NOTES BY THE WAY

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22464, 27 July 1938, Page 8

NOTES BY THE WAY

THE DAIRYMAN’S LOT

It was recently stated that of the various lots of the farmer at the present time that of the dairyman w.as the most unhappy one. producer of milk for town supply is getting from lOd to Is a gallon, and it has been fairly definitely established that winter milk cannot be produced in a season like the present within a penny or twopence a gallon of the latter figure. The long spell of cold weather has reduced the supply in most herds by from 33 to 50 per cent., correspondingly adding to the cost from that angle. In addition so much hand feeding has been necessary that supplies of hay have become very scarce, and this commodity cannot be bought for less than £4 a ton, plus the cost of carting to the farm. Mangels, about the only other class of teed available at present, have got to be lifted from boggy paddocks, and they are costing 15s a ton. The potential loss is that paddocks which would carry good grass in the spring have been poached by the tramping of the cows and the maximum feed from them is unlikely to be obtained until the summer. The wet condition of the paddocks has meant the loss of a good deal of hay by being trampled in. and the cows have become footsore through treading for an unusually long period this season on the frozen surface of the roadways between the byres and the paddocks. The dairyman has to keep going from 4 to 5 o’clock in the mornin" until night to milk and feed his herd, and with the general discomfort of the work and the sloppy conditions he has to contend with, it is little wonder that some of the smaller ones have, as one of the number put it to .the writer, "turned the game in." Figuring the return out on the basis of the average worker’s wage, this dairyman reckoned that with the hours he has to work he would be making about £ll a week. Instead of that he consid-. ered the figure was between 3d and 4d an hour. • It might be contended that the conditions elsewhere are very little different. but this is not the case, and this is where the local producer has a legitimate cause of complaint. In Auckland, where winter conditions on the dairy farms are only a degree different from those of the summer, except for about two months of the year, the price to the producer is Is 3d a gallon; in Wellington it is Is 4d. With the harder winter in _ Canterbury and the greater cost of winter feeding the price is lOd to Is, and the retail price ranges from 5d to 6d a quart. _ In the two northern cities the retail price Is 7d. It would seem that to bring the local producer’s pr’ce to something of an equivalent the minimum figure should be round about Is 2d, or possibly a minimum price of Is Id a gallon, which would enable 7d a quart to be charged to the consumer, the same as in the northern cities. The “spread”' between the two prices would still be substantially smaller than it is in either Wellington or Auckland.

BRITAIN’S HELP TO FARMERS

. Some unusual proposals are made in Great Britain to assist the farmer. The Government has already gone a considerable distance in this respect .—at least to an extent that might make the New Zealand farmer a little envious—by spending some millions on subsidising sugar-beet growing, by a system of “deficiency payments” to wheat growers, by subsidising producers of first grade beef to the extent of 7s per cwt, equivalent to £2 10s to £3 for a prime beast, by a , substantial refund to farmers on the cost of lime and fertilisers used to increase the fertility of their soil, by a system of derating farm lands, and by duties on different classes of farm produce coming into the country. This seems a formidable list, but in Parliament recently a speaker suggested to the Minister of Agriculture that in order to increase land fertility a contribution should be made, not exceeding £2 an acre, towards the ploughing up and resowing of worn-out permanent pastures, subject to inspections and conditions. Mr Morrison replied that he had no power to make contributions of the kind suggested. To this reply the member stated that a contribution of this nature would do more than all the half-measures to restore agriculture to prosperity. This, replied Mr Morrison, was clearly a matter of opinion, and the proposal was turned down. IRRIGATION FARMING While various irrigation schemes in Canterbury are being prosecuted little has been done so far to acquaint probable large scale users with the technicalities of irrigated farming. It is not simply a matter of turning the water on and off as appears necessary. Water is 'like fire—a good friend but a bad enemy—and too much water, or water that is not utilised judiciously, might create more damage than benefit. The early days of irrigation in Central Otago provide an illustration in this respect. Farmers there were encouraged to use water in any quantity without an adequate system of drainage, and the result was the souring of much land that previously possessed excellent pastoral and fattening properties. We have progressed far beyond these elementary principles since then, but it is probable, nevertheless, that holders of fairly large blocks of land on the plains may have trouble controlling the, effective use of the ample water that probably will be available in the areas reticulated. To farm 500 or 600 acres of irrigated land effectively would require more than twice the labour that now suffices, and this at once raises a- difficulty. Even limited irrigation of, say, 20 to 25 per cent, of such holdings would require much more labour if part of the object aimed at should be the provision of root, hay, and fodder crops, and It is obvious that from many angles this is one of the main benefits jvhich irrigation will bring about. The winter has to be provided for, no matter the extent to which water may stimulate the growth of pastures. It is probable, of course, that irrigation would enable wheat to be grown on land which is too light and dry to devote to that cereal in its present condition, but even water will not provide all the soil elements for such an exacting crop. It has been suggested that stock pests such as worm infestation, are likely to be aggravated by irrigation. The results of the two wet seasons give some support for this suggestion, but it is not improbable that such troubles as footrot would be encouraged. This, in turn, might cause a swing over by lamb raisers to a class of ewes less susceptible to the trouble than the class that is available to-day, and this again would bring up the question of the outlet of surplus ewes from the high country. These are only likely problems as they present themselves, and' are" not impossible to solve, but

the work of solution should not be delayed until the works are completed. The matter was referred to in the annual report of the director of Lincoln College (Professor Hudson), presented to the board at the last meeting of the board of governors. The report stated that with the development of extensive irrigation works in Canterbury the practice of irrigation could be expected to play a most important part in rural production. No facilities existed for offering a course of instruction in irrigation practice, and there was no provision for the adequate investigation of the many technical problems which must arise in consequence of the drastic changes in farming procedure which would follow the general application of irrigation. Some years ago an abortive attempt had been rnade to meet the position by the establishment of an investigational area at Seafield. Apparently too many interests, each with a different outlook upon the enterprise, had been concerned. and the effort was unavailing. The outstanding importance of the matter was such that it was considered desirable to bring it forward and express the view that the college should .undertake an intensive, course of teaching and' investigation m connexion with irrigation projects.