THE CROPS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22337, 26 February 1938, Page 9

THE CROPS

VARIATION IN YIELDS

Though wheat yields are continuing to turn out well, there are cases in which the returns are the other way about. One farmer in North Canterbury whose yield is generally about 35-40 bushels to the acre, threshed 12£ bushels off one paddock, and several other farmers record from 18 bushels to 23. The November rains arrived too late for these crops. In South Canterbury, in cases in which it had appeared as if the crops had partly recovered from the dry weather, small yields have been secured. In other instances, where second growth took place, the return was very small. Little of the original wheat was left in these instances, and the new growth had not matured. The most notable recovery in the wheat crops was in North Otago. Whilst some were too far gone to benefit much from the better conditions when they set in, a substantial proportion of the later crops are threshing practically up to normal.

Garton oats are threshing out particularly well, and yields should be amongst the best of recent years. The Algerian crops, however, which ripen earlier, are much lighter, and there is a general impression amongst farmers that this variety will be in short supply, particularly if flockowners set more oatsheaf aside to meet the advice to give their ewes more dry feed.