BEGINNERS AT DAIRYING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 238, 1 July 1908, Page 3

BEGINNERS AT DAIRYING.

SOME HINTS FROM MR. HARKNESS. PITFALLS TO GDARD AGAINST. Mr. J. G. Harknoss, secretary of the National Dairy Association,- in a talk with a Dominion representative, gave somo useful advice i for beginners iii tho. noble', art of dairy farming. .: ' "Should young men go dairy farming? Well," said Mr. flarkness, "it is a business . that not every man. is qualified to enter. There is an opinion provalont in the minds of : some persons that anyone can 'become 'a successful dairy farmer. .That.is one of • the greatest. mistakes in the world: It is very necessary tor a''man >to receive'some training and education to. fit himself for : the special work,, and probably ono reason why men are-not so successful,in. following dairying as"they .ought to bo is just that they lack these qualifications. It is, therefore, ; difficult to advise'a man to tako up this business if lie has not some previous knowledge .of it.'.' .. ! ' - ■■■ ' Some of.' those': qualifications are —— ? "Well,-one of the essentials'to success,, m view of ~tho liigli pricc of land and -tho . probable decreaso of ; tho prices of produce, is that a inan must .have a good dairy, herd." . . , ' . - - : .. 'Is that difficult.to getp "In. my opinion it takes more _ brains to J breed. a good dairy' cow. than it does.to I Breed , a particular class, of. sheep, or beef . cattle.. There aro so many difficulties to. 1 overcome and discouragsinents to meet that a man ..needs. great pluck and; perseverance .to follow it' properly." is a credit' to any : man to be a successful dairy, farmer?. ; . "It is. The grazier and-the sheep far- ' mer ■ hare in the. p'asfc i# rather discounted' the dairyman - as, beiug, in sopie respects, an, inferior , type' of man. Sly contention is that the pastoral'men to-day might make a success of '• their present v avocation, but • utterly fail'at dairying."" ■ ; -Suppose a man: decides that/he possesses tho required qualities for dairying, ..where should soaTcli for land? . _ ' " _ "Thei .first consideration is .good land. .The second,'.a, fairly plentiful rainfall, "-so .as, to ensure ; the, pastures' being kept in the condition'necessary for promoting the greatest yield of milk. . • There are some . districts in New, Zealand where the. .land is good 1 and „the. pastures abundant in early , spring, but "where the - months :of December, 'Janu--5 February-are- very .dry. That, of course," is a -'great drawback.". •Will ypu'.n'ame some good districts? 4 .''ln my opinion the oest. dairy, districts ' 'in- New. Zealand; are tho Taranaki Province and the .district around Palmerston North; also .the Bush Districts around Pahiatua, and the Forty Mile Bush.; .These districts have tho very - conditions which make it possible to carry on. dairying*profitably."' ; , But the land is dear. .• -■!: _ -J-r : ' *'Yes ; that is the one. drawback. - The high price.that is.being paid for our best dairy- . ing land to-dayis•'a vqiiestion-of-vital , importahce." ... • Is it'incurable? ... "Well, in Denmark, which is considered to be.one of the'best dairying countries in the world—as practically- proved by. its output— the price ot-agricultural land a.few years ago averaged, I believe, about £60 per acre. But to-day the averago price is between £30 arid £40. When .we consider that that country is next door to the best market in tho world, it. becomes' necessary -for. us to consider .whether wej separated "by 14,000 miles from/Britain, can afford 'to ■ pay practically the same price for our best dairying land." When the prices of Danish land fell/somebody'suffered. . "Certainly." . And wheni'they.ifalliin;NowiZealand, .somo- . body w-ill suffer. ' y .. ;. .'

"That - must inevitably :'follow'." ... , _.. But (how will it come about? What will happen to force prices/doivn?-' - "A slump in the price of produce could cause it. . But nobody interested in tho industry 1 desires at the present time to see a slump in values, because it would not only be a serious thing for the individual, but a serious thing for the Dominion." The low prices of wool may drive sheepfarmers into dairying? , "There is no .doubt that if wool prices keep down, which-they probably maV do for a year/ or twoj: there will be a very big increase in the output of dairy produce, as it will pay aro producing wool and meat better to.dairy. One great difficulty in connection with the /business is the state of the labour-market.; Everyone who"has paidTany attention. tq agricultural matters will recognise that v one of the serious needs of our agricultural, districts-is the difßculty in procuring '.suitable men to' work. So many >of the workers object ,to , dairying work because it is. such a tie—not that;the work is' hard, but the hours are long and the' work must be done every day in the week 'while the season is on." : ' Danish dairy hands have, proved a-success in Britain. . . : ; "I don't'quite suggest, the importation of Danish labourers. But I am : a great believer. in the fact that New -Zealand wants more population—more workers. There is a possibility, however, .that the:labour ques- •. tion will be overcome by the general use of ( .the milking machine. This has been brought to such a state, of perfection that it may ' ! used by all without/fear, of injuring the L '. The milking machine .will, I believe, flip labour difficulty." . -iry farminjg an industry ; for '• men of -cans? " Dun they get dairy herds on ms from, the/factories?.

if- fietary fa'c\ories. and auctioneers .in largo litres sometimes finance beginners, . finding ' jm ail the. cows and charging them a certai rate of interest, taking,. probably, a lien o, t tho stock, or collaring the milk j cheques aid making a certain monthly allow(...sflco to thf milker.".