Lincoln College’s Hill Country Project

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31077, 4 June 1966, Page 9

Lincoln College’s Hill Country Project

Lincoln College is approaching the development of its new hill country property in the Waikari district in an essentially practical

Professor J. D. Stewart, professor of farm management at the college, told a party of 120 persons who had the opportunity of visiting the property this week, as development is beginning, that they intended to borrow no more than could be borrowed normally through the State Advances Corporation, taking into account the security available and their equity m the property.

The property of 2282 acres, known as Hunua, which is a Crown renewable leasehold with 17 years to run and carrying an annual rental of £296, had been purchased as a going concern for £19,598, said Professor Stewart. This included £10,500 for the land, £4500 for buildings and improvements and £4400 for stock, including 1000 ewes and hogget replacements. There was a right to freehold but the college had decided to use the limited capital available in the first three or four years for development and then to reexamine the possibility of freeholding. In approaching the development of the property, he said, it was going to be assumed that they had borrowed £6OOO on first mortgage and £4OOO was going to be borrowed from the college in the first year for development.

“We might be criticised for going too slow, but I do not think that the normal fellow

could borrow more than this, and the rate of development will also be governed by other factors such as labour and the ability to build up stock numbers,” he said. “The college is not the Reserve Bank and we have got to compete with others for our capital.” When Professor Stewart suggested that his experience was that they would be able to borrow to the extent they were doing through the State Advances, a member of his audience commented that he would agree with this statement he had been able to do so. Professor Stewart said that the property was a long narrow one, running four miles back. The only crawler tractor country was 150 acres on the back boundary, where a start was now being made on a small cultivation programme.

Pigs were quite bad on the property—the mark of their rooting could be seen during the inspection and there

were also rabbits. Nassella tussock was not out of control but needed continuing vigilance recently 1100 plants had been grubbed. There were a few patches of nodding thistle and there was also Grecian thistle.

The major deficiency in this area would be sulphur the air was so pure in New Zealand that this was the main cause of sulphur deficiency, said Professor T. W. Walker, professor of soil science at professor of soil science at the college. “Wa on not have major manufacturing industries, thank the Lord,” he commented. There were at least four different soil types on the property and after sulphur there would be a phosphate deficiency on some soil types. The most acid soils would be those that were on the flatest terrain and could be cultivated. It would be worth looking at molybdenum on some of these soils and trials would be needed to determine fertiliser rates.

Discussing income and expenditure for the year ending June next year, apart from development expenditure, Mr A. 1. Bilbrough, a field officer iu the farm management and rural valuation department at the college, said that with sheep shearing about 81b of wool when shorn in January —it was hoped to move shearing forward a little and bringing an estimated 40d a lb, and all ewe lambs being retained and ewe numbers being increased during the year by 150, it was expected that total income would be £2927, including £2BO from cast-for-age ewes, £l2O from two-tooth ewes, £760 from wether lambs and £1767 from wool.

On the expenditure side, he said that the standing charges would amount to £llBO including £6BO for interest on a mortgage of £6OOO, £4OOO borrowed from the college for development and an overdraft of about £2OOO. Other items in the standing charges were insurance £5B, rates £l4B and rent £296. The other major item in expenditure amounting to £3355 was wages £1270, leaving a cash deficit of £428 which would go onto the current account at the college. But for stock retention the position would have been about square. Professor Stewart commented at this stage that with 1000 ewes clipping about 81b of wool and giving an 85 per cent lambing and an interest and rent commitment of about £1 a ewe, there was little room for development unless outside capital was available. On the development side Mr Bilbrough said that the estimated cost for the year

was £4047, which would be borrowed from the college. Six and a half miles of track had been put in at a cost of £390. A Japanese motor cycle had been purchased for £lB4 and provision had been made for expenditure of £lOOO on a vehicle—it had not been decided whether it should be a utility vehicle or a tractor and trailer.

Fencing at present was poor with the property being in only four main blocks. It was hoped to do some electric fencing. Provision was being made for spending about £550 for about two miles of fencing. It was also planned to cultivate 50 acres out of tussock and low scrub for sowing in turnips and grass for next year’s winter feed. The cost of this was estimated at £l2 10s an acre, including £7 10s for cultivation and £2 10s for lime and £2 10s for seeds and fertiliser.

The estimated expenditure on fertiliser was £642, of which £220 had already been spent Three hundredweight of molybdic superphosphate was being used. Allowance was also being made for topdressing 100 acres at a cost of £lOO. Already £4l had been spent on subterranean clover. It was not thought that enough stock could be raised on the property to achieve the initial increase in stocking desired, and provision was being made for the spending of £5OO next autumn on prob-

ably ewe lambs, but this would depend on the market at that time. Mr Bilbrough said that application had been made to the Department of Agriculture for a run plan. Discussing the expenditure on cultivation. Professor Stewart said that it was believed that carrying capacity could be raised quicker and more certainly in this way and at the same time it would fill the winter gap in feed. It was likely that turnips would be sown with Italian ryegrass with some nitrogen being used. He said that the immediate aim was to get stock numbers up, as all research showed that it paid best where it was possible to raise stock numbers quickly. Professor Stewart said that he had stated publicly that they would get to two ewe equivalents to the acre. He would stand by that statement and he forecast that this target would be reached in the foreseeable future. “We will run into problems and we will get caught in droughts and so on,” he commented. The visiting farmers were told that the aim was to raise ewe numbers from 1000 at present to 1860 in five years, with the purchase of only 200 ewe equivalents in the first year. The aim would be to put on as many two-tooths as possible and to retain as many old ewes as possible. With

200 acres In grass and more topdressing and subdivision it was felt that this goal could be achieved in the fifth year provided the necessary money was forthcoming. This would have the effect of raising the stocking from 0.6 ewes to the acre to one to the acre.

In the first year Professor Stewart said that the cost of development would work out at £2O to the ewe equivalent, but it was hoped that over the first five years the cost would be £lO per extra ewe equivalent. At that level the project would pay, if the cost was much more it would be marginal, but if it was less it would be “splendid.”