One-Man Mixed Farm

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29994, 1 December 1962, Page 7

One-Man Mixed Farm

VVHEN members of the ’ Sheffield branch of Federated Farmers and the Sheffield Young Farmers’ Club joined forces to attend a field day this week, they visited the 296i-ecre one-man sheep and cropping property of Mr M. Baxter, near Sheffield. Mr Baxter’s property is on light to medium land, about 900 ft above sea level, with a 35 inch rainfall Reviewing operations on the property at the end of the day, Mr H. Tocher, instructor in agriculture (farm managment) of the Department of Agriculture,

Christchurch, said that in the 1960-61 season. Mr Baxter had grossed £35 an acre compared with £2B for a group of farms, including some in the district for which the department kept records. Working expenses over the group farms and Mr Baxters were substantially the same. This meant that Mr Baxter had earned an extra £7 an acre though he was on land with a Government valuation of £5O an acre, while the average valuation of the group farms was £6l. As Mr Baxter was on light land, the return of 13.2 per cent on capital compered with 6.2 for the group, was a very good one. said Mr Tocker, who praised Mr Baxter’s intelligent combination of sheep and cropping. He noted that while Mr Baxter had in that season 17 per cent, of his farm in cash crops, the group average was 30 per cent

Mr Baxter told his visitors that it was his aim to have some returns coming in from his farming right throughout the year. The farm is operated substantially on two rotations which extend over about nine or ten years. In one case after six or seven years in grass, the land is sown to potatoes, to wheat, and then after a fallow, back to grass with turnips or rape following application of a ton and a half of lime in September or October, about three months before sowing down. In the other rotation pasture of the same age is sown to turnips and then to wheat, to barley, and then back to grass again, with rape or turnips following a fallow. Most of Mr Baxter's pastures are a mixture of half

a bushel each of perennial and short rotation ryegrass and 31b of pedigree or Government stock white clover. New Pastures recived 1| to li cwt of 4001 b sulphur super with double strength DDT 18 months after sowing and thereafter lewt of 44/46 super annually, with DD.T. being used when it is required. Because pastures are of mixed grasses no ryegrass is saved for seed, but normally about 40 acres are closed for white clover which on average yields about a bag and a half of machine dressed seed to the acre. About 100 acres are cultivated annually with about 25 acres being in turnips, 20 acres in rape, 20 acres in potatoes, 20 acres in wheat and 15 acres in barley. Wheat, which is now always Aotea, yields on average about 40 bushels, barley 50 bushels and potatoes 10 tons to the acre with about 90 per cent, being sold as seed. Mr Baxter grows Research barley. He said that he had a feeling that Kenia which he had grown earlier was more susceptible to Army worm. Flock The flock comprises about 1050 sheep including 800 ewes. The ewes are Romney cross or three-quarterbred with some 200 replacements now being bought in as twotooths. Mr Baxter said that he favoured the Romneys for the reason that footrot now seemed to be something that had to be lived with and this breed seemed to stand up to it better. The ewes are mated with Southdown rams from a small stud on the property, which is used solely to provide sires for the commercial flock on the farm. Last season Mr Baxter said that for the first time he had shorn half of the replacement two-tooths before tupping and though he had not measured the results he had observed that the shorn sheep seemed to drop a lot more twins and it was his intention to shear all the twotooths next season. Twotooths shorn in March and again in October had produced 13lb of wool for 14months growth, he added. The ewe flock go on to

what Mr Baxter describee m a fruit aalad mixture in June. It comprises York Globe turnips, Calder swedes, thousand headed kale, and chou moellier. In July the flock is still grazed on the same mixture but in a paddock also sown to clover and grass with lucerne hay also being fed. From the beginning of August autumn-saved grass, of which there is about 50 acres, is break fed with an electric fence and the ewes lamb on this feed with lambing beginning about August 10. The average lambing percentage is about 120 to 125 per cent, at tailing. Two drafts of lambs are taken before shearing about the end of November at weights of about 29 to Sffib. Normally about 40 per cent, of lambs are drafted by this time. In the second week of December all lambs are weaned and drenched with selenium and phenothiazine. Mr Baxter said that without selenium he was afraid that many lambs would have to be sold as stores by weaning time. Three years ago, following the death of lambs from unidentified causes, selenium was used with conspicuous success and now from lambing to drafting lamb dearths amount to only about 1 per cent. Though by no means free of stock troubles, Mr Baxter suggested that freedom from pulpy kidney on the property might be due to use of the knife for tailing and castration, which he felt might reduce the risk of pulpy kidney by giving the Laimbs a check. In January, Mr Baxter buys in about 200 Corriedale wether lambs which are fattened on pasture or rape and a further 150 to 200 Romney wether lambs are bought in about April and with the balance of the Corriedales, making a total of about 250, are carried over the winter with about 100 being sold in the wool in August and the rest are shorn early in September and all sold as fats before the end of October to facilitate closing of pastures for clover seed. In the 1960-61 season the season it was up to 10,5451 b or about 91b a head. This season it was up to 10.4451 b with some two-tooths being shorn twice and some older ewes being bought in and a conservative figure would be an average clip of 9Jib a head, said Mr Baxter. In the course of visits to paddocks closed tor clover where seasonal conditions this year have resulted in considerable grass as well as clover growth, Mr Baxter commented that it had been his experience that his best dover crops had been obtained where there was the greatest bulk. Mr R. G. Jolly, an instructor in agriculture at the Department of Agriculture in Christchurch, said that the clover had to have enough light for it to flower.