FARMER’S SUCCESSES AT TORONTO, ADDINGTON

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29361, 14 November 1960, Page 17

FARMER’S SUCCESSES AT TORONTO, ADDINGTON

According to a New Zealand Press Association report from Toronto last week Mr Frank Jarman, of Darfield, had the distinction of winning the reserve world championship in the small-seeded legume division at the Royal Winter Fair at Toronto. At the same time his sheep were winning major honours at the Royal Show in Christchurch. Mr Jarman said at the Royal Show on Friday that his placing in Toronto had been with a sample of about 21b of New Zealand certified wild white clover.

‘‘As I understand it at present the clover won its class in the com.petition and then competed for the legume • championship of the show and we gained the reserve championship.”

The Darfield man’s interest in the Toronto Fair was first kindled when he was present at the fair in 1955 while overseas under a Nuffield Foundation Scholarship. Last year he had an entry of lucerne seed in the West Washington State Fair, the counterpart of the Toronto competition this year and then he was placed second. Mr Jarman said that Federated Farmers had asked farmers in New Zealand to submit entries for selection for the fair. These had to be sent to Mr F. H. Henderson, of Invercargill, who was vice-chairman of the Dominion Agricultural Section of Federated Farmers. With a panel of judges Mr Henderson determined which entries should go on to Toronto. The Darfield clover entry came out of a line of seed harvested off a 32 acre paddock which was sown down with Government stock short rotation ryegrass in the autumn of 1958. A ryegrass seed crop was taken off it in 1959 and in the autumn following that harvest the paddock received a 2 cwt to the acre dressing of phosphate and was controlled with stock for a white clover seed crop early this year.

Mr Jarman said it had been necessary to be very careful with the heading and the dressing of the seed. The New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Association dressed and prepared the seed for sending to Mr Henderson. Mr Jarman had other things on his mind last week. As a sheep breeder of note he had entries in the Southdown section of the Royal Show. He exhibited the reserve champion ram in the open Southdown section, won first prize in the open class for a pair of shorn ram hoggets, had the second-prize shorn ram over 30 months, was second in the open two-tooth ram class and second and third out of 44 in the open shorn ram hogget class. His wife has a Suffolk stud and Mi's Jarman won a place with almost every sneep she had in the show. Her successes included the reserve ram .and reserve ewe championships. At the last two Royal Shows at Palmerston North and Invercargill Mr Jarman had the distinction of exhibiting the supreme champion Southdown ram.