RURAL MANAWATU

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 69, 18 February 1939, Page 13

RURAL MANAWATU

FARMING THROUGH THE YEARS

(By W. J. Croucher) Part 111.

SCIENTIFIC DAIRYING. Having followed tile general course of farming thus far oil what has been termed the open country of the county and seen it firmly established, we may now return to that section of farmers who were struggling through the initial stages of establishing the dairy industry on the bush land and swampy country.

larger quantities of milk to the factory became the dominating factor. The cartage of from six to ten cans containing up to 20 gallons was no small problem and entailed a considerable outlay of time and expense. This situation brought about the beginnings of home separation, which, although viewed with misgivings by the buttermaker at the start, has long since become the universal method of supply to the factory through the medium of cream collection. Dairy farming is now a standardised business which, although attended by great hardships during the initial stages of development, occupies a leading place in the farming operations of the county. It is with feelings of pride that one looks back over the sixty years that have passed since, out of sheer necessity, farmers struggling to gain a foothold in a new, and at that time unhospitable, environment had to rely upon a few cows to provide the necessities of life, until at the present time when there are over thirty thousand highclass dairy cows supplying their daily quota to six butter and cheese factories within the middle and lower part of the county. In passing, it is worthy of note that long before the establishment of dairy factories in the Manawatu an enterprising pioneer from Somerset was employing bis land in the Sandon district for the purpose of producing milk for cheesemaking, with considerable success. Locally-made cheese was then one of the very few farm products for which there was a ready market and he did very well at the business. Later, other members of the same family connection continued with cheesemaking for many years after the butter factory opened at Rongotea and only ceased operations when co-operative plants, dealing with bulk supplies of milk, be'camo common throughout the country and captured local trade. Incidental to, but in reality a' component part of, the dairying industry is the important position now occupied by the humble farm pig. Estimated in the ratio of one breeding sow, rearing ten pigs annually to every ten cows, the numbers of baeoners turned off the farms in the county every year is not less than thirty thousand. Seeing that the bulk of the food required for pig raising consists of an otherwise waste product from the dairy it will readily be seen that the rearing and fattening of pigs plays an important part in dairy farm economy. A good deal could be said in relation to the possibilities that exist for a further extension of the pig population within the county but for the present this general review of farming over the years relates more particularly to what has already been done rather than to envisage the great possibilities of the future in every branch of production.

The advent of the refrigerator was not only a boon to graziers who raised stock for export, for in a very short time tlie freezing process enabled the ever-increasing quantities of dairy produce to be safely disposed of on the oversea markets, which offered an unlimited demand. No longer were dairy farmers to have the worries and anxieties of the weekly grind of but-ter-making on the farm, nor would the unfortunate storekeeper bo further disturbed about how he was going to dispose of the varied samples that found their way into his possession. It was a great day for all concerned when an enterprising business man came into Rongotea, like a Good Samaritan and set up a factory equipped with mechanically-driven separators and manufacturing plant. No doubt in the light of present-day perfection in dairy factory appointments the plant put in by Mr Corpo in 1890 would now be regarded as a curiosity fit for a museum, but in those far-off days during the infancy of the dairy industry the mechanical appliances then installed for buttermaking were regarded with amazement. The central factory provided the need for more horse-drawn vehicles and many and varied were the conveyances that were pressed into service for transporting the whole milk from the farms to the separators. At the beginning the capacity of the separatoi's which had been installed was so limited that it took from six o’clock in the morning until noon to deal with the large quantity of milk that was forthcoming. In consequence of this unavoidable delay there became great rivalry between suppliers as to who would get liis milk to the factory first. It is related that during these impromptu chariot races there were many exciting finishes and that the journey was not always made without incident by the way. The roads, such as they were, were not metalled to any extent and it was not uncommon for a driver to have his turnout stuck in the mud or ditched by a passing rival. For some time after the factory started payment for milk was made at the rate of 2Jd per gallon, and the skim milk was returnable to the farm. This system of payment did not always work quite satisfactorily as far as the owner of the factory was concerned, and it soon became evident to him that the “cow with the iron tail’’ was being very successfully employed by some of his suppliers. ■These troubles were not overcome until the Babcock milk test was installed which enabled payments to be based on the butterfat content of the milk instead of on the bulk weight of milk supplied. It then became the turn of disgruntled suppliers to complain. For a long time the discontented ones could not be persuaded that there is a difference in the butterfat test of milk from different herds, but when conviction of this reality became generally accepted the more progressive suppliers took steps to improve the type and producing ability of tbeir herds and thus began the building up of the high-producing dairy cattle for which the district is now noted. Having convinced themselves that dairying offered the best avenue for progress and a stabilised income, the settlers then took upon themselves the responsibility of purchasing ‘ the proprietary interest in the butter factory and formed a co-operative dairy company, one of the first of its kind in New Zealand, and undertook the management of their own affairs. Following a ]:>rogressive policy, this com-munity-owned business lias ever since kept abreast of modern knowledge in manufacture and equipment which entitles the company to be regarded as a model of efficiency in its service to its two hundred and fifty suppliers. The company is peculiar in the fact that it has never departed from its original purpose, that of butter manufacture. It has never operated supplementary skimming creameries in outlying districts and was the first to abandon the old custom of dealing with whole milk at the factory in favour of home separation and the collection of cream at the farm gate. When the decision was reached to make home separation mandatory, the new rule was not accepted gracefully by all the suppliers. There were those who for long years had become so used to their daily morning gossip at the factory that they showed strong resentment at being denied this privilege and stoutly refused to be forced into the expense of installing separators. To appease them and to prove that the change was in their own interests the company took up itself the responsibilty for supplying the separators in order to demonstrate the saving of wear and tear in time and equipment. All opposition was soon overcome and the practice of home separation was in a short time adopted by outside concerns. , About the end of the last century it was claimed that the principle of mechanical milking had been so far advanced as a practical possibility that two leading dairy farmers, in spite of the general scepticism which was then entertained with regard to dangerous results, decided to give the new contraption a trial. The main difficulty at first was to find an engine that would provide efficient driving power economically. In consequence of this drawback the earlier milking machines were operated by power supplied from treadmills which wore kept in motion by a horse or other animal swinging its weight on an alternating tilting platform. One man used the herd bull for this purpose and created wide interest, and not a little friendly chaffing, from the frequent visitors who called in to see the novel arrangement by which the lordly head of the herd performed the daily duty of milking the cows. It was not long, however, before internal combustion gas engines were introduced and further improvements were effected in the pulsating plant which gradually overcame all objections to' the mechanical milker, and numbers of new plants were installed every year. Within a very short time farmers, having been relieved of the drudgery of hand milking were enabled to greatly increase the numbers in their herds, with the result that the yield of butterfat in the district increased enormously. Instead of the limits of farm production being controlled by the labour required for hand milking, the transport of

CONSOLIDATION. So far these notes have in a scantyway traversed the earlier‘ and intermediate development of farming in the Manawatu county, during which time the gradual introduction of new methods of management and expanding markets for a wider range of farm produce had seen what may be termed the primitive stage pass away and the dawn of a new era with unlimited possibilities entered upon. Farming in all its branches does not, however, remain stationary, for no sooner had the producers begun to adapt their various activities to the newer order than they were carried on to still higher fields of attainment when the agricultural chemist and scientific research worker indicated fresh possibilities within the scope of intensive production. All along the line the farmer was shown how the earning capacity of his land could be multiplied so that, without extending his boundary fences, his gross returns would be doubled and trebled by following a well-ordered plan of pasture and live-stock improvement. Accordingly, in a comparatively short time his business ceased to be regarded as little more than an uncertain occupation, by resolving itself into a scientific art. The compelling forces behind this new movement found expression in pasture improvement by means of systematic top-dressing with suitable manorial stimulants to growth of grass; stock improvement, was effected by testing for butterfat production in dairy cattle; and by more attention being directed to early maturing qualities in tlie beef breeds of stock and concentration on the yield, quality, and health of sheep for wool, mutton and lamb.

Agriculture in all its branches is undoubtedly the great outstanding national business of the Dominion, and despite what is often alleged to the contrary by city folk, the man on the land lias ulways shown at least as much enterprise as any other business section of the community, besides being called upon continually to deal with intricate and unsuspected jiroblems which might wqll cause men of weaker fibre to throw up the sponge. New Zealand industrialists have every reason to be proud of tlie farmers in the country who have now attained such a standard of efficiency, aided by natural environment and the application of scientific principles, as to merit the approbation and oftimes the envy of authorities in advanced farming practice from all parts of the world during recent years. These remarks arc not made so much in the defence of our agriculturalists as they are to show that they are not neglecting their obligations towards keeping abreast of tlie times.

Manawatu farmers need no defence by me, because tbeir progress from tlie beginning lias been based on sound principles tlie results of which speak for themselves. Without doubt errors have been made in particular directions, especially during the boom period when a form of insanity captured the imagination of many who for the time being lost sight of the productive value of the land and confused it with some speculative. myth which, as everyone knows,’lias left much heartburning in its train. The land remains, however, and it is unlikely that another wave of super-optimism will over again over-ride sound judgment in the extravagant hope that by some miracle the soil and rising markets would seo the unwise purchasers safely through with their voluntary bargain. The "lesson lias been timely and the country has once more settled down to legitimate farming as a business and many are trying to forget the results of tlie one bad break they made_ by faulty judgment in land speculation. Far be it for mo to preach a homily about -'rrors of judgment in others. We have all made them, but if, by our mistakes, something for our future advantage has been learned there are compensations. There is no need to

make the same mistake twice, despite the remark of some wiseacre who says that fresh crops of fools are com mg along all the time. No one likes to admit having made a bad deal, and to the credit of many of tlie farmers who bought land at unduly high prices the majority of them made every effort to recoup themselves by following a more intensive system of fanning in the hope that increased production would offset higher overhead expenses. Thus it came about that force of circumstances very largely assisted to give the necessary filip to the acceptance and serious trial of the advanced principles’underlying scientific production from the land, together with the promotion of a definite plan of stock improvement.

For the purposes of this article perhaps the best and most convenient way by which progress can be depicted from what lias been termed the intermediate stage of farming until the present and more scientific era, will be to select an odd farm at random in the county and follow the changes that have taken place in procedure under practically the same ownership throughout the years. EFFICIENCY. The first selection that suggests itself will be a 600-acre sheep farm representative of what, lias been described earlier as the open country. This farm is typical of the old grain-grow-ing area and its acreage is made up by the aggregation of three of the original 200-acre sections. During the first 20 years this land, like all that surrounding it was being denuded of its fertility by continuous crops of grain. This process of exhaustion was stayed when more attention was given to sheep than to grain and a wider range of cropping rotation began to restore what had been lost. It was then that owners of rural property began to realise that progressive farming had a far wider meaning than simple routine occupancy. jflie land was there to be worked, fed and nourished, and, in so far as these simple needs were intelligently and regularly observed, so would be the response. By obeying these elementary rules it was soon discovered, through repeated trial and error, how work, food and sustained nourishment could be most usefully employed with the result that land which formerly was classed as one and a half to two sheep to the acre country is now carrying witli ease more than double that number of sheep, besides maintaining the large number of other stock that are needed periodically to fit in with rotational grazing and pasture control. Unlike many farmers in other centres in the North Island, the men on the land in the Manawatu county have not forsaken the plough in favour of straight-out grazing for sheep and cattle on the rotational system of pasture management. There is no need just now to discuss the merits of these opposing systems; for with the experiences of the last few seasons it appears that practice is telling its own story. On the Manawatu farm that is in mind an average of about one-sixth of the area is ploughed every year. This land is employed for the growing _ of twenty or thirty acres of soft turnips, forty acres of swedes and cliou mouellier sown together, five acres of mangolds and the remainder put back into pasture containing a seeding mixtare of peiennial ryegrass, cocksfoot and clovers. No set rotation of cropping is followed and the area under the plough in any given year may lie considerably above or below the dimensions stated.

During the months of flush growth beef cattle, usually in-calf cows, at the rate of one beast to two acres are bought in to assist tlie sheep to keep the spring grass in check. Tins farm specialises in the production of purebred strains of “mother” ryegrass seed, and from tlie beginning of November till the end of January from seventy to one hundred acres of pasture are reserved for this purpose. The sheep stocking consists of purebred studs of Romney and Southdown ewes to the number of 1100, together with seven hundred flock ewes. Purebred lambs to the number of 1000 are carried through till they become ,twotootlis and account for the consumption of a good deal of tlie supplementary feed during the winter. .. Tlie remaining lambs are all turned off as fats. No sheep of any description are bought in except an occasional stud ram. During the late autumn the fat cattle are drafted out and sold, vealers are weaned and disposed of, and as soon as the winter rains set in and the ground becomes soft all heavy stock is removed. By this time they have all been fattened and have their purpose in assisting with pasture control. In normal seasons the system oi pasture utilisation and stock management Works quite efficiently, but in an unusually dry summer and autumn such as was experienced last year the precaution was taken to quit the cattle earlier than usual. One point of management that was made plain by the prolonged dry weather in the fall was that it is necessary to have on hand an adequate supply of good meadow hay that will be available for sheep when the first tender grass comes away in profusion after the first rains. The hay provides a corrective balance in the diet and is regarded as a reliable preventive against such disorders as facial eczema or other stock troubles which result from an unbalanced ration. Substantial proof of this belief was given on tlie farm under notice during the scourge of facial eczema recently experienced. and precautions are being taken this year for the preservation of ample home-grown meadow hay to meet any similar emergency. One very noticeable feature of comparatively recent adoption on farms containing a heavy clay subsoil is the general adoption‘of underground draining. This is usually done with the mole-drainer drawn by a farm tractor, n.nd serves the purpose very well. "Where the drains have been working for any length of time the results have proved highly satisfactory. Not only does the soil surface remain firmer and free from poaching, but it lias been found in addition that tlie value of top-dressing is greatly enhanced. to say nothing of tho advantages of being able to work the land much more readily. By draining an additional field or two annually, farmers find the outlay trifling when compared with the immediate benefits that follow. Tho foregoing brief outline of land utilisation is typical of the general practice now obtaining throughout the former grain growing area of the county and although far from comnlete as regards manv particular details in management will serve m.y purpose for the time lieing. (To he Continued.)