WERAROA STATE FARM.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 474, 5 April 1909, Page 2

WERAROA STATE FARM.

WILL IT BE CUT UP? THE DISTRICT'S AMOTION. Mr. Buick's proposal that llio Wcraroa Experiment Farm should bo cut up into small farms for settlement recalls tho fact that'it has been said to be tho ambition of the district served by tho Jiorowhenua Agricultural Show (held at Levin) to become a closely settled district of small dairy farmers, producing all tho milk and butter eon- ' sinned in tho city of Wellington. Tho show district embraces an area of about 700 squaro miles, and; if well farmed, could carry 140,000 dairy cows. Theso COW 3 would 'bo enough to furnish all tho milk for drinking purposes required by tho population of Now Zealand. At present, however, Horowhenua's energies aro being confined to tho capture simply of tho Wellington trade. If Wcraroa State Farm wcro to becomo eight dairy farms of 100 acres each, and kept 400 good dairy cows in milk, thoro would no doubt bo a considerable incrcaso noticed in the number of full milk cans which daily, roach Thorndon station from that district. A herd of 400 good dairy cows can supply, one-tenth of Wellington's milk requircmei.". Botwocn Linton and Paekakanki nt tho present time 3000 cows arc being milked, but only part of their milk comos into tho Wellington trade, much of it going to factories for butter-making. Theso cows aro grazed on land that is valued at an average of about £30 per acre. It seems that Horowlienua is destined to bo prominently concerned with tho problem of discovering tho maximum land prico under which dairying can thrive. Probably at tho present time tho dairy cows of Horowlienua occupy nioro than two acres per cow. But oven with this area, and at tho estimated £30 capital value, an allowanceof £3 per cow per annum lias to bo mado for interest or rent. The avorago income per cow is declared to bo not more than £10. So thoro remains only £7 per cow as tho balanco available for labour, renewals of tho herd and utensils, and other oxpenses. No doubt, if one wcro negotiating for it purchaso of land in tho Horowlienua district ono would bo told by tho would-bo sellers that prices must double in a very short time. If that prediction should over ho fulfilled, tho ambition of tho district can only bo then attained cither by making tho laud carry a cow per acre, or by making ends meet on a balanco of £4 per cow after paying rent, or by increasing tho output per cow, or by raising tho prico of milk. That somo of tho settlors of tho district may support Mr. Buick's proposal to expungo the Experiment Farm and build up dairy farms pn its "ashes" gains somo likelihood from tho fact that when the scramble (as it was called) for tho Dairy School was taking placo last year somo shakers at a Levin meeting declared that if they wore not to have the Dairy School on tho Experiment Farm tho farm had hotter ho cut up for settlement. Levin did not get tho .Dairy School. It was also hinted at ono time by Wairarapa people that tho Experiment Farm should bo transferred over to thorn. Whether Mr. Buick's proposal bo supported or not thoro is enough .feasibility in it to makeit interesting. Fruit-growers would keenly rogrct the loss of the fruit-testing orchard there, which is the most accessible; and. perhaps the most educative, of its kind, that tho country possesses. .Its maintenance must bo very inexpensive, and probably as a separate institution it would bo moro than self-supporting from now onwards.