FOR THE FARMER

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4567, 10 November 1937, Page 3

FOR THE FARMER

SMALL FARMS SCHEME.

THE FOUR MAIN BLOCKS. PARTICULARS OF COSTS. INCREASE IN PRODUCTION. Interesting statistics and comments on the four main small farms scheme blocks in this district are contained in the extracts in the 1937 Lands Department's report contributed by Mr. A. B. Jordan, Superintendent of Land Development, Te Kuiti. The net surplus on these four blocks amounted in 1934-35 to £436, in 1935-36 to £3214, and in 1936-37 to £5631. During this period development costs increased from £16,795 to £46,669.

The sales of produce from the blocks are given as follows for 1936-37, with those for the previous year in parentheses: Butterfat, £3449 (£1912); fat lambs, £lllß (£1571); fat sheep, £lßl7 (£1222); store sheep, £275 (£1049); wool, £1543 (£576); dairy cattle, £521 (£166); run cattle, £737 (£1281); pigs £416 (£194). Sales of fat lambs have dropped as an increasing number have been bred and retained for replacement and adding to flocks. Store sheep sales have decreased, as it was not necessary this year to cull as heavily as last year, while run cattle sales are lower because of the need to run more cattle, and younger stock have been purchased. The increases in butterfat, wool and pigs are very satisfactory and indicate that the farming practice adopted is very sound, states the report. The increase in butterfat receipts is 80 per cent; wool increased by 168 per cent., and pigs by 115 per cent. The average weight of fat lambs rose by 3% per cent.

A much greater number of stock were being run on the four schemes last March than at the same period the previous year—sheep increased by 120 per cent., dairy cattle by 11 per cent., and run cattle by 106 percent. Last March the sheep totalled 6345, dairy cattle 638, and run cattle 479. Considerable improvements to the blocks, such as fencing, draining, stumping and grassing and cultivating were effected during the year under review.

Total expenditure on the blocks was analysed as follows: — Unemployment Board expenditure (not chargeable to land), £41,614; wages: vote settlement of unemployed workers, £13,808; vote, Lands and Survey, £23,013; considered not chargeable, £6696—total £85,131. Materials and other charges (chargeable), £22,861; materials and other charges (considered not chargeable), £lß,949—total £51,810. Grand total, £136,941. Department's Activities. A satisfactory advance has been made during the year in all of the activities of the Land Development Branch. The number of blocks under active development has increased from thirty to forty, the total area being approximately 40,000 acres. The area of new grass has increased considerably, and the total area of newly grassed land is now 3872 acres. On most of the blocks the work is carried out in conjunction with the Public Works Department's District Office at Taumarunui and the Branch Offices at Te Kuiti, Hamilton, and Raetihi. A number of blocks are administered solely by this Branch and more have reached the stage at which the administration can be taken over with advantage. The total stock on thirty blocks at 31st March, 1937, was:—Sheep, 24,114; dairy cattle, 938; run cattle, 1,505; horses, 164; pigs, 182. On the twenty-eight blocks carrying stock and for which trading accounts have been prepared the following information has been summarised: — Price of land or valuation, £50,985; development costs, chargeable, £llß,821; valuation of livestock on hand, £54,901; interest at 5 per cent, on the above items, £11,235; gross returns, £27,665; gross surplus, £21,633; net surplus for the year, £10,398. In preparing the trading account the livestock has been taken at a reasonable market value. Four of the blocks have shown a net deficiency totalling £1203 2s Id, and this is mainly due to the fact that development operations are not far advanced and consequently returns from stock are low. The expenditure during the year has been on materials and wages chargeable to the land £118,821, and on livestock £40,167, making a total of £158,988 chargeable to the land The following information is of interest, being the gross expenditure on the twenty-eight blocks from their inception to 31st March, 1937:—Unemployment Board expenditure not chargeable to the land, £109,111; wages—Vote, settlement of unemployed workers £40,099, vote, Lands and

Survey £67,157, considered not chargeable to land £9o76—total £225,443. Materials and other charges: Vote, settlement unemployed workers, £78,722; considered not chargeable to land, £2l,o23—total, £99,745. Grand total of all expenditure, £325,188.

The standard of work has been ! maintained and it has been found advisable to adopt standard plans for houses, cow-sheds, store-sheds, fences, gates, etc., on all of the later blocks. There has been an increased output of work due to higher wages being paid, .and also to the greater experience of the men, Although some of the blocks are producing well, it is desired to stress the desirability of continuing the farming of them by this Branch as at present. By this means not only will settlers have a better start, but also the capacity of the blocks to produce will be better known, as strict accounts will be kept, and although there will be delay it is felt that this disadvantage will be more than offset by there being a far better chance of the settler succeeding and the Crown's security will be better protected. It must be remembered that in the past it has taken the old pioneer settlers a lifetime to reach the stage that can now be reached in from five to ten years by the present methods. The prospective settlers who are placed on land which has been properly developed will be fully occupied in maintaining the improvements and increasing the production, and it is both possible and desirable to lay down a satisfactory policy of farm routine and have it carried out than to expect a settler to develop new ground and maintain improvements, which may be beyond his capacity. This would lead to the creation of dissatisfied men and women and Crown securities again reverting. In conclusion, it is desired to draw attention to the fact that there has been very little sickness of dissatisfaction amongst the 820 men, women, and children who depend on the schemes for their living.

TOPDRESSING RESULTS. PRODUCTION OF LAMBS. Recent official statistics show that last year's record number of breeding ewes in the Dominion has been exceeded this year. This new record number of breeding ewes probably is, and certainly might fittingly be, connected with the evidence from sales of fertilisers that increased top-dress-ing of grassland has been carried out in the sheep-farming of at least several districts; there is much farm experience indicating that judicious topdressing of suitable pastures can be made a direct and profitable means of producing greater numbers of better lams, states the Journal of Agriculture. Such experience continues to become available in increasing volume not only from districts of more than 30in. of annual rainfall, but also from ones on considerably less rainfall. While the general position is that top-dressing has been found of value in producing a bigger and more profitable crop of lambs, it is desirable to bear in mind, especially at this season, of the year, that farmers are to be found in both the North Island and the South Island who, on the basis of personal experience, state unhesitatingly that top-dressing has been associated with poor results in the production of lambs. Close scrutiny of their experience often has provided an explanation of the poor results. It is of great practical importance that this explanation has in no respect affected the general validity of the fact that over a wide area top-dress-ing may be employed to increase the output and the net returns in lambproduction. In short, top-dressing has been linked with exceptionally good results and quite poor results in lambproduction and this in the one district under similar conditions of soil, climate and original pasture-covering and with the same type of top-dress-ing material used when the results were both good and bad. This somewhat paradoxical position arises primarily from the fact that using fertiliser on grassland and using the results from fertiliser on grassland are two totally different matters; ,or expressed in other words, it is of great practcal importance to distinguish between applying fertiliser and using fertiliser on grassland having in mind that, according to the dictionary, "use" means "application to a purpose," In farming, and especially in sheep-farming at times, the application of fertilisers to pastures has been judicious, while later on the use of the results of the fertilisers has not been judicious. The crux of the position is given pithily in the following statement of Dr. Praser of Rowett Institute:— "Ewes and lambs will never thrive

The position created by recent developments in connection with the appointment of a traffic and depot superintendent for the New Plymouth tramways has given cause for an expression of anxiety on the part of the ratepayers as to the whole condition of the tramways department, and a correspondent has written to the editor of the Taranaki Herald asking the Mayor if he will, as the chief representative of the ratepayers, institute an inquiry, to be open to the public and the press, into the affairs of the tramway department, so that the allegations of the ex-superintend-ent about inefficiency and other allegations can be sifted. The abovementioned letter has been submitted to the Mayor of New Plymouth, Mr. E. R. C. Gilmour, who states that personally he has no objection to a further inquiry if the Borough Council deems it necessary. "It is not my intention to enter into controversy with a correspondent through the press but I can state that any letters sent by ratepayers to the council will be dealt with fully."

on stemmy pastures ... I have repeatedly noticed how lambs go off when grass shoots and clover flowers."

This statement introduces no new idea; it merely emphasises a fact that is demonstrated throughout a countryside whenever that countryside enjoys weather that favours unusually rapid growth of pastures in spring and early summer and the sheepfarmers do not take adequate measures to cope with the surplus feed that lesults. Judicious top-dressing begets additional feed just as favourable weather conditions may beget additional feed: either top-dressing or favourable spring and early summer weather may lead to poor results with lambs unless the surplus feed is handled in such a way that stemmy pastures for the ewes and lambs are avoided.

Phosphatic top-dressing when it is effective, as it so commonly is, intensifies the superabundance of feed directly available from grassland in the late spring and early summer. Hence if top-dressing is not followed by measures for dealing with an increased supply of feed at this period, then usually and almost necessarily a stemmy condition of the pastures develops about November, and, stemmy pastures being eminently unsuitable for ewes and lambs, sheep that were thriving up to the appearance of stemminess in the feed soon cease to thrive.

From this it follows that as a rule the man who condemns top-dressing as a factor in profitable lamb-produc-tion has to face one of the following alternatives: Either his top-dressing has not been suitable to his conditions and has not produced enough additional feed to become profitable or teh top-dressing has been effective enough and there has been failure in some other phase of the management of the farm so that the additional feed has not been used properly. In either case the poor result originates in poor management.