PROSPECT OF MORE WHEATGROWING IN CANTERBURY

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28701, 26 September 1958, Page 3 (Supplement)

PROSPECT OF MORE WHEATGROWING IN CANTERBURY

By

A. H. FLAY

Our contributor, Professor A. H. Flay, B.Sc., M.Agr.Sec., Dip. C.A.C., F.N.Z.I.V. is associate professor and head of the department of farm management and rural valuation at Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln.

favourable prices of wool and lamb over the last decade have influenced cropping farmers to increase their production of these at the expense of the less rewarding cash crops. Until this season cash cropping has been at a discount, but the recent fall n the prices for fat lamb and wool has directed thought back to cash cropping. c jx Also the recent increase of 17 per cent, in the price of wheat (Ils 6d to 13s together with the release of new varieties yielding 15 to 20 per cent, higher than the standard Cross 7 has sharpened this thought.

Cash cropping in Canterbury, though, implies the production of wheat, barley, oats, peas, linseed, potatoes, and small seeds. Could it be that the movement back to cash cropping would involve the production of our total requirements of all these? If we did, could we maintain our sou fertility and our present production of fat lambs and wool?

•In any sheep economy in the arable farming districts nqw grass is regularly sown and in the spring, with the surplus of growth, is often saved for ryegrass seed. White clover seed is also saved, especially in a favourable season.

•In recent years small seeds have been complementary to sheep farming to the' extent that we have exported useful surpluses.

•We grow our full requirement of potatoes and our contract requirement of linseed. • Barley is fully produced for present local consumption. (If we could develop in New Zealand a large scale pig industry and use, say, one bushel of barley per pig fattened at an efficient level of one pig fattened per cow milked—two million pigs—then we would have a local market for a further 40,000 acres of barley.)

• Peas, both field and garden, are used locally but our present production is well above local requirements, a useful area being grown on contract for export.

• Oats are erratic in area and price but seem to meet requirements.

• Our present production of wheat this year is likely to be 150,000 acres (last year about 67,000 acres) and is likely to increase next year by a further area of 50,000 to 100,000 acres to a total of 200,000 to 270,000 acres.

Our New Zealand requirements for all the locally grown cash crops are fully met except for wheat. We use 15 million bushels annually and so can extend production to 15.000,000 bushels, i.e.. 400.000 acres.

A review of a few farm accounts for last year, especially those who sold their wool in the

April sale and/or sold most of their lambs in March and April confirms the economic advantage

today of the wheat crop. A recently published Canterbury Chamber of Commerce Agricultural Bulletin, No. 349, states that on a medium land Canterbury farm of 405 acres, carrying 1400 ewes with lamb at 50s a car-

- case, and wool at 3s per lb, the 'f surplus for interest on capital is ? £ll2O.

By substituting a portion of the flock for cash crops, mainly wheat (70 acres wheat, 30 acres

peas and 10 acres extra of small seeds), the surplus for interest is £1933. Present Trends If the present trend in prices continues to move against lamb and wool there is not the slightest, doubt that farmers will extend the area in the only readily available cash crop—wheat. Over the last 10-15 years there has been a substantial build-up of 'soil fertility on every farm in every cropping district. This is is an excellent reserve that may be drawn upon in times of need. But need it be drawn upon? Can we not maintain this valuable asset and still grow 400,000 acres of wheat together with our barley and oat requirements—a total of upwards of 500.000 acres of grain annually. We know the value of and how to establish and maintain high producing clover based pastures with the aid of lime i nd fertiliser and the use of D.D.T. for grub control; how to grow, graze and conserve hay from lucerne; and how to use stock concentrations further to build fertility. We merely have to continue these with intensive grain production on the cropping soils of the plains and downs of Canterbury, v Marlborough, North Otago, and in parts of Southland. That is, we ha’ve to combine intensive sheep farming and intensive cash cropping. In the past, when we reduced soil fertility—to a deplorable state in some instances—we employed intensive grain production without the intensive fat lamb raising.

In the past it has been demonstrated with farms under the Lincoln College Farm Advisory Service that with certain areas

in grain annually the fertility can be not only maintained but slowly raised. • These areas are: heavy land one-third in grain, medium-heavy one-quarter in grain, and mediumlight one-sixth in grain. Potential Capacity Such intensive grain production together with intensive fat lamb production is by no means beyond the capacity of our average farmers. The potential, then, for annual grain production in Canterbury alone is over 400.000 acres.

The table below shows the grain producing soils of Canterbury and the possible areas for sowing:— I

By the addition of the cropping lands of Marlborough, . North . Otago and Southland, the area could easily be increased by 200,030 acres to give a total annual grain production of over 600,000 acres. Now what of the present fat lamb and wool production. Must there be a reduction? Canterbury arable sheep farmers have only very recently, learned the value of lucerne and been able to grow high-producing clover-based pastures that can be maintained reliably by the use of D.D.T. Wasted Feed Because of the fear of drought or grass grub or that it is “too risky” they have as yet not raised sheep numbers to capacity. Much feed goes to waste annually. This is clearly illustrated by the achievements of the Lauriston Farm Improvement Club. By conserving adequate hay

and grazing pastures to capacity, while making a slight increase in cash cropping, the average of the 23 members of the club increased their sheep numbers in two years by 41 per cent.—a remarkable increase. These farmers on the average are no different from any other group of Canterbury farmers. Frorn this experience alone it would seem safe to suggest that a full-out grain production policy to make New Zealand self-sup-porting, although it must stop increases in sheep numbers on some farms, should cause little, if any, reduction in our present production of fat lamb and wool on our cropping soils. Plant Available There are no physical difficulties to grain production. The tractors, headers and cultivation plant are now. on the farms for the production of arable fodder crops, and the harvesting of small seeds, barley, oats, and peas. We will have to produce locally or import adequate sacks (bulk handling meanwhile is out of the

question for the small-scale New Zealand farmer).

We may have to leave the sacks standing in the paddocks for a few weeks or stack them on the farm for a few months as we now do some of our potatoes. A sufficient storage increment would probably meet the position here. Much of the labour is now on the farm but if the* economic situation should develop so that intensive grain production was necessary, the requisite labour would no doubt be forthcoming. In conclusion, if prices move against fat lamb and wool, it is certain that, as in the past, production from our Canterbury cropping soils will be that of intensive grain and other cash cropping supplemented at a now high level by intensive fat lamb and wool production. Canterbury will again become the granary of New Zealand, but this time with the maintenance of a high level of soil fertility.

Soil Class Medium-light Medium-heavy Heavy Total Canty. Area 904,300 ... 348,500 589,700 Proportion one-sixth one-quarter one-third Possible Grain Acreage 150,700 87,100 196,900 1,842,500 434,700