FARMS AND FARMERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1938, Page 9

FARMS AND FARMERS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

(By

"Rouseabout”)

THE BROOD SOW.

QUESTION OF FEEDING

The following article written by Mr. Kjelsen-Rasmussen, B.Sc.A.. appeared in a, Danish newspaper and has been translated by Mr. C. 11. M. Sorensen, Taranaki supervisor of the National Pig Council of New Zealand. the feeding of the brood sow plays for the farmer perhaps not as big a part as the feeding of his milch cows, but collectively 350,000 sows with an individual annual food consumption of 1500 feed units per sow represents a very big factor in the year’s work. Hence for the individual farmer the proper feed management of his sows can be a substantial factor in his economic position. By far Hie most important. factor in relation to feeding is balance. On the general balance of the food fed to his sows depends the success which the farmer can hope to achieve with his litters as a. financial investment.

On the smaller farms generally the returns pci" sow to the farmer is greater than where more pigs are kept, this at first sight may be accounted for by the greater attention given the individual animal. While this is true it must not be forgotten that where single sows are fed scraps from the house, etc., the food generally is of a much more balanced nature than is perhaps possible on larger holdings. It is essential that all brood sows should be fed concentrates consisting of from four to live different ingredients. The mixture should not contain more than 20 per cent, of wheat (whole meal) but the quantity of the other home grown cereals such as barley and oats can be used in greater quantities. OATS AND BRAN Oats and bran arc the best, feed for pregnant sows. A mixture of cereals by itself does not give the required balance and should have added from five to 10 per cent, of meat and bone or liver meal. When the sow is feeding her litter and three weeks before she farrows, to get the best results it is advisable to use a fair amount of milk but not more than two gallons per day. Roots and concentrates should bo available. Carrots are the best roots for sows and it would be hard to get bigger return for your roots than by way of pig food. During the dry period rootsj can be regarded as the bulk of the sows food but the protein side must not be neglected. When grass is not. available for the filler ration clover hay cut into chaff or sweepings from the hay lofts will be found very useful. Miruy farmers concentrate on the care and attention of the sows mainly during the period when she is rearing her litter, but it is of the greatest importance that the sow should be well nourished on a well-balanced ration during her dry season so that she may be able to produce good healthy stock. An example of a balanced ration: From one to one and a-half gallons of skim milk, two to five pounds of concentrates, eight to 161 b of roots (carrots).

While the milk ration is very necessary during the dry period the roots must be increased during the suckling period. A guide for a good concentrate could be: 30 per cent, of barley, 30 per cent, of oats, 15 per cent, of bran, 15 per cent, of wheatmeal, five per cent, of meat and bone, and five per cent, of pea meal. While feeding certainly plays a big part in successful pig farming it is by no means the only care of the farmer. Comfortable accommodation in well ventilated houses with a maximum of sunlight and fresh air without drafts aro equally important. Perhaps the biggest enemy of the pig is stale, damp air, under which conditions it is impossible to escape disease. Sows, like cows, should bo groomed frequently to ensure freedom from nits and lice.

FARMING IN SCOTLAND.

MILKING MACHINES GENERAL

A New Zealand visitor to Scotland recently spent a few days at an Ayrshire Stud farm at Thornhill, County Dumfries, Scotland, ami writing to relatives in New Plymouth, lie explains that farm labour troubles there are just as difficult as they arc in New Zealand, and that to overcome the problem, milking machines are becoming more general.

The herd consists of 35 pedigree Ayrshire cows. They are never all dry at once, matters being so arranged that the same number arc being milked all the year round. The byre man is up at 4 a.m. to feed the cows, and they are fed again after milking, which begins at 6 a.m., and then again at noon, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The herd is tested and is Grade A and the milk goes to Glasgow, being collected each morning. At one time it went to London. Tests arc carried out every 28 days by an inspector of two milkings—night. and morning. The cost is 2/6 per cow per year and in addition the inspector is provided with a bed and meals free. “Milking machines arc becoming much more general,” the letter continues, “especially since electricity came into the district —it lias been installed at this farm for three years. There is a 10l of evidence for and against, them, but the opinion seems to be that the cows go dry quicker than when milked by hand, but that there is an increased flow while they are in milk so that the average is about the same.

“Now that labour is so dear and scarce, machines will have to be adopted. It costs about £l3O to instal one for a herd of 35 cows, approximately 16/8 a month to run. “The cows stay inside practically all the year. For two months in summer they are only in at night, going into the fields between milking limes. For most of the year they are inside fori the 24. hours, so there is a great deal, of work keeping the bryes clean, Iced-;! ing, watering, and so on. (

“This particular farm also runs| sheep. The ploughman looks after the' four horses, and the drays have big) rubber tyres, which lighten the load.) by four times; that is one horse can | pull a. load four limes as heavy as iu could in a dray with ordiuar ywheels. This applies, of course, to field work, and especially on soft ground. "In addition to the dairy herd and sheep, fowls, ducks, and turkeys are kept.”

“SOIL MUST LIVE.”

Al AI NT AINI NG FERTI LIT Y

"The most important factor in the restoration and maintenance of soil fertility is to make the soil live,” said noted British scientist, Sir Albert Howard, in an address given before a group of prominent, agriculturists in London.

In opening his address, Sir Albert, said: “The results of my studies can be summed up iu the following principles:—Soil fertility involves a combination of three things: (a) The maintenance of an active and vigorous soil, population, among which the earthworm plays a vital part; (b) a suitable physical condition, sometimes spoken of as the crump structure; (c) the continuous refreshment of the soil solution for the roots of crops.” Of these three factors, the biological aspect is the most important —the first thing is to make, the soil live, according to this authority. He places the physical factor second and the chemical last; yet in New Zealand the improvement of fertility by chemical means in the form of artificial fertilisers is not only placed first, but it is usually the only factor considered, more especially in pasture improvement. Of course, under the Dominion system of stock grazing grassland the year round, the waste products of the animal arc applied to the land, and in this way a. stimulus is given to the life in the soil, of which more will be said later.

SHORT-CIRCUITING NATURE Sir Albert Howard was probably too sweeping in his condemnation of artificial fertilisers, particularly when he stated that, "the attempts which have been made to short-circuit nature by the use of artificial manures have failed. Heavy dressings of artificials destroy the earthworm population.” As a matter of fact, Dr. Crowther, of the Rothamsted Experimental Station, challenged Sir Albert’s observation on the effect of fertilisers on earthworms. and quoted experiments made at Rothamsted which showed that, on land where some 40 tons of artificial fertilisers had been applied to each acre over a term of SO years, there was i;o evidence that the earthworm population was less than in farming areas, actually doing what Sir Albert Howard points out. is so essential in the betterment of soil fertility—keeping up the humus supply. Sir Albert Howard remarked: "My experiences has been —and I do not stand alone in this—that properlygrown grass and clover (on humussufficient soil) is an important factor in increasing the disease resistance of the animals which feed on it. We cannot possibly expect to keep our livestock healthy if they continue to be fed on grass produced by old, pot-bound dead sod. The control of animal diseases by the conventional methods of veterinary science will, I am. sure, be largely unnecessary, once we provide the animals with really high quality grass and other food and pay proper attention to the breed and to the general hygiene. If we start with sound stock, and feed and care for animals properly, disease will fade into insignificance. The first condition, however, is to raise the fertility of the soil by means of humus, and to make it live. A living healthy soil, abundantly provided with earthworms, will mean healthy animals.” GAS MASKS FOR COWS * PRECAUTIONS IN BRITAIN Even gas masks for cows are being provided for in the comprehensive air raid precautions schemes iu Great Britain. The national milk supply is of such major importance, particularly in times of emergency, that it is necessary to supply protection for cows in areas which may be subjected to gas attack from the air. Virtually every town in England has its air raid precautions committee, and most of them are advertising for fulltime ail’ raid precautions, at salaries varying between £3OO and £5OO a year, to take charge of these precautionary measures. Many towns are organising perodical “black-outs” on certain nights, when every light in the town, including motor-car headlights, are put out for periods varying from half an hour upward. The organisations in each town are also appointing a. series of voluntary workers, who will act in the event of an air raid. These arc air raid wardens who will issue gas masks to the civilian population. They will also organise gas proofing of houses in their vicinity, and direct rescue and other operations there in the event of a raid. , j ... The fire brigades in the towns will be augmented by special voluntary squads to deal with conflagiations caused by incendiary bombs. Decontamination squads will be appointed. ■ Their function will be to take chemi- • cal means of ridding a street of gas after an attack. There must also be rescue squads. ' first-aid posts, and dispatch riders able to use bicycles, motor-cycles, or mo-1 > tor-cars, or even to run on foot in the event of telephone or telegraph communication being broken dining an attack. Everywhere throughout. England there is an attitude of preparedness.