Productive One-Man Farm

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29856, 23 June 1962, Page 6

Productive One-Man Farm

The 287-acre one-man property of Mr H. R. Wilson at Phoebe, about six miles from Cheviot, was the scene of a field day held last week by the Cheviot Farm Improvement Club. Fat lamb production and small seeds are important aspects of. operations on this farm and this season for the first time for eight years a crop of wheat has been sown. All of the property is flat and plougable and the soil is described as of medium type. The flock comprises more than 1000 head, including 860 strong wool Corriedale ewes and 200 ewe hoggets for replacements. The hoggets are bought in each year from the same source. The ewes begin lambing to the Southdown ram in the last week in July and about 80 per cent, of the lambs—lambing percentage is about 110 per cent, at docking—are drafted prime off the mothers. The balance are fattened on 10 to 12 acres of rape.

Shearing is done usually in December after weaning and the average clip is about 91b per head. The farm has been well subdivided into paddocks averaging about 15 acres and excellent shelter is provided by pine belts, most of which have been planted in the time of the present owner, with old ryegrass straw stacked at the bottom of the trees for extra protection. The flock is carried over the winter on autumn saved grass and hay. Apart from areas for feeding hay out on and areas under crop the rest of the farm, possibly about 160 acres, is shut up for autumn saved pasture. Meadow hay is made off 10 to 12 acres and in addition ryegrass and clover straw is baled. Big reserves of hay are on hand. Lucerne is not at present grown on the farm which is inclined to lie wet in the winter and undercurrents have in the past drowned out lucerne.

Wheat is being grown for the first time for eight years this season and it is intended to have two crops in succession before growing greenfeed prior to sowing down again to grass. ,Mr Wilson is one of three farmers who harvest at different times but who work together using three header harvesters on each others properties at the same time. One of the most important aspects of the property’s production is small seeds. Over the last eight years returns from small seeds have been greater than from wool. Perennial ryegrass is the mainstay of the small seeds harvest with an average yield of about 40 bushels to the acre of machine dressed seed and up to 74 bushels off

about 60 to 80 acres. New first year perennial ryegrass is always saved for seed, and from one paddock which Mr Wilson knows to have been down for 28 years he takes a seed crop about every third year of about 35 bushels of machine dressed seed. This seed he uses for his own sowing down. Army worms are now a regular problem in his ryegrass seed stands and they seem to be making their appearance earlier than previously—in mid November instead of early December. If he had not sprayed last season it is likely that he would have lost his crop. This country is not the most favourable for white clover production and on this farm, due to the predominance of subterranean clover, white clover production is limited to about 60 acres with about 20 acres being saved about every third year, producing an average of threequarters of a sack and up to Iti sacks of machine dressed seed to the acre. As on other properties in the province at present there is a super-abundance of feed on this farm but Mr John Oldfield, officer in charge of the farm advisory service at Lincoln College, said it would be quite wrong to use cattle on this type of property to cope with the surplus feed. If this position could have been anticipated he said that a little better management with the sheep could have dealt with the surplus. In the not far distant future he envisaged this farm carrying 800 ewes and growing 80 acres of grain crop in addition to carrying on the present .programme of small seeds production. With the change in the price structure for farm products he suggested that Mr Wilson would become more a mixed cropping farmer than a sheep and small seeds farmer.