should he a gradual one. For the first day tlie oalf, instead should be fed 9lb of whole milk and of receiving 101 bof whole nnlk, lib of skim milk, the amount of the former being decreased and of the latter increased by lib each day unti , by the tenth clay, tlie calf will he receiving 101 bof skim milk > and no ,whole milk. Skim milk differs from, whole milk in that practically the whole of the fat has been removed only the proteins, or flesh-forming foods, and the mineral or ash content remaining. To make up for the deficiency of the fat in the skim nnlk concentrates of some sort must ho useu.. The substitutes for the fat may take tho form of a specially prepared cult food, which, of course, must contain a reasonable percentage of fat. Linseeci is frequently used for this purpose Whole linseed is rather too oily, hut the linseed meal which is obtained as. a by-product after the. extraction oi the oil foi ms a very satisfactory food. \n average sample contains approximately G 'per cent of fat, 2G per cent of protein, and up to 38 per cent carbo-, hydrates. Linseed meal simpler be fed first at the rate of one tablespoonful at each meal gradually increasing the amount until, when tho calf is three months old, it can l>e receiving as milch as 4oz per meal. Commercial oil may he used at the rate of’ one teaspoonful per meal and gradually increased to 20j5 per meal. If it is forma, that the linseed meal has too laxative an effect, a small quantify of Hour or oatmeal should ho added to the ration.* Whey versus Skim. Whev is frequently used instead of skim milk, from which it differs in that it lae.ks protein and requires the addition of some nitrogenous material such as meat meal to make up that deficiency. Thus, when whey is fed, meat meal should be added at the rate of 2; oz. daily at the fourth week, 3 to 3} oz. daily at the fifth week, 5 oz. daily at tho sixth week and 7 to 8 oz. daily at the seventh week. If the feeding ration contains a proportion of whole or skim milk the quantity of meat, meal should lie reduced accoidingly. Linseed meal also may be used to maker (rood the shortage of protein—l lb of meal being added to each gallon of As a general rule home-made call meal mixture consists of oatmeal, maize meal, linseed meal, wheat flour and blood flour. A mixture recommended consists of 1001 b of oatmeal, 40lb of maize meal, 1601 b linseed meal 410 of wheat flour, and 61b of blood floiu. This mixture has a nutritive ratio of 1 to 3 and on analysis, compares very closely with skim milk, Hh of the mixture containing practically the same food nutrients as one gallon oi skim milk. In addition to the above calves should be . encouraged to eat S™ 1 * n “ chaff at an early age—it given the opportunity they will readily take to these forms of fodder when only a few weeks old. When from four to six weeks old they require about *lb » of a mixture of oats and bran. AU x to eight weeks, this may be increased to lib a day and. when three months, old, the calves may be receiving 21b per day as well as chaff. Feeding calves from troughs is not a desk aide practice. In the firs pl-e it encourages the calves to gulp the food down too quickly, while secom } calves get th«r and portion of that intended fa. their weaker mates. Where several calves are beiim raised together the most satisfactory method of feeding is to provide separate buckets

so that all the cdives can he hailed up with a minimum of tjrouble and with a shelf or platform on which the buckets can be securely fixed. ■ When calves are fed on this principle it is a good plan to allow them to remain in the hails for a short period after each' meal and to throw a small quantitv of gram into each bucket after the milk has been drunk. This will encourage tho calves to eat, while it will also help to prevent them acquiring tho habit of sucking one another.

PREVENTING PULPY KIDNEY. INOCULATION! METHOD. In seasons of ample feed', graziers frequently find that a considerable mortality occurs among their lambs, such Josses often come about before lamb-marking, 1 and. cease so soon as the lambs are marked (says an Australian newspaper just to hand). The disease,' however, may break out again later. The cause of such loss is the disease, entoro-toxaemia, better known as pulpy kidney; It appears that tho ‘host lambs are the ones which die. The cause is said) to lie excess of protein, and this comes about where there is ni great growth of clovers or other rich, succulent feed. Starvation, by locking up in a yard for 24 hours, or changing the stock into a paddock containing less succulent feed, often stops the mortality. The most effective method of prevention is, however, by inoculation. •> I n New South Wales it is necessary, before resorting to this, to a license from the Chief Veterinary Surgeon. It is feared that in those parts of Rivorina which havev been favoured with good rains, pulpy kidney may ho prevalent this season. Mr A. L. Ross Southern District Veterinary Officer, Box 132, P. 0., Cootamundra, will ho glad to furnish any information on tho subject. DAIRYING IN BRITAIN. SAFEG UARDING THE MARKET. “Producers confidently expect that the Government will devise a scheme for safeguarding the dairyfarmej s market in Great Britain to a greater extent than at present, 5 , said Mi T. Baxter, chairman of the Milk Marketing Board, at tlie annual meeting in London recently. Discussing the operations of the Board, Mr Baxter said that considerably larger quantities of milk had been produced in the present contract period. The number of contracts had increased, and other causes wcie favourable weather conditions and the tendency of those already in the industry to increase their supplies. The entrance into tho milk market of producers in mixed fanning and cattle feeding areas had not only had a depressing effect on pool pi ices, ni might have serious consequences on agriculture as a whole in Great Britain.

Turning to Factories. “We know that the great stockrearing districts of south-west England Wales and some parts of the northwest, arc no longer making butter on their farms and using their skimmed milk to feed their calves and pigs, said Mr Baxter. “Their milk is manufactured in factories, and before many years are gone they may he importing heifers and dairy cows to make up their herds; The situation is equally acute in the east of England. Unless cattle feeding becomes more remuneiative to producers, I can see increasing quantities of milk being produced in this country. I sincerely hope that the, Government will arrange that, heel production is once again made profitable, for this- will go a long way to settle the problems of the rearing districts, and, to some extent, relieve our market of additional surplus of milk. Processed Supplies. Manufacturers of daily products were already producing more condensed milk, milk powder and fresh and tinned cream than, the market absorbed from all sources in 11)33, when the board came into operation. New uses had been found for those products m industry, but there were stdl vast quantities of processed milk comm into the country from overseas an the Government had been asked to prohibit those supplies to give manuacturers the opportunity of supp ymg the market with British milk. Uidess this was done, practically eveiy extia crallon of milk that was now produced must he made into butter or cheese tho two products which i etui lie lowest prices. Promoting Consumption. “The Board is anxious to know what is to ho tho Government’s attitude toward the question of butter and cheese imports,” Mr Baxter said. - Tim price hitherto paid for milk used i these products in tho last 12 montis lms been around 4d a gallon, and i must be evident that no good purpose can be served' by increasing the supplies, because they can only mean dnect loss to the producers of this country. The Government. has assisted us considerably by the direct subsidy under the Act of 1934, but this Act soon expires, and we shall then; have a heavy proportion of milk being manufactured which will have to be carried entirely by the prices .realised for milk sold in the liquid market.” Referring to the promotion of increased milk consumption, Mr Baxter said that the . scheme for the supply of milk to school children had been an outstanding success from the outset. The number of children receiving milk was now over 2,750,000. Arrangements had been made for further. development of the liquid milk market.