Harvesting in “fits and starts”

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33460, 15 February 1974, Page 7

Harvesting in “fits and starts”

Continued overcast weather and humid conditions have been holding up the harvest in Canterbury. Officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries throughout lhe province reported this week that it was proceeding “in fits and starts.”

In the odd periods of hot dry weather headers have been busy taking advantage of the favourable turn in conditions and in MidCanterbury, for instance, some machines worked all of last Saturday night. By Tuesday morning the Wheat Research Institute had still received only something over 2500 samples of wheat for testing and the director, Mr R. W. Cawley, reported that they were only dribbling in. At that stage there was still no sign of sprouting, but there was a report from the Timaru area of grain possibly “starting to move”.

Except in North Canterbury, ministry officers believe that wheat yields this season will be back on last vear. In North Canterbury Mr R A. Milne, senior advisory officer at Rangiora, thinks that yields will be just slightly up on last year. In the central Canter-

bury area between the Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers, Mr R. G. Jolly, of the ministry in Christchurch, said that there was some disappointment about yields, which were not turning out to be as good as people had expected. In particular Mr Jolly said that Hilgendorf did not seem to be coming up to expectations. But he added that in a district where last year frost quite severely affected yields in some areas this year’s overall yield could come close to last year’s.

In Mid-Canterbury Mr G. H. McFadden, of the ministry in Ashburton, said that the average yield could be quite a bit down — it might be about 47 or 48 bushels compared to close to 55 last year and a long term average of about 52 to 53 bushels.

It is his view that climatic conditions this season have not been conducive to good wheat crops — the rain and snow in August waterlogging the soils and then a dry spell later on.

In the Timaru area, where only a relatively small proport'on of the harvest has been done yet, Mr W. A. McKellar, of the ministry there, said it looked as though the wheat crop could be a little bit disappointing this year and not quite as good as it promised before Christmas.

Mr J, L. Symons, of the ministry in the Waimate area, also expects yields to be slightly lower than anticipated in that district, where it is very dry again. In general barley crops seem to be fairly good, but in the Waimate area Mr Symons says that yields could be a little below expectations. However in North Canterbury Mr Milne

says that yields could be' better than last year, with some quite good crops, and in the central area Mr Jolly says that odd crops have been yielding up around the 100 mark, but the harvesting of this crop is only just starting. In MidCanterbury Mr McFadden says that barley seems to have been less affected by adverse conditions than wheat, and crops of this grain are quite good. In both North and central Canterbury odd crops of oats have also been yielding about 100 bushels to the acre. Mr Milne said that there looked to be a lot of oats about in the northern area and generally they had been quite good. Mr Jolly said that yields of 60, 70 and 80 were quite common in his area.

The genera] picture of the ryegrass harvest is that on light soils and dryland areas yields have been fairly light and seed also light, but saving of the seed has been encouraged by attractive prices. However later crops on better soils and: under irrigation have turned out better. In North Canterbury on I more favoured land Mr! Milne said that one crop had yielded 50 to 60 bushels to the acre. There has not been a lot of white clover saved ini North Canterbury, but in! central Canterbury Mr; Jolly said that yields were, about average and as good’ as last year. On irrigated‘ land a yield of five to six; bags off the header has been reported and other! crops have yielded three to! four bags. ; Mr McFadden described; the crop in Mid-Canterbury; as normal but also affected by the earlier dry weather ■ However there have been some quite good crops. Sat-; isfactory yields on the! heavier land have also been’ reported from the Waimatej area. For small seeds the harvest has been a difficult one with quite a lot of the ; crop on the ground for some time with the attendant risk of loss of seed. I