CARRYING CAPACITY INCREASE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4816, 28 July 1939, Page 5

CARRYING CAPACITY INCREASE.

PRODUCTION IN WAITOMO COUNTY.

COMPARISONS OVER TEN YEARS. STEADY RISE IN RUN CATTLE AND SHEEP. DAIRY STOCK FLUCTUATIONS. The last ten years has shown a great increase in the productivity of farms of the Waitomo County. Abundant evidence of this is shown in the stock figures which have been very kindly supplied by the Government Statistician at our request. From 1929 to 1938, inclusive, sheep in the Waitomo County increased from 269;476 to 447,046; total of cattle from 58,456 to 78,085; and dairy cattle in milk from 12,662 to 13,419. Thus, though in dairying there has been some decrease in recent years, over the full ten years all classes of farming have shown a great increase.

IMPORTANT GRAZING DISTRICT.

Reasons for Drop in Dairy Stock. The number of dairy cows, it will be noted, though they have increased on the 1929 figure, has shown a marked drop since the peak of dairy production was reached in 1935. The reason for this is not very hard to find. In order to secure ready money during the depression, farmers switched over from sheep to dairying. In a large number of instances their country, with the very limited attention they were able to give it, was not ready for the change, ragwort caused havoc amongst herds running on infested country, and topdressing was not practised to nearly the extent that it should have been for the running of dairy stock. Naturally, when sheep and run cattle prices made grazing more profitable, this type of farmer changed back from dairying just as hastily as he had entered into it, and this tendency is reflected in the number of dairy stock carried.

THE FIGURES COMPARED. The position regarding sheep and run cattle is most satisfactory, and there can be but little doubt that this county is rapidly becoming one of the most important grazing districts of the North Island. The figures given are of total cattle, including dairying stock, so that allowance will have to be made for dairy stock fluctuations when computing the number of run cattle. The figures given are as at April 30 of each year for sheep, and at January 31 for cattle: —

The position to-day is one that seems likely once again to encourage the growth of dairying. Increased use of topdressing, the running of more sheep and cattle, and the appreciation of better methods of farming the Northern King Country, have resulted in a great improvement in the pastures of this district. Save perhaps for the fat lamb trade, the grazier has suffered a lean season, and the demand for dairy cattle at sales is at present very strong. It appears very likely that the milking season will open with many farmers with increased herds. That much land of the County is eminently suited to dairying or mixed farming has been shown in the past, and the pasture improvement noted in the last few years should result in it being even more suitable in the future.

Run Cattle.

When allowance has been made in the above figures for milking stock, it will be seen that run cattle have shown both a steady and a considerable increase over the period under review. For instance, since 1933 cattle not milked.have increased from 57,215 to 64,660.

Other figures supplied to us reflect the increase that has occurred. Bulls of the beef breeds have increased from 526 in 1933 to 734 in 1938; but even more remarkable has been the increase in quality of these bulls, an increase that has in such marked fashion been in the last few years reflected in their progeny.

A gratifying feature is that from 1931 to 1938 the non-dairying cows and heifers, 2-year-old and over, increased from 15,550 to 22,339, indicating that the breeding capabilities of beef breeds within the County has shown a marked increase. Probably in 1939 beef breeds.would have shown a still further increase, though this would be partly because of the inability in disposing of the beasts at reasonable prices.

Sheep Increase Rapidly.

Attention has already been drawn in these columns to the huge increase in sheep which has occurred in tomo in recent years. Since 1929, however, the increase has been no less than two-thirds, a remarkable result in a decade that through the results of the depression, saw a temporary swing to dairying. In spite of this swing the numbers of sheep and run cattle have shown a steady increase the whole time, though in the last couple of years in the period under review, when conditions resulted in a tendency back to grazing, the increase has naturally been somewhat accelerated.

As with run cattle, the sheep breeding potentialities of the district have greatly increased. Breeding ewes in 1929 numbered 154,841; in 1934, 202,554; and in 1938, 269,511.. During the past 10 years, too, the fat lamb trade from this district has probably doubled, so that the real increase in the number of sheep must be really more than the figure that would be shown on April 30, when most of the fat lambs had been sent to the works.

Year. Sheep. 1929 269,476 1930 356,523 1931 . . .'". 337,579 1932 . . . . . . 299,830 1933 289,925 1934 318,798 1935 359,009 1936 367,929 1937 398,550 1938 447,046

Year. Cattle in Milk. Total Cattle. 1929 12,662 58,456 1930 13,330 63,932 1931 14,234 70,064 1932 14,999 70,912 1933 17,871 75,068 1934 19,084 76,385 1935 19,445 80,218 1936 18,159 74,839 ' 1937 15,981 76,206 1938 13,419 78,085