HALCOMBE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 196, 20 July 1936, Page 8

HALCOMBE.

FARMERS’ UNION. (From Our Own , Correspondent.) HALt'OMBE, July 17. The Ilaleoinbo branch of the Farmers’ Union met on Thursday evening, when there was a fair attendance ot members presided over by Mr E. W. Barnett. The president introduced Mr A. J. Galpin, of the Department ot Agriculture, who spoke on the subject of supplementary fodder crops. Referring to the competition movement among farmers, Mr Galpin said that the department realised that the only way of getting reliuble information with regard to methods and practices was to analyse these in conjunction with the cropp.ng results. Herd and factory returns showed that the returns of butterfat for the best 10 months of the year worked out at about six 'to seven times the production for December. Ho stated that production could be raised at least 20 per cent by better winter feeding. He pointed out that the best four months of the year produced about 70 per cent of the year’s feed, but cows required about 60 per cent of their feed in "the remaining eight incuihs. Referring to ensilage, Mr Galpin stated that about 70 per cent of the ensilage was not the type on which cows milked best. The darker coloured parts of the stack were of value chiefly for building flesh, but the jighter, .goldishyellow parts gave the best results from the milking point of view. The speaker stated that top-dressing without supplementary crops would not get the stock over the lean part of the year. To get the full value of top-dressing the farmer must liavo supplementary crops. Mr Galpin urged that a local committee bo formed to assist the department in judging the competition in the future. He then answered a number of questions asked by members, following which tho .president thanked him for his interesting and instructive address. Mr W. McLennan reported that, the local W.D.F. U had asked whether the local Farmers’ Union would care to assist them in running a birthday celebration. The meeting was unanimously in favour of tho suggestion and Messrs W. S. Page, \Y. McLennan and Curtis were, appointed a committee to make the necessary arrangc- , rnents.