PASTURE EXPERTS

Franklin Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 140, 30 November 1938, Page 6

PASTURE EXPERTS

NEW ZEALAND FARMERS MODERN METHODS USED PROGRESS IN RESEARCH Indications of the activities of the Department of Agriculture in the betterment of farming and farming practice throughout New Zealand were given by Mr R. B. Tennent, Director of the Fields Division of the department, when addressing members of the Manawatu branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Personal contact: with* the farmers was spoken of by Mr Tennent as being of extreme importance, and lie said that in the last year instructional officers of the department had visited 20,000 farmers and had discussed with them their problems on the spot, going over farms in doing so. Over 75,000 letters of an instructional character had been written by the department. The latter thus definitely formed contact with the farming community, and the farmers had confidence in the department. “There are no farmers in the world more prepared to adopt methods based on scientific findings than the farmers of New Zealand,” declared Mr Tennent, who touched on the importance of pasture development and management. There was nothing more complicated and difficult than the utilisation of land to grow good pasture and the proper management of that pasture with livestock, and no farmer in the world knew more about pastures than the New Zealand farmer. Pasture and crop improvements were being carried out in one avenue witli the improvement and the selection of certain strains, and 20,000 acres were devoted each year, said Mr Tennent, to the growing of certified seeds. A total of 8000 acres was given over to the growing of certified ryegrass seed, and 4000 acres to the growing of certified potato seed. By the selection and development of certain strains the average yield of potatoes in New Zealand, from the former figure of four and a half tons, had now been more than doubled.

Young Farmers’ Clubs

In the dissemination of knowledge and the spreading, of news of new methods the Young Farmers' Club movement formed a very important section of the department's activities, and there were now 162 clubs with over 5000 members, said Mr Tennent. The clubs were extremely important for contact purposes, for the members were the farmers of to-morrow. In assistance to the farmer the Government paid out £620,000 annually, but the Government realised, and the people, too, that the farmer of New Zealand had to be kept on the land and his production kept up. for on that depended the national income.