GREATER FARM PRODUCTION.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 101, 1 May 1930, Page 27

GREATER FARM PRODUCTION.

SEVERAL SCHEMES AFOOT. - _ \ FINDING HOW IT IS DONE. * (Specially Written by SUITER.) A': delegation of Australian farmers recently toured the North Island, visit-ing-the intensively-farmed /districts of Taranaki and the Waikato. Without a doubt the visitors "were amazed both at the fertility of the land and at the methods adopted to "wring the maximum production from the s&il. These methods are being intensified in New .Zealand, and, since farm surveys have thrown the spotlight on to production costs and shown how essential it is to have high per acre returns, the tendency during the next few years will be for farmers to concentrate in raising their production per acre. This can be done in two ways, by building up- their herds to a state of higher efficiency, and by using more intensive methods of management on the farm. It is a well-recognised fact thal< in every district there are certain farmers who are doing much better than , the majority. Even where the land is exceptionally poor, as in bush-sick country, there are usually a few who do tetter than their neighbours. The farm, surveys have shown how great are the discrepancies at times, and recently at Palmerston North is was stated that in certairE'/cases well-farmed land in the poorer parts, of that district had a liisrher per acre production than some of the far-famed alluvial flats. _ orn. thing is wrong- with' the_ alluvia farmer's methods when, this is the case. Studying Methods.,

Certain farmers excel in one Particular line. Tie writer calls to mmd men who are particularly good with lucerne, others whose ensilage is a by-wor the district, and others still wno, through, judicious use of nitiogeno manures, force their pastures prac ica y the year round. All of these men something to teach other farmers, > as we are organised at presen , ® are few ways of disseminating ' , knowledge. Officers of the Agricultural Department at times arrange for demonstrations at farms where par larly up-to-date methods are in vo« » but these catch only a handful o mers. What is needed is a system whereby the knowledge of the practices make for high per acre P roduc broadcast in every possible way, so all farmers in a district must be brougM into touch, with it. Different districts, with their different classes of country, demand entirely different methods,

' that such a system must be individualised to districts. The writer believes that it will eventually be found in the farm production schemes which are now being mooted in different districts, along divergent lines. , Object of Schemes. The underlying idea in these schemes is that farmers will pool their knowledge for the general good. So far, of ' course, the details have not been worked out, but briefly the idea, is that on a competitive ba&is farmers should be encouraged to give the production of their farms, and an outline of their methods. The best farms in any district would then be selected, the methods studied more closely, and then, by means of demonstrations, others farmers would be brought into touch with them. In any scheme, of course, publicity would be a most important factor, as many farmers in every district would fail to attend demonstrations. Without a doubt proper pasture management is one of the most important factors, and it would be most interesting to see how and why it is that some farmers, using only modest quantities of fertiliser, are able to achieve extraordinarily good results. Small paddocks and quick rotation of the stock, lies at the bottom of the secret, but in every district there are some who would benefit by a careful survey of the methods. Often it has been found that those with the best herd returns are not those who are necessarily making the most per acre from their farms. Kather it is the men who can strike the correct balance between high-producing cows and. pasture management on the most efficient lines who make the biggest profits. Individualism, of course, is against disclosure, of returns from the farm, but so much publicity has already been given the good returns in each district that this old argument is steadily being worn down. Farmers often object to disclosing their high production because they imagine that it will' put their rent up or affect them in some other way financially. Actually .it is difficult to see how it "would do so, as it is easy for any landlord to find out what the best farms in a district are producing, and from that he can easily strike a balance and assess fairly accurately what Ms tenant is doing. The good farmer has nothing to gam by lettm other farmers know his methods but similarly he has little to lose, and hisr district and his factory will benefit. There is already opposition to these schemes. They will not meet with the. approval of all farmers, but v the., are supported by some of the best farmers in each district—and it is practically certain that they wiU be—they will do a vast amount of good, and lead to the more rapid introduction of those methods which are being constantly proved in every one of our mtensivelyiarmed districts.