PRODUCTION PROGRESS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 168, 17 June 1936, Page 15

PRODUCTION PROGRESS

MANAWATU-WEST COAST AREA REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT REMARKABLE INCREASES RECORDED (By R. B. Connell, Department of Agriculture, P.N.) After a series of difficult years the status and trends of the farming of tlie rich district of which Palmerston North is the geographical centre possess some interesting features. Individually, farmers are prone to complain about how financial barriers due to recent economic conditions have hampared them in their plans and in the development of their properties. While some weight undoubtedly must be attached to the contention that shortage of finance has barred the progress of numbers of farmers, there are those who consider that difficult economic conditions in farming, up to a point, are a spur to better methods. Partly because ot such divergent views it proves interesting to review what actually lias been taking place

MARKED GENERAL ASPECTS. That there has been substantial general progress in the district embraced between the northern boundary of Rangitikei County and the southern boundary of Horowhenua County is shown by the following facts. In the ten years ended January 31, 1935 (the latest date for which official returns of stock are available) the following changes in round figures in the stock of the area took place: • (1) The number of sheep shorn annually increased by 400,000, this being an increase of 25 per cent. (2) The number of lambs tailed annually increased by 600,000, this being an increase of 60 per cent. (3) The number of dairy cows in .milk increased by 40.000, this being an increase of 36 per cent. (4) The number of pigs increased by 26,000, this being an increase of 62 per cent. SHEEP FARMING ASPECTS. The fact that the lambs tailed increased by 60 per cent, in the period during which the total number of sheep increased by 25 per cent, is particularly significant—it means that the feed available in sheep-farming has improved substantially because the breeding ewes which demand better feeding, and which incidentally as a rule give more attractive returns, have increased in numbers at the expense of other classes of sheep. Just how the improvement in the standard of sheep feed has been effected is of practical importance It may have been brought brought about by an improvement our sheep pastures. It may have been brought about by an improvement in mainly of the better class sheep pastures. It may have been brought about by a change-over from dairying to sheep-farming on certain pastures. Exact information about what has happened is not available, but certain evidence strongly suggests that the increased production in sheep-farming in the district under review is due mainly to improvement in which at the outset were the better-class sheep pastures. There has also been some interchange between land devoted to dairying and to sheep-farming, but this interchange ha.s operated both ways so that any changing over has been largely counterbalancing.

Further, it would seem that there is a tendency for the sheep pastures, apart from the better-class ones, either to be stationary or to decline in carrying capacity. As .evidence of this there is the fact that the number of sheep shorn in the Pohangina County in the 1934-35 season was. slightly less than it ivas ten years earlier. Against this decline, however, is to be seen a slight increase in dairy cows and lambs tailed. One interpretation of this is that a somewhat larger proportion of the better soils of the county are now being devoted to dairying and fat lamb production, while the hill countrv as a whole is either at a standstill or deteriorating. If this is true of our hill country, sheep-farming generally begets a problem of basic importance in relation to further economic expansion in tat lamb production. That problem may be summed up in the question, where are we to get increased supplies

of breeding ewes at- a cost which will make expansion in fat lamb production attractive financially? If the annual depreciation in the breeding ewe accounts for too large a proportion of the returns from its wool and lamb, then fat lamb production must decline or a cheaper supply of breeding ewes must be found. In view of recent prices of breeding ewes some Manawatu farmers consider that this position has already been reached and are evolving their own methods of dealing with it. While these methods are not to be discussed here, it must be kept in mind that they are designed to deal with a farm management matter of. great national importance; trends in sheepfarming overseas, especially in certain wheat and subterranean clover belts in Australia, suggest stronglv the desirability of expansion in fat lamb production if New Zealand is even to maintain its present good position in the export meat trade. THE DAIRYING POSITION. That the substantial expansion in dairying that took place between 1925 and 1935 is being continued is suggested by the official grading returns: GRADINGS FOR 10 MONTHS ENDED 31st MAY. 1935. Butler Cheese Port. cwt. cwt. Wanganui 70.874 49,400 Wellington 309,010 300,104 Total 379.884 349,504 1936. Butter Cheese Port. cwt. cwt. Wanganui 70.259 48,852 Wellington 363.148 292,152 Total 433,407 341,004 While the above grading figures cover produce from districts additional to the one under review, it may he taken that the figures reflect the position in that district. They point to a remarkably heavy production during the late summer; the production prior to December on account of the unfavourable seasonal conditions was below that of the previous season. One important deduction may be made from the figures. It is this:'if we fed our dairy stock as well everv late summer and autumn as it was fed through the kindness of Nature during the recent late summer and autumn, then our total production would show a marked improvement.

An aspect of the unusually heavy dairy production in the latter part of the season right into winter is of current practical'importance. Because of this heavy production many cows did not build up the bodily reserves which are so often created in the autumn, and without which the feeding in winter and early spring will need to bo appreciably better than suffices when bodily reserves a.re built up ill autumn. Last year parts.of Southland illustrated this position in a striking and unfortunate manner.. Exceptionally heavy mortality of dairy cows that occurred in certain districts in the spring was correlated with. a.n autumn which was abnormally favourable for butter-

fat- production. As a result of this the dairy cons entered the winter in lower condition than usual, and so felt later adverse conditions more gravely than would have been the case had they been able to draw oil greater bodily reserves. It was significant that in the same districts sheep, which of course had not been subjected to the strain of exceptional autumn production, came satisfactorily through the same seasonal conditions that caused such heavy mortality in dairy cows.

A question that arises in this connection is what can be done by the farmer whose leed supplies for winter and early spring promise to be inadequate. At this stage his course of effective action is amte limited. He may purchase feed or lie may topdress without delay, or he may do both. Indeed, it may be decidedly advisable lor him to do both.

It is known from much field experience that topdressing may be carried out in late June or July with good results. Work carried out by the Department of Agriculture at the Marton experimental area has shown that phosphates applied in July, even on a somewhat heavy cold, and therefore backward soil in spring, have brought about substantial increases in the amount of feed available in August and ear 1 * September—the greatest increases followed the use of superphosphate. RIG POSSIBILITIES. The substantial expansion in the pig population during the recent decade is probably but' the forerunner of still further‘well-warranted expansion. During quite recent years there has been evolved in the Manawatu a system of pig husbandry involving the use of pastures, forage crops, and grain crops to supplement dairy by-products and this system, because of its merits, is being adopted rapidly by other districts. It is of interest here, firstly, because it is as yet far from being in general use in this district in which it originated and, secondly, l>ccau.se it enables much greater returns to l>e obtained from pig-keeping as a subsidiary to dairying, and this with relatively little additional outlay.

It lias been shown that 401 b of pigmeat per 1001 b of butterfat produced may be obtained with little difficulty or expense when skim milk is available. With whey the corresponding production of pigmeat is reduced by one half. From these facts it may he deduced that the potential output of pig products is really imposing when it is remembered that annually we are producing in round figures 300 million pounds of butterfat for butter manufacture and roughly one-third of that amount of butterfat for cheese manufacture.

In view of these figures it mar well ho asked what would happen in respect to marketing should our pig production potentialities be fully exploited. In this connection it is interesting that Great Britain imports annually in bacon, liams and haconers the equivalent to approximately 550,000 tons of baconer pigs as.well as 50,000 tons of imported porkers. This is a total trade in pig products, equivalent to one of 40.000.000 fat lambs— a trade beside which our annual production of 8.000.000 to 9.000.000 fat lambs becomes comparatively unimpressive.

The fact that the bacon importations are eleven times as great as the porker importations is of especial current moment. New Zealand is, doing a relatively insignificant share of the British baconer trade and may reasonably expect a greater share, whereas New Zealand’s share of the porker trade already being substantia], an increase of it may not be altogether easy to obtain.

The expansion that is going on in our pig industry is probably greater than some realise. In 1924, the killings for export totalled just under 5000. From October 1 to May 15 of the current season, the killings for export exceeded 600,000 and promise to exceed 700,000 for the full production rear. And it is gratifying in view of the facts already mentioned that this year’s increase is represented largely by an increase in the supply of baconers. IMPROVED FIELD PRACTICES. Brief consideration of the field practices which have contributed to the increased production of our farms seems worthwhile. This consideration must be based upon the fact that feeding, increased in quantity or ounlity or may be in both quantity a.nd quality, is associated necessarily with increased

live stock production. Hence it is advisable to give attention to changes, during the past decade, in practices which affect the teed supply.

Topdressing is one of the most important means of directly increasing the feed provided by grassland, and it may be said with confidence that incrciased topdressing in comparison with, that of ten years ago, together with the cumulative influence of fairly recent topdressing, accounts in part for the current greater farm production. Because of this current tendencies in topdressing call for notice. The general, but not the exact position, is revealed/* in the quantities of topdressing material handled by the railways. The tonnages delivered at stations from Marton to Wellington for the year ended March 31 have been

1934. 1935. 1936. Lime 9,222 13,905 10.534 Artificial fertilisers 22,805 29,165 24,320

Probably the decline in 1936 may be attributed to the luxuriant late summer growth on grassland following an abnormal bountiful rainfall.

The luxuriant growth at that stage was deceptive as to the subsequent feed position, and already as the result of a dry cold period in May many pastures of both sheep-farmers and dairy-fa.rm-ers are relatively bare. To the dairy farmer who has not good reserves of feed in the form of hay, roots, etc., this condition is likely to be serious for the reason already discussed. For different reasons it is likely to be serious, also, for the sheep-farmer whose provision of feed for winter and early spring is scant —from poor feeding at that stage he may have a greater incidence of disorders in his sheep. SPECIAL FEED PROVISION. During the decade under review changes in the special provision of feed for use during periods when but scant feed is directly available from pastures have been considerable. The changes in general ha.ve also been fitted to se cure greater production from live stock. At the beginning of the decade about 12.500 acres were cut annually fur bay and silage (silage was not accounted for separately and was negligible), whereas a.t the end of the decade about 35,000 acres were cut annually for hay and silage, over 3000 acres of these being for silage. The only comment in the increase is that, while it is gratifying, it is far from sufficient to meet tlie full economic needs of the stock l»eing carried, let alone the stock that might be carried by fuller application of our current knowledge.

There has been a falling off of approximately 5000 acres in the total area devoted to arable forage crops, this being due entirely to a decline in the area devoted to green fodders (excluding cereal crops fed off) of which rape is the principal crop. The decline in rape may be attributed partly to improved pastures facilitating the fattening of lambs and so to be indirectly an effect of topdressing. Chou, moellier was not listed in official crop returns at the beginning of the decade, but the returns show that in 1935 it is an important crop. A well warranted change is the substantial increase in the acreage of mangels which have grown greatly in popularity in Kairanga, Oroua and Manaavatii Counties. A crop which has come into prominence latterly is lucerne, the area of which is growing rapidly. Its outstanding merits oil our well drained soils have been thoroughly and strikingly demonstrated. Judging by the attention being given to it its area will continue to grow and this will be indeed well warranted.

A crop which so far has not received much field attention from farmers is subterranean clover. However, it is already giving splendid results on some of our soil types of major importance. For instance, its worth has been demonstrated i>ot)i on the sandy soils of the coastal belt and on the heavier soils of our rolling country. Its season of growth fits it to assist materially in solving one of our farm management difficulties, and it seems to be destined to play an important part as the knowledge' of its characteristics becomes more thorough and widespread. SITUATION SUMMARISED.

When the methods, achievements and financial returns of the more progressive farmers are compared with the average ones it becomes clear that our potentialities ol farm product ion arc far from fully exploited. Fuller exploitation would follow such, lines as greater attention to topdressing with phosphates, ensilage, lucerne culture, pasture composition, pasture utilisation and arable cropping, a primary objective being better feeding which would have a great influence on other important matters such as disease, performance of stock, cost of production, etc. The basic of all this would be better application of our current knowledge. What additional changes would become possible from the results of further research only the future will tell. And as a background to all this it is well to bear in mmd that the district under review a.lready is on© of th© most ©fiicicnt in the Dominion in respect to its farming.