THE WEEK

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27065, 13 June 1953, Page 5

THE WEEK

TRACTOR SAFETY The concern of farmers about the rapidly • mounting tally of accidents with farm tractors and implements was well shown early this week when about 200 farmers assembled at Mr A. M. Rutherford’s property near Scargill to see a demonstration by the machinery officer of the Department of Agriculture, Mr C. J. Crosbie. The demonstration was very effectively arranged, and consisted not so much in warnings of what not to do as in demonstrations of what to do to drive tractors and operate machines safely. Mr Crosbie has acquired something of a reputation tot blunt speech on the the subject of farm safety, and thrust home his points with grim and unembellished stories to illustrate the particular piece of carelessness or ignorance he was emphasising. A point he Stressed particularly was that a tractor was designed to carry only one person—the driver—and anyone else who rode a tractor was taking a very big risk. Pretty well all the tractor accidents reported were due to carelessness, he said. In no circumstances should children be allowed to drive tractors t or to ride on them. Of the 25 fatalities with tractors in the last year, six had been to children, and all these lives had been needlessly lost. The demonstration opened with an exhibition of the difficulties of keeping control of wheeled tractors on rubber alone on slopes that were surprisingly moderate. On the day, wnich was dry, and on autumn pasture that was rough and stalky but not particularly long, a driver showed that it was impossible to keep full control even on a slope of only 11 degrees. Gripgers were shown to be effective in olding the machine effectively on the slope, and Mr Crosbie made the point that the few minutes needed to set up the grippers were very well spent. In either case, it was essential to maintain brakes in full working order, he said. A crawler tractor was demonstrated on a steeper slope, and the correct method of negotiating a down slope explained. Mr Crosbie gave a special warning of the danger of descending a slope with a crawler pulling a free moving implement such as a roller, when using opposite steering clutch for control. It was easy for the implement to get out of control and overturn the tractor, he said. It was obviously impossible to demonstrate rearing and overturning situations with standard' tractors, so Mr Crosbie had arranged a most ingenious model tractor about two feet long, electrically operated, to show these dangers on specially prepared sloping platforms. He gave special attention to the dangers of hitching loads above the normal drawbar position, and to trying to get a tractor out of a bog or hole by driving it at full power forward. It needed only the equivalent of a quarter of a turn of the wheel to produce instability, he said, and this could occur in half a second. If a tractor was stuck, it should be pulled out by another tractor, and once again, the time lost was a very small payment to make to prevent loss of life. The rest of the demonstration concerned implements, and fire-fighting with a carbon-dioxide extinguisher. A talk on first-aid for the commoner types of farm accidents was given by Dr. A. H. Meikleham, of Waikari. It was altogether a most useful day. not merely because of the warnings it Save against carelessness, but also for le demonstrations of expert handling of tractors.

SOUTH ISLAND DOG TRIALS The South Island sheep dog trials, which will begin at Ahuriri, Tai Tapu. on Monday, June 22, will now open with a heading and a huntaway event run at the same time but on adjacent courses, a slight alteration from the original programme. The trials are in the hands of the Tai Tapu club, but the 17 Canterbury clubs are all assisting with preparations on behalf of the South Island association. Sheep are being supplied by Mr R. M. Wilson and Mr J. W. Graham. Bus services to the ground have been arranged, and meals will be available. WEST r COAST REQUEST At a conference of Federated Farmers, it had been decided to invite Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, to send a team to the West Coast to lecture and discuss farming problems, Mr S. M. Wallace told the college Board of Governors this week. The college sent a similar team, to the West Coast a few years ago. The Director of the college (Dr. M. M. Burns) said he inclined to think that the trip could not be undertaken this year, as the college was alreadv committed to sending groups to Nelson and South Canterbury in the August vacation. Mr Wallace asked whether there would be any possibility of extending the college’s farm advisory service to the West Coast. West Coast farmers were prepared to make farms ‘available and carry out any experiments that were necessary, he said. IMPROVED FLOCKS A large crowd of farmers turned out this week to follow the judging of the third annual flock competition organised by the Waikari-Hawarden branch of Federated Farmers. The spectators included a team of boys from the Hawarden School. The judges, Mr G. McLean, of Omihi, and Mr J. Paton, of Cheviot, commented on the improvement that had taken place in the district flocks since the beginning of the competition, and said that in general they were in very good order. Results were:—Hill ewe hoggets: M. Sidey (91 points), 1; Broxton Est. (90), 2; X C. Denham (89), 3. Hill ewes: M. Sidey (90), 1; Mount Mason Est. (84), 2. Paddock ewe hoggets in wool: Matthews Brothers (97), 1; Lawrence Brothers (92), 2; W. K. E. Wright (90), 3. Paddock ewe hoggets, shorn: H. M. Carr (93), 1; J. G. Hamilton (90), 2. Paddock two-tooth ewes; F. K. Forrester (93), 1: Matthew Brothers (92), 2; Lawrence Brothers (90), 3. Remainder of paddock ewe flock (four, six and eight-tooth): F. K. Forrester (92), 1; W. K. E. Wright (91), 2- R. Kellock (88), 3. A. J. piakeley Cup for most points in paddock sheep: F. K. Forrester (274), 1; Lawrence Brothers ,(263). 2; W. K. E. Wright (268), 3.

CATTLE AT LINCOLN To cope with the feed available, beef cattle at the Lincoln College farm have been increased ftom 60 to 110 head, the director (Dr. M. M. Burns) reported to the Board of Governors this week. “Cattle and sheep are going into the winter in good forward condition,” said Dr. Burns. “Because of the succulent pasture growth some hay is being fed to the beef cattle and hoggets as well as to the dairy herd. The forage crops for the dairy herd are yielding very well and will carry the herd throughout the winter. In order to help with the control of the pasture and to use up some of the poorer quality hay, 60 head of mixed 18-month-old steers were purchased at £lB a head. This brings the beef cattle up to 110 head mad* up of 20 cull cows, 14 one and two-jrear heifers. 70 one and two-year steers, and six two and four-year steers. Progress with autumn cultivation was slow. Dr. Burns said. Deep ploughing on the heavier land was brought to a standstill by heavy rain during early May; surface cultivation on the freer draining soils had been spasmodic with only short periods of reasonably dry working conditions. Some oats and wheat were sown. Pastures made good growth and the present cover on most grass paddocks was excellent. This would be an important factor in easing the supplementary winter feed requirements for the stock. The treatment of selected pastures with D.D.T. was completed. The digging of the Dakota potatoes was held up and a long spell of fine weather would be required before this could be completed-