DEMONSTRATION FARM.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 9 August 1928, Page 3

DEMONSTRATION FARM.

STRATFORD SOCIETY. WORK OF THE PAST SEASON Mr J. W. Deem presided at the eleventh annual meeting of members of tlie Stratiord Demonstration Farm Society, at which the good work accomplished at the farm tame in for general commendation. The report stated: improvements of a partially permanent character have been confined to .urther sowing clown of pasture, additional fencing, improvement of the %vater supply, and drainage of creeks. Young macro-arpa and pmus -insignis plants purchased last spring have made good nursery growth and are now ready lo r planting out in permanent situations. Although the shelter planted during the first year of the society’s existence gives much benefit to-clay, it is apparent that more shelter is needed and that supplies of fencing material will be greatly advantageous in a few years. Pastures already established have been well maintained by topdressing, harrowing and careful grazing. Production of butter-fat shows a decrease, due to the shotage of feed occasioned by the dry weather of _.last autumn. Dp to the end of November production exceeded all previous records, but it fell 'ftway afterwards. Demonstration work in top-dressing continues under the plan established some ,>ears ago, and will be continued. The results are available to anyone interested who visits the farm. Mufch v aluab.e information has been gleaned in this connection. Varied pastime mixtures have been sown to provide comparisons, and this work will probably be greatly extended during the coming season. Fodder crops have been very satisfactory, but now good pasture has been generally established this work will be diminished but not eliminated. In addition to demonstrational work applied to the soil, concentrate leeding trials were carried out' during the full season. The thanks of the society are due to the Department lof Agriculture for its valued assistance.

EFFECT OF DRY WEATHER, “I have to congratulate members on a fairly successful year,” said the ehaiiman. 13 utter-fat showed a decrease on last year of 11981 b., but this was . brought about by the abnormally drv autumn. East year the butter-iat ■or March to June inclusive was -15751 b., and this year 31991 b:, a reduction of 13761 b for this period, and the bulk of this occurred in May and June. As things turned out this reduction ,ould have been greatly steadied, but in the middle of April the prospects of winter food looked so bad that the committee decided to dry the herd off early and conserve fodder. The herd’s average of butter-fat worked out at 3141 b. This included five heifers and was worked out on the actual butterfat sold. v

The stumping on the farm was now practically finished. More land was in pasture, and the farm was now in good order for any type of demonstration work the society might care to undertake. In addition to the phosphatie and potassic top-dressing, an expenttient had been started to test out the value of nitrogen top-dressing in conjunction with phosphates. Two fields of five acres each were being used for the purpose. The use of nitrogen to bring away rapid growth in the spring was being given great prominence at Home through the efforts of the Imperial Chemical Institute, a concern with a very large capital. The test started at the farm was one of a large 1 number that had been started in the dairy districts of the North Island to determine the economic value of nitrogen top-dressing in conjunction with regulated grazing in New Zealand. Mr J. B. Richards also congratulated the society on the successful working of the farm and mentioned instances of benefits that had accrued to farmers as the result of applying in practice the lessons there to be learned. The farm, he said, was a real asset to the district and a source of practical knowledge to the farming community. Mr Richards went on to review the steps taken by the executive to relieve the liability of the guarantors, and mentioned that representation had been made to the Stratford County Council asking that body to take over the haditv. This the council had declined to do. ‘ ' Mr H. Trimble complained of the reduction in butter-fat as compared with last \enr, but the chairman replied that the dry spell had seriously interfered in the production of the herd, as >t had in other districts. In this matter Mr S. Pitt supported the chairman, maintaining that the reduced figures were in accordance with the usual experieme in the Stratford district. Mr C. A. Merchant asked if the paspalum grass, which resisted the effects of drought, had been tried on the farm. “Yes,’ said the chairman, “but the results have not been satisfactory, the limate, generally speaking, being too cold.’ The report and balance-sheet were adopted. ELECTION OF OFFICERS.

Messrs. W. 11. Were and L. Tv. Tarrant were declared reelected. The guarantors elected Messrs E. Marfell and P. Morrissey. In reply to Mr Wickham, the chairman said that along the coast the v.rass grub had not been so bad this year, but inland it had been worse than usual. . Votes of thanks were accorded the executive for its good work during the ear. and also the chairman for his adIress.