DEMONSTRATION FARMS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 28 March 1922, Page 4

DEMONSTRATION FARMS.

EXCHANGE OF VISITS.

An official visit was made by members of the .Waimate West Demonstration Area to the Stratford ModeL Dairy Farm and DemonstratioikArea yesterday, The visitors included Messrs E. Long, W. H. LeFleming, J. S. McKay, A. Gamlin, E. G. Betts, T. A. Bridge (members of the* Farm-Committee), and Messrs Betts,. senr., Hobday and Lilley. They were-: received by Messrs Deem (chairman), Eichards, Were, Marfell and Pitt, members of the Stratford Committee, and. were entertained at an excellent, luncheon provided by Mrs Hard wick. The visitors were then conducted, over the farm. They briefly examined the luceVne experiments, the pasture top-dressing experiments, the variousroot crops, and the pastures that had been relaid. An adjournment was then made to* Stratford, where the visitors were entertained at afternoon tea. Before departing Mr Le Fleming said he desired to express their sincerethanks to the chairman and member* of the Stratford Demonstration Farm for the cordial manner in which they had been received that day.' Their visit, had been a happy and instructive one. The farm was rightly named a demonstration farm, because it demonstrated1, what could be done by intelligent farming. He was told that their herd of" cows would this season produce am average of 3001b butter-fat. Considering the time the farm had been going: and the class of cows they had this wai?. an extremely good record, and clearly proved what could be done by intelligent, farming. It was an eye-opener to mosfr of the visitors to see what could be done with worn-out pastures, to demonstrate which fertilisers gave the best, results from top-dressing and which were of very little use and not worth the expense of putting on. Mr J. B. Richards, on behalf of theStratford Committee, said that it gavethem very great pleasure to have members of the Waimate Demonstration. Area visit them that day. Indeed,they valued very highly the opportunities for such visits, because it was oife such occasions that they were afforded the opportunity of the exchange of" opinions and the discussion of problems with a view to arriving at decisions as--to how best to conduct such farms. The exchange of opinions' was one of themost valuable features of these farms. One might safely say that nearly every person with whom one came in contact', knew more about some particular subject than the other fellow, therefore*when visitors from other districts camealong there should be something of mutual benefit evolved from their discussions and interchange of ideas. Onthat account particularly, and also because of the personal pleasure they derived from the visits of interested farmers, the visit of the Manaia people that day had been a real pleasure to the Stratford Committee, and he hoped this exchange of visits would continue.