MAKING NEW FARMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 22, 27 January 1928, Page 15

MAKING NEW FARMS.

DO THEY ' COST ?

A FEW ESTIMATES,

(By "PLOUGHSHARE.")

One hears so much about the settlement of the few areas of virgin land still remaining to us and so many widely varying estimates of the cost of bringing land into production that it is interesting to go into the matter of costs. Clearly it is a matter of circumstances altering cases; what one man can do for fo another may find impossible for less than £10. Soil, situation, weather conditions, labour costs, all are important factors.

It is, however, possible, by taking care-, ful averages, to determine roughly the cost of bringing any particular typ< of land into pasture. Most of the varia tion occurs in the cost of tbe cqnipnir-

a 1000-acre sheep-farm, for instance, will cost much less per acre under this head than a 100-acre dairy-farm, not only as rojrards b'tildiT>»rs. hn f o, «o fencing at such incidentals as shelter.

Bush country is perhaps the simplest, th ;re being really only one way of breaking such land. Felling contracts now run from 30/ to 50/ an acre, according to the nature of the bush. Most settlers will, of course, do a good part of this and other work themselves, but for the purpose of arriving at the cost it is necessary to calculate the whole on a wage-earning or contract basis. If the final value of the land does not repay the settler for his labour, then it is best left alone.

Taking £2 an acre as the average cost of felling, we next have to consider the cost of the seed, which at present prices will be a trifle over 30/ an acre. Adding a few shillings for freight, cartage and sowing, we get 35/ an acre under this head. Fences And Buildings. Fencing is the next item, for if bush country is to be held in good order, the goomr it is properly subdivided the better. This we can set at £2 a chain, assuming that there is suitable timber easily accessible. This is perhaps on the io. side, a* much labour may be expended on clearing the lines; it will certainly not be less if let by contract, and the cost of the wire and staples added. The cost per acre is less easy to arrive at. Assuming, for the sake of argument, a 500-acre section, 50 by 100 chains, we have 300 chains of boundary fence, of which we will say that neighbours erect 100. Subdivision fences to form six or seven main paddocks will account for at least 200 chains more, and we can add 20 per cent for the fact that the lines will not run straight or level, but must follow the contour of the country. This makes 480 chains, or 500 if we allow for a couple of small holding paddocks. Total cost £1000, or £2 an acre.

Buildings will cost another £1 per acre, if we allow £350 for a four-roomed house and £150 for a small shed for shearing and the storage of wool, seed, tools, etc. To erect such buildings at thifc cost means that skilled labour must be kept to a minimum and che&p materials used. In many cases the cost would be higher. This gives us a total of £6 15/ an acre, made us as follows: —Felling, £2; seed and sowing, £1 15/; fencing, £2; buildings, £1; total, £6 15/. This does not allow for any such luxuries as a dip, drafting yards or motor shed. Where Manure is Needed. Open fern country has practically no preliminary clearing, but on the other hand both cultivation and manuring have to be done. Initial discing and harrowing, after burning off, will cost about £1 an acre, seed and manure for a temporary pasture about £2. Fencing is the next item; there will be very little clearing to be done, but it is probable that posts will have to be bought. If the farm is to be used for dairying only something can be saved on the type of fence, but on the other hand, small paddocks will be required. A chain and a-half of fencing, per acre at 30/, will be about the minimum, or say £2 5/.

Buildings again will vary with the size of the farm, but assuming a 200acre farm, one can hardly erect a house, bails and store shed for less than £600, 6r £3 an acre, this is leaving out actual equipment, such as separator and machines.

The temporary pasture will be providing feed all the time, but will require topdressing at least once a year, at a cost of approximately £1 per acre. Then we can take a couple of crops of swedes, which will pay their own way, and have a final £1 an acre for ploughing and cultivation, £2 for seed and £1 for manure for sowing with the permanent pasture. Discing, harrowing, etc., £1; seed for temporary pasture, £1; manure for temporary pasture, £1; fencing, £2 5/; buildings, £3; two- topdressings, £2 (swedes); cultivation for permanent pasture, £1 seed, £2; manure, £1; total, £14 5/; less 2i years' feed, £5; £9 5/. In many cases the land would be put straight into swedes, or even permanent grass, but generally a period of temporary pasture (principally clover) is best; as is shown above, the feed, obtained fully covers the outlay. Gum-land. In breaking in the gum-lands of the North one has to undertake first the levelling off of the boles left by the gum*

diggers and then the amelioration of the soil-texture so that a seed-bed can be prepared for the grass. Also it has been found profitable to sow a liberal quantity of manure with the grass. Taking a dairy-farm of 200 acres, as in the previous example, the bill comes out something as follow:—Scrub-cutting, levelling, etc., £2 10/; first ploughing and rough working, £1 10/; (fallow for season); buildings, £3; fencing, £2 5/; seed, £2; manure, £2; working down for sowing, 15/; total, £14.

It will thus be seen that although virgin land may be cheap to buy, it costs a considerable sum to improve, let alone purchase the necessary equipment and stock. It is perfectly true that it sometimes pays better to* break in new land than to buy an improved farm, but whereas a man can leave the greater part of the cost of an improved place on mortgage, he must have ready capital and spend it freely before he can get much return from the virgin land. To tackle unimproved land without financial resources means that the work is unduly prolonged and often inadequately carried out, while it is a never-ending struggle to make a living till the farm comes into bearing. The breaking in of virgin country is hardly the job nowadays for the man of small capital unless he has unusually good sources of credit. Another point is that small areas must always cost more per acre than large ones, and in many cases the only way in which land can be brought in at a profit is by handling it in large blocks.