VISIT TO RUAKURA

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 154, 26 March 1938, Page 7 (Supplement)

VISIT TO RUAKURA

Chiller Cattle Experiments RESULTS OF RESEARCH Of chief interest at Ruakura Farm on my visit there lust, week was the progress of the experiment* being carried out iu the breeding and raising of chiller cattle. The manager, Mr. T. E. Rodda, who is very keen on these trials, conducted me on an inspection of the many lots of cattle. There is one comment 1 feel should be made: cattle love the shade. Ruakura is generously planted with trees. It was a very hot morning and almost every lot of cattle inspected had to be routed out from under the trees. I feel certain that shade was good for them and that those fattening and growing chillers would be well advised to give attention to providing trees for both shade and shelter. The first mob seen were 14 months old P.A. steers born .in January, 1937, and weaned last August. They were really splendidly grown. As with other growing cattle here, these are being regularly weighed. At last weighing the lightest went 6161 b. and the heaviest 7941 b., live weight. Allowing 751 b. weight for the calves at birth, these havq gained daily to date. Should this growth be maintained these steers would kill at 7001 b. dressed weight at 27 months—that is by April, 1939.' The next mob were seven-month calves dropped July-August, 1937, and weaned last month. A fortnight after weaning they averaged 4901 b. They were the size of average yearlings as seen (at the spring cattle fairs. The culls were very useful weanere. As we came to a mob of cows suckling calves born October to mid-February Mr. Rodda spoke of cows with calves as being the best cleaners-up of roughage of any cattle on the place. This mob had just made a great job of cleaning up the hill paddock and were now into a fresh paddock that Required heavy grazing. The calves were thriving. Another mob of cows were out with bull and due to calve next December. They will then carry their calves through the winter of 1939 to be spring weaned. One lot of cows weaned their calves only four weeks before dropping a fresh lot without any show of strain or upset. An important feature of these cattle trials is the dropping of calves out of season and then carrying them through the winter. They will thus be saved the winter check which is so often a. severe setback to weaners. Then when they are here weaned they go on to the spring grass. Other work being carried out concerns wintering of cattle and rates of growth. Of interest to fatteners and to advocates of live-weight selling, of whom there are a number in" the Waikato, is the conversion table for assessing carcase weight from live weight. Mr. Rodda pave this as follows:—Assume a chiller beast ready for drafting weighed 12751 b. live-weight: Deduct 501 b. for contents of paunch, leaving 12251 b.; divide that by. 14—87i1b.; multiply thaj; by 8, and you have the carcase weight—7oolb. Discounting the paunch, this shows a 57 per cent, dressed to 'live-weight ratio. ! Some months ago I mentioned the Ruakura ragwort nursery. This nowlooked a sorry spectacle; chemicals, pruning and insects had all exacted a severe toll. Mr. A.“L. Poole, who is in charge of this research, recently gave an excellent account of results to date in the “Agricultural Journal.” The features are that insects have yet to prove effective, that cutting and pulling is almost useless, and that chemical treatments are highly effective. It is probable that no further trials will be carried out by the department with the much-publicised soya beans.

They have not proved up to expectations.' I- for one do not consider the trying out of this bean to have been a wasted effort.' All trials cannot be successes, and if' things are never tried out we might miss something of real value. A year ago it was reported widely that a grass-drying machine was to be imported from Britain and set up at Ruakura, but no machine has arrived. Trails with dried grass made here last winter showed it to be a very valuable food, but the expense of making it was too high for economic production. The , grass , plots -were inspected and much of interest was noted. A new white clover was seen, an Italian stock, Ladino; a vigorous grower aud heavy yielder, but doubts were held as to how it would stand grazing, because of its tall growth.' Judged on the Ruakura Soil, I feel that sub. clover has.no great future in the Waikato. ■ . 1 • I am pleased to report a slight increase in the attendance of students hete, but disappointed also that they still number so few. This farm offers excellent facilities for instruction, having a competent staff and a wide range of farming experience to be taken advantage of.