PASTURES ARE OUR WAR MACHINES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 136, 10 June 1940, Page 14

PASTURES ARE OUR WAR MACHINES

t"]is7ls3Cll **-^ war was declared in (fP/Yfl) September last, New Zealand VlLgjH farmers were commencing a ITtTJ new production year, and Wp<2m the programme which had ,|*a*§ been mapped out by . in|[g#*^,l[ dividual farmers could not undergo substantial alteration, writes Mr. R. B. Tennent, Director of Primary Production. However, many farmers, with a quick grasp of their duty to the Empire, did make wonderful efforts to meet the call of the Mother Country for food stuffs and raw materials. Many acres of land not intended for cropping were put under the plough for grain and root crops. In response to an appeal by the National Council of Primary Production a number of additional calves were saved, large areas of pasture were cut for hay and silage, and the appeals for the conservation of such requisites as sacks, etc., were not made in vain. In spite of abnormal weather conditions there are indications that the results of the production year will be satisfactory. However, Great Britain's leaders are planning for a long war, and we, in turn, must make parallel plans. New Zealand sends a greater volume of butter, cheese, mutton, and lamb to the United Kingdom than any other country, and the demand for these commodities is more likely to increase than diminish. The armies of the Allies are growing steadily, and they must receive adequate supplies of food as well as the munitions of battle. Certain peacetime sources of supply are no. longer available to Great Britain, and certain classes of foodstuffs are already being rationed by the Imperial Government. The rations laid down are adequate dietetically, but they show that the Home authorities are fully seized with the conservation of supplies. DUTY REALISED. Reports which have reached me show that the.overwhelming^ majority of the farmers realise the issues at stake, and are fully seized with their responsibilities and duties in this momentous struggle to retain our economic and social liberties against a ruthless oppressor. The next step is to translate their responsibilities into practice. How can this best be done? This is the1, question that is being asked at meetings which / are being held under the auspices of both the National and the District Councils of primary production. It is obvious that no cut-and-dried programme can be laid down in a | country like New Zealand, where there is a wide range of farming activities and farming conditions. To those seeking a lead, my advice is to survey your own particular farm, where no one knows the conditions better than yourself. Then ask yourself the following questions:— | "Are my. pastures as good as they ought to be?" "Do I top-dress adequately?" "Do I save sufficient silage and hay and sow a sufficient area of roots to ensure that my sheep, my cows, or my pigs are maintained in good condition?" "In other words, is my farm producing to its'highest capacity consistent with the maintenance of healthy flocks and herds, and the upkeep of soil fertility?" The effort towards increased .production must begin on the individual farm, and if every farmer makes some effort on his own holding the national aggregate will be truly formidable. For example, if the butterfat production of every cow were increased by 10 per cent, the national increase would be nearly 10,000 tons of butterfat. This increase is by no means impossible, and if plans are now formulated towards that end this objective would be achieved next season. Adequate feed supplies, which can-be achieved by the fullest utilisation of the land, will ensure a longer and heavier period of lactation among dairy cows. This fact is demonstrated in every farming district in the Dominion. There are instances where a farmer is obtaining 3001b of butterfat per acre from his herd, while his neighbour, under similar conditions, is not obtaining half that amount. The difference in the quality of the stock sometimes supplies the explanation, but generally the disparity can be traced to the feed position. SOW ONLY THE BEST. Sow only the best pastures, maintain them.in good condition1 by managed grazing, and don't hesitate to put down special crops if you have the slightest doubt that your pastures and your hay and silage will carry your stock through the year in the best condition. If you keep pigs—and every dairy farmer should—one acre of roots or lucerne to every 20 cows should be sown. The keystone of successful pigkeeping is the provision of ample feed in the winter months when milk supplies are not available. Barley is now cheaper than it has been for years, and pigs fed on roots, barley, and meal in the winter months can be brought to profitable baconers by Christmas. It is only by wintering pigs that the dairy by-products can be fully utilised. In the first three months of the war there was an air of uncertainty among pig-keepers, and many sows were withheld from the boar. In a few months pigs will be scarce, and farmers are urged to put every possible sow to the boar. Ten thousand litters will not be enough. However, the wintering of pigs musti

be planned, and it is never too early to plan. Anticipate the feed requirements of your stock rather than find yourself caught with insufficient supplies. The provision of a plentiful feed supply applies to the sheep farmer with equal intensity. It is estimated that 10 per cent, of lambs die "from lack of good feed or faulty management. The loss of these lambs not only decreases the farmer's returns, but, what is more important at the present time, it curtails the possible supply of meat to the British market. In other words, it is a double loss. From time to time the National Council of Primary Production will issue advice to farmers. This advice will be given local application by the district councils, and every effort will be made to marshal our agricultural and pastoral resources to meet the needs of the Empire, but it is on the individual farm that the work will be done. Thus, our slogan should be—"A plan for every farm." The basis of that plan should be a plentiful supply of gooci feed for stock. In the fulfilment of this objective the plough and the top-dresser are the implements of progress—plough for victory! A LL over the Empire the lathes and drills of industry are turning out shming new machines for the prosecution of the war, says Mr. J. W. Woodcock, Fields Superintendent, Dunedin. Motors and rifles, tanks and massive guns, shells and delicate scientific instruments—all are being produced in abundance. Built with the utmost precision and care, they are destined to play an important part in the struggle ahead; their lives may be short, but their quality must be beyond reproach. • . Not only in Britain are these pieces of equipment being fabricated, but Canada has undertaken an important role in their production, and even Australia is contributing some of her industrial skill to the provision of war equipment. DOMINION'S CONTRIBUTION. But the war is being fought on many fronts and with many weapons, and New Zealand's contribution, besides sharing the military front, is mainly directed towards food production. Food is to be equally as imj portant as munitions, and not only does I this bear out one of Napoleon's epij grams—"An army marches on its stomach"—but it forces us to realise that the civilian population of Great Britain (the home front) has to work, watch, worry, and wish for victory largely supported by a diet of imported food. Morale will be higher and work will be better done by a people well supplied with food than by a nation on short rations.

Therefore, while we cannot share in the supply of the more spectacular war material —though to many a plump, well-cooked ham is still more spectacular than a gleaming shell case —New Zealand, because she is not industrially fitted, must supply other useful and necessary material, chiefly

The Manawatu A. and P. Association's Winter Show will be opened at Palmerston North by the Prime Minister, the Hon. P. Fraser, tomorrow, and will conclude on Saturday.

meat, butter, cheese, and wool. Such is our obligation, and we should approach the task with at least the same determination as those who manufacture the other sinews of war. Our factories are the farms, and our machines are mainly the grasslands which produce the goods we must export. . ... Let us take stock, therefore, of our machines. Some are highly producing and have served both farmer and State for many years; they have been well established and have been satisfactorily treated throughout their lifetime. Others are working to fair capacity; they are still in first-class order, but their output is not what it should be. Moreover, we have some decrepit, out-of-date machinery—pastures which are outworn and need renewing; pastures which are low in production and cannot be renewed; pastures which are almost derelict beyond all hope of salvation. NEW PASTURES. But the shining lights in our array of producing units are the young, newly-sown pastures. They are comparable in our survey of the Empire's war resources to the gleaming lathes, turbines, and motors being poured out, brand new, from the factories overseas. They, like their counterparts, have great possibilities. Many years of useful work lie ahead if precision has been adopted in their manufacture, and if they are well used. Their service to the farmer and to the Empire will depend to a large extent on the materials which have been put into them. This year, if recent trends are maintained, there will be approximately half a million acres of grass being sown to permanent pasture, and now, as never before, we must see that they are of the right type and that their treatment, particularly in- the first few months, is good. The requirements for sowing permanent pastures have been stated often, and it is necessary only to reiterate briefly the salient points. A deep, fine, firm seed bed is required. On all but the heaviest soils a roller should be used just before sowing. In districts where lime is considered beneficial, liming before sowing is advisable, while manuring with the seed, particularly a quick-acting phosphatic manure such as superphosphate, is essential on nearly all soils. The seed to be sown should be of good germination and purity. The correct strain of species is important, and in most cases certified seeds should be employed. The mixture to be used should suit the soil type and the particular purpose for which the pasture is intended. REDUCING HAZARDS. Having accomplished thoroughly the preliminary work and the sowing, the elements over which the farmer has no control play their part. This is where our analogy with the machine or the factory breaks down. , The manufacturer works under fairly con-

| trolled conditions, while the farmer is at all tunes subject to certain hazards. But apart from still being at the mercy of the weather and uncontrollable disease, luck or chance can largely be eliminated from farming operations. Know the seed which is sown! Its germination can be assured; its origin can be certified. Buyers of "cheap" seed mixtures of unknown origin and purity increase the hazards of farming. Make sure of the fertilisers applied! While the components of any fertiliser can be checked by reference to the I I analyses shown on every sales invoice, I this does not guarantee that mixtures are economical or desirable. It is in this way, by checking up on the quality of his raw materials, that the manufacturer assures himself of the strength of his product, We have repeatedly likened pastures to machines, and just as a new machine requires to be "run in" for the first few months, so does a young pasture require careful handling during the same period. 1 To make really sure of a good permanent pasture, a top-dressing with a phosphatic fertilise? should be carried out about six months after sowing. To some this may seem very liberal treatment. Naturally, the cost has to be considered, and if about 12s per acre is to be added to the cost of establishment by a top-dressing six months after sowing it means a fairly large total outlay, what with costs of cultivation, seed, and manureBut whether farmers make a prac- j tice of top-dressing regularly, or every two or three years, or only once every several years, they can be assured that the most valuable time to top-dress is about six months after sowing, especially if the soil tends to be naturally infertile. It is thus that the pumice* lands of Central Auckland, the gum lands of North Auckland, and the tussock lands of Southland are being successfully clothed in first-class pasture. (Given a good "strike," the phosphates promote a strong white clover growth; the clover encourages the grasses, and within a year a complete turf is formed. CARE IN .GRAZING. In the first few months, of a pasture's life grazing should be carried out carefully. Hard grazing discourages root development, while lax grazing, which allows the grasses to go to seed, or haying, which- tends to smother out the young clovers, should be avoided. , Because it has infancy and adolescence and is subject to disease, drought, and flood, a pasture may be dissimilar to the machine. Its calm; green appearance is certainly not reminiscent of the heat, noise, and bustle of the munitions factory. Yet its very greenness serves to camouflage the industry going on within, where immense chemical processes are taking place day and night without the usual acrid fumes associated with chemical industry. Clovers and their allied bacteria work constantly to form the free nitrogen of the atmosphere into complex food materials; the green leaf blades of grasses use the carbon and oxygen of the atmosphere to manufacture sugars, starches, and oils; the roots search the soil for its minerals and draw moisture from the reservoir below. For the production of protein fat and fibre pastures are still supreme, and they are the chief machines fc§* the production of the 600,000 tons of war material—wool, meat, butter, and cheese—which we export to Great Britain. Let us, therefore, look after our machines, especially the new machines.