CONDITIONS IN AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23445, 27 September 1941, Page 6

CONDITIONS IN AUSTRALIA

MR R. MCGILLIVRAY’S IMPRESSIONS MENACE OF SOIL EROSION Mr R. McGillivray, who for a number of years was fields superintendent in Canterbury for the Department of Agriculture, has just returned from a tour of the four main states of Australia. He was one of the numerous band of New Zealanders held up in Sydney by shortage of passenger shiping to the Dominion, but was fortunate in securing a berth just before the last American boat sailed. Mr McGillivray travelled widely during his trip, which was largely of an investigatory nature into farming practices, crops, pastures, and, as the trip progressed, various aspects of soil erosion. He had many official and other useful contacts during his visit, enabling him to secure the fullest information in his investigations. There had been a very dry period in some parts, he said, with a good rain in Victoria just before he left, but conditions were still dry in the northern end of Victoria and the western districts of New South Wales. The water scarcity had caused much concern in Sydney on account of the low rainfall in the catchment area. The chief feature of Australia, from a stock point of view, said Mr McGillivray, in the course of a talk with “Straggler," was the magnificent type of merinoes to be seen in many parts, and the fine halfbrfeds in south-west Victoria. Beef herds were also noteworthy, and dairy herds in parts were good, although in other areas there was much room for improvement. Guernsey herds that he had seen were in many cases big bodied high producing types, and on one farm he saw a Romney Marsh stud of sheep that would do credit to any farm. Poor Pastures From an agricultural point of view the poorness of pastures in many districts of good rainfall was what surprised Mr McGillivray most. What was claimed to be the best pasture in South Australia was on the coast near Millicent, where New Zealand certified seeds had been used. This pasture was in its eighth year of existence and going well. There were some good pastures to be seen in Victoria, but the number was small. New Zealand certified seeds had been on the market for some years, but farmers had been slow in taking advantage of them, having been told in some quarters that they would introduce weeds into their pastures. Mr McGillivray took every opportunity of dispelling this strange idea. However, Akaroa cocksfoot appeared to be known almost everywhere. This was the only New Zealand pasture seed that this could be said of. In Gippsland he was told that it had been used extensively there, and he met a farmer north-east of Melbourne who has a lot of ploughable land and he uses Akaroa cocksfoot in all seed mixtures with excellent results. This man always uses a mould-board plough and thoroughly consolidates his soil prior to sowing his pasture mixtures, a practice that all farmers should adopt. The use of the disc plough and the sowing on loose soil was the cause of many failures in Australia. Soil Erosion' Mr McGillivray discussed the soil erosion problem, and said it was especially bad-in South Australia, Northern Victonia, and Western. New South Wales, and also in other parts further north. Unless something more practical than talking, reporting, and appointing committees was undertaken serious trouble lay ahead. In fact the existence of farming in these areas was at stake. A board of experienced men with definite functions could no doubt do good work. Such a board would have a lot of leeway to make up. Linen Flax and Wheat Mr McGillivray saw a number of linen flax crops in Victoria towards the end of August and found them looking well and growers expect to be harvesting that crop in November or the early part of December. He had found much to interest him in the wheat districts. The rate of seeding appeared to range from 401b an acre to about two bushels. Fertilisers were used at from 401b to lewt an acre, but there appeared to be large areas sown without manure. One official the visitor met stated that in one area where 55,000 acres had been sown 41,000 acres were without fertilisers. Large areas were fallowed prior to a wheat crop. Crops on the whole were not looking as well as one would expect. The traveller got the impression that over large areas there had been too much wheat grown. This was distinctly so in the case of marginal land, some of which should never nave been asked to grow cereals. It would be much better in trees. Mr McGillivray did not manage to visit the sugar beet district of Maffra, but one grower had informed him that growers were paid about 37s 6d a ton for roots. About 4300 acres were grown and the factory purchased 13,400 tons of roots, and produced 1500 tons of sugar. A visit had been paid to Yallourn, in Gippsland, where the State Electricity Commission generated power and made briquettes from the brown coal found over thousands of acres in the locality. About 1200 tons of briquettes were made daily. Yallourn was a very modern town, owned by the commission and situated right in the bush. There were coal supplies there, worked on an open face, which would last for hundreds of years. The prospects for establishing a profitable oil industry at Lakes Entrance, in Victoria, also seemed bright. There was no doubt about the presence of oil in the sand there, and the recent investigations made by overseas interests indicated that something definite would be done at an early date. Mr McGillivray said that if New Zealanders wanted a pleasant winter resort he could recommend Queensland, with its flowers and fruit and maximum sunshine. SKY-HIGH PRICES There is much talk these times about a “ceiling” to prices of one sort or another, but there apparently is no ceiling to store stock prices in Britain. A reader sends along a recent copy of a Scottish paper, published at Selkirk, in the Lowlands. It mentions that milk cows are “not easily purchased” and that black-faced ewe hoggets are making ransom prices. At the last sale at Castle Douglas the average rise was quoted at 25s 3d a head, with a top price of 81s, while from 65s upwards were quite “common figures.” These prices were for stock on mixed agricultural farms, but the hill farmers are not being neglected. Under the Hill Subsidy Scheme, which was brought in last year, sums amounting to £198,800 have been paid out to Scottish farmers by the Department of Agriculture. A total of 5240 farmers have already benefited by these sums, and 6540 applications are being considered. The'number’of sheep affected is 1,590,400, located in 29 counties. Under the scheme, which was designed to tide the hill farmer over a year of indifferent returns and enable him to contribute his quota to the nation’s food supply, the sum of 2s 6d was offered for every breeding ewe of hill flocks. More than 23,000 forms were issued to owners of sheep, including all who appeared likely to be entitled to apply. -