Farming Column

Hokitika Guardian, 27 August 1932, Page 8

Farming Column

EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCTION

“I want to congratulate dairy factory managers on the- great efficiency ‘jt theix* work,” -(said the. ■ GovernorGeheral, Lord Bledisloe, when addressing managers of dairy factories at the Auckland Winter Exhibition. “I am tware tliat many of them in New Zealand have not had very great advantages of instruction and training in early life as have those in- parts of Western and Central Europe, but I am astonished at the* efficiency, and the growing efficiency of dairy factory managers in this country.”- V

His Excellency, whci was welcomed by Mr v J. T. F. Mitchell, joint pretsi-j dent of the exhibition, on behaf of : the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association, the Auckland 'Manufacturers’ Association/ and the dairy factory, managers,- said what he welcomed was the happy co-operation be.tween the managers and the scientific work being done at the Massey Agricultural College, and. not forgetting the haj>py and sympathetic liaison with , the Government grading officers. “You have the last word—or perhaps I should say the penultimate word —on the dairying success of this country,” said this Excellency. “I am sure you strive for the uniformity of quality, of your output in competition with the products of other countries but I am ■ fully, aware that you got to have a complete chain of efficiency, from the cow in the paddock to the table of the housewife. t “I want to ask you at this critical' perjpd in Empire production, and in future production, that you will not he too. merciful, to indifferent milk and cream coming to your factories. It is no kindness to the producer -to be tco lenient. T look forward to the time when you will be able to keep off, the British market anything pot of uniform quality. I think you will he well advised not to put whey butter' into Britain, as there is a tendency for whey butter to be placed on the. market labelled as first-class butter, to be the detriment of, first grade New Zealand produce.” , ...

CANADIAN STUD J3ULI.S. -

A GISBORNE PURCHASE

Two valuable Aberdeen-Angrs bul's are on their, way to ; New Zealand to the order of Mr W. Clarke, cf Opou, IVlanutuke.C Thpy were „purchased .in Canada under arrangement; made, by the, Nevv Zealand Loan, and. Mercantile, Agency Company, . and should proye ,important additions to--the...stud stockof this district, say? a Gisborne spepij a] message.

j One of the animals is the two-year? did bull, Erica, son of Earl Eric, Glen? oarnock, from the herd of the, Hon, James ffi. McGregor, .Manitoba. /Ihis bull, which weighs 17501 b was second in his class atv-the provincial exhibition' at Brandon. • c- vi--' The other animal, a calf, is Blackbird, SQn of Black Marshall H, bred by Mr Harry Leader, Manitoba. The .calf was, fii;sk prize senior and junior, and a Iso reserve, grand champion bull at the Manitoba Provincial Exhibition, f Shipment was made from Vancouver on July 16 and the animals are due at Wellington at the end of this month. After the quarantine period of 60 days they will be dispatched to Gisborne. A. great deal of interest has been displayed overseas in this purchase.

BENEFIT OF HERD-TESTING

»’ MAKES A MAN INDEPENDENT

Reasoning people forsee that within a comparatively few years a man can revolutionise his business by tneani of herd-testing, that ife when he tests his .herd eorasisteptly from year to year and benefits from all the lessons to be drawn from the valuable accumulated, figures. Those who have *sed herd-testing figures to the limit now have practical ;.prohh of its possibilities. One Taranaki man’s experience provides a stimulating example. He is farming 147 acres of decidedly second-class country. In the season 1918-19 (when he was E'hare-milking on it) the fat produfii in. was 165 lb and. r n the following • r op 'SPPjb. Then he 1.-ougH'the-P, ••!) tho total cost of the farm as a "o ; ng concern being <O4OO. He paid £SOO cash, the interest bill the first year being £192. He tested from the first, by the 1 individual system for a year of two, and then joined up with the group system. Here -i? how he has progressed according to butter-fat gU -plied to his co-operative dairy com-pany:-~1920-21 68351 b; 1921-22, 0104 1b;'1922,23, 96721 b; 1923-24, 10,0791 b; 1924-25, 10,5461 b; 1925-26, ll,lollb; lP‘rt-27, 11,5731 b; 1927-28, 11,7111 b; 1928-29, 13,2631 b; 1929-30. 13,5021 b; 1930-31, 14,5921 b; 1931-32, over 15001 b butter-fat.

I At the present timd the farm carres 56 yows, 8 18-months heifers, 16 calves, 50 .sheep, 2 bulls and 4 horses. The pasture is poor, hardly a ryegrass plant to be seen. Eronkly the owner admits he made a bad mistake of using nothing but southern ryegrass seed. Now that he has graded up his herd to a .good standard he is going to grade up his pastures. He can afford to do this well as in the coining Augufit ,he is going to town to have the great pleasure; of paying off the balance of his mortgage, and the farm lie bought 11 years ago will, thanks to herdrtesting, be is own and h© will enjoy the glorious privilege of be; ing absolutely independent,

A HUGE SUM SACRIFICED

Politicians, financier®, business intorsts and oit-y folk generally express satisfaction, that, the .trade balance of Australia is ..being placed on a satisfactory basis, mainly by the increased., exports of agricultural products. And there ,is , also another, bright spot, for city folk, even in, these hard times, in the reduced price of certain foodstuffs, which , are cheap because of, the sacrifices being-, made by men, op the land, says an Australian journal. That -agriculture is having its full share of Australia's economic -troubles is /proved -by statistics recently issuer 1 showing, tfe volume and : value of buttenjiprcduced jn Australia during the four years ending June, 1932:

Year '' Tons Approx, valm *4928-29 ' ... 127,000 £21,065,000 1929-30. 139,000 £20.682,000 ] 930-31 ... 159,C00 £18,772 000 4931-32 ... 176,000 £21,116,000

‘Til! rbfore, although the butter produced in the year 1931-32 was 176,090 tqns, compared with 127,090 in 1928-29 the value of the 1931-32 production was £8,080,090 l-''!ss than it would hnv, been if , the prices of 1928-29 had rifled.

price ef the farmers’ products, and the h?jcreased volume of agricultural pro'duction is mleans of bringing millions of popftds, into Australia, ,although the , individual producer gets a. smaller aggregate amount than before. ; . ..

For the last statistical year the reduction dm price of-Australian butter averaged 5d per lib., compared with 028-29 . prices. That ..... rqduc.tipn ,is -equal to 38. per cent. Ih'.Tf other .classes bore an equivalent reduction in their wages,then .dairy.men woufld have no reason to, complain- qf their lot. There is no equality of sacrifice in the overcoming of. Australia’s economic problems. iVliy should,;the basic industry—agriculitfire—bear ,an undue burden in tinprocess pf rehabilitation?

GRASS GRUB RAVAGES

' The grass grub visitation pear Aroha is one pf { the worst* that has, '•stiTick the Dominion. Letters to the press suggest that it is only unhealthy -land that, .is attacked. The land ir question .is probably among the best manured 1 and best tended land in New . Zealand., Unless,, .indeed, there ,ha c been excessive use of nitrogenous manures<and the,- vitality pf the laud has been sapped’in much the sapie way ;as, .drug-taking affects the hitman ' frame. jThat is only an idea put forward as a l possibility (remarks an exchange), because Mana.watu has been prominent i,„ nitrogenous manuring. The state of (tfie land is said to be most astonishing.

GROUP MARKETING SCHEME.

' The proposed group marketing scheme among North Auckland dairy companies wa-s discussed at the annual meeting..of t-lie Maungaturoto Coioperative Dairy Company, Ltd., last week.

'The chairman, said he considered a large saving.ypuid by !»£¥%, i'f all the factories -in North. Aiiyldapd would joi:,, the,., proposed association. The method. , uniter, which companies.,were now, SflJ’; ing iseparately resulted last year in. sales varying in one, week from lOjd .to Hid. If. there were one committee it,, is hard to see that less than the maximum would be taken for the butter. Soirie of the suppliers were now going short because minimum sales had been made. • Undoubtedly it' w-ould be,.of benefit to suppliers. ..... ...

It. was moved by Mr Mason that ballot be taken in a month’s.time, but an amendment moved by. Mr Cullen |tfiat the meeting support the Cb'operative Group Marketing Associatio" 'for North Auckland, was carried by ar ‘.overwhelming majority. 0'

URGE FOR PRODUCTION

Even if New Zealand refuses to produce more butter, other countries are unlikely to follow suit—nor , can the individual producer ’ take heroic advice and restrict production. The obvious retnedy is to produce more, hut to get oaid for it—and this means merelv ? reversal of past policy on the part of the'.people—putting.' farming first instead of last.