The NORTHLAND FARMER

Northern Advocate, 19 June 1937, Page 11

The NORTHLAND FARMER

A page prepared for the purpose of helping the Northland farmer to make the utmost use of the remarkable advantages which Nature has _ mmmmm bestowed on Northland, and thereby ■ to develop the most tortile territory ■ in New Zealand. =

International Dairy Exposition. , The dairy exposition planned • to take place' on the occasion of the Eleventh World’s Dairy Congress, will be arranged* in newly-erected spacious halls in Berlin. It will comprise all branches of the dairying industry, and is to bear witness, of the high state of development attained by this branch of economy in the principal countries of the world. All problems, connected with productions, processing,'trade and organisation of the dairy industry will be represented in an impressive manner. A special show will demonstrate, in addition, to what a great extent the Fine Arts are indebted to the milk industry and what an important position is held by milk in the cultural life of man. The exposition will also deal with the

problems and measures regarding the milk propaganda which have been handled and employed by the various countries with the object of stimulating milk consumption. English. Costs. As the result of a survey of milk producing costs, made by the Agricultural Economics Department of Reading University, some interesting figures relating to dairy farm conditions in England are available. , A great many farms were examined, and it was found that the production feeding stuffs totalled 55 per cent, of the total farm costs. The labour percentage was 22; depreciation, 10; and miscellaneous, 13. In feeding stuffs was reckoned, the cost (apart from labour), of growing hay, etc., on the farm, maintaining pastures and similar work, i

Dairy Cow Wastage. Dr, Bartlett, of the National Institute for Research in Dairying. ‘England, speaking recently on herd maintenance and the causes of wastage of dairy cows, said that the average productive life of cows was about four years. If by using methods which improved health and controlled disease the length of life could be increased, it would result in lower depreciation cost in milk production- The out> standing cause which terminated the

productive life of a cow was sterility. On farms where no lime was added to the ration of the cows the length of life tended to be shorter. Udder troubles were responsible for considerable loss in dairy herds, and were found morq prevalent on farms where the day and night intervals between milkings were most unequal and in herds milked by machine. The latter should be suspected of indicating inefficiency in the management of the machines. Best Mineral Lick. Probably the best mineral lick for cows, and now is the time it should be made available, is made up as fol-lows:—-Half a gallon of good cod liver oil, 101 b steamed bone-flour, half cwt crushed rock salt, 2oz potassium iodide in three tablespoons full of water and

Edited By C. E- Cuming

mix with the cod liver oil. Then add the bone flour, then the iron and lastly the salt. The mixture must be made in this order. Keep in concrete .troughs or painted 1 tins. The lick should be available to the cows for at least three weeks before calving. Three Classes of Food. Foods are classed according to their composition, and the substances which are utilised in the animal body may be roughly classified as:—(1) Starch and fatty materials, which produce heat and fat in the body, and are known as carbohydrates; (2) substances containing a large amount of nitrogen, commonly called proteins, and essential to the muscular growth and development of the body; and X 3) mineral salts, which are necessary to body changes and the building up in the growing animal of the harder tissues of the body, such as the bone, All foods contain a combination of these materials to a greater or less extent, but some are richer in one or more classes than others. Thus, most root crops, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, arrowroot, artichokes, grains such as maize, wheat, etc., and vegetables and fruit are very rich in starch and sugar; while linseed meals, oil cakes, etc., and unseparated milk contain a large percentage of oil. Peas, beans, lucerne, clovers, milk, meat-meal, flesh and other aminal products have a big percentage of protein. Mineral matters are present to a great extent in milk, oats, mill offal, lucerne, peas and beans. Japanese Apples. * Under the heading of “Japples,” the “Evening News” announces the arrival at Govent Garden of the first consignment of ) Japanese apples ever sent to Britain. The consignment consisted of 150 cases of Jonathans. They came from Yokohama, via Vancouver and Halifax, and were beautifully packed, importers declaring that “in that respect they have easily outdone the Americans.” There was no .bruised fruit despite the long journey. The fruit sold in London shops at 6d per lb.

Chinese Butter Market,

While a report has appeared that an increase has taken place in the shipment of New' Zealand butter to Japan an official Australian Government report shows that Australia is losing the Chinese market, and among the reasons it gives is that the Chinese are making more butter, increased supplies of butter are being imported from Japan, and New Zealand is cutting prices. As reported before by Australian officials, in the East, the markets in both China and Japan are never likely to Amount -to much. The retail price of Australian butter (there is a duty of 9d a pound), roughly 2/ to 2/5 a pound, is a sum sufficient to provide six middle-class Chinamen with a good meal. Japan, with its increasing dairy production, says the report, is finding China a market for butter. The local Chinese butter is produced chiefly from milk from buffalo cows, although Hangchow has dairy cows reputed to number 400, of which more than 200 were imported frorp New Zealand in 1934. The organisation of the industry, says the Australian report, is very creditable, and the factory at Wanchow is a particularly good modern one, with airconditioned packing rooms. All the butter goes to the Shanghai market,

where three margarine factories are operating. The margarine is not consumed to any great extent by the foreign community of Shanghai except by the Russians. Potash. Reference was recently made in these columns to the high potash content of the soil of Central Otago—the small high altitude flats surrounded by hills mainly composed of mica schist ,rock. An interesting fact in regard to these rocks is that during the war, when there was a world scarcity of potash fertiliser, of which Germany had the monopoly, the United States obtained samples of the Central Otago rock to see if it would be a payable proposition to extract the potash, but shortly afterwards the war terminated and potash supplies were released, so apparently the investigation was not concluded. If it were, no information in regard to it reached this country. The only people - who found a substitute for the potash of Germany and Alsace Lorraine were the Italians who were able to extract supplies from a material called lencite. Britain met the difficulty to some extent by the use of ordinary salt.

Feeding Value of Oats. The feeding value of oats depends mainly on two factors: (1) The class of oats used; the class of stock to which the oats are fed. With regard to the first factor, it must be noted that oats with a high proportion of kernel to husk are of greater feeding value than those with a relatively low percentage, since it is the oat kernel that possesses the nutritive qualities, the husks having practically no feeding value. The percentage of husk to the total weight of the oat grain varies from 22 per cent, to as high as 30 per cent. It would appear, therefore, that oats of the former class are the most suitable for stock feeding purposes, but there is still another consideration. It has been noted by farmers that when;, short plump oats are fed to horses that many of these pass through 'the digestive tract in a whole state, not having been acted by the .digestive juices. Where longer or rougher oats are fed these are found to be more thoroughly digested.' The reason given for this is that an animal eating these is forced to masticate them somewhat before swallowing, and when the chewed food enters the stomach there is a larger extent of surface for the juices to act upon. The short, plump oats are likely to be bolted, and when in the stomach the meal tends to run into a ball offering a comparatively small surface for digestive action. We see, therefore, that the difference in feeding value between short plump oats and. long thin oats, is not so great as one would be led to believe by merely taking into account the weight of kernel in a given mass. With regard to the class of animal to which, they should be fed, it has been ascertained that oats are apparently about equally digestive for cattle, sheep and horses. Dual-Purpose Cattle.

Changes that the new Live Stock Bill are likely to effect in the cattle industry of Great Britain,' in view of the higher subsidy for home-bred fat-,/ tening cattle, were mentioned by the Earl of Stradbroke, the president of the Red Poll Cattle Society, at its meeting in London recently. He, like other breeders, visualised in the near future a big trade for Red Polls, and especially the bulls for cross-breeding. It was claimed there would be a strong trade for Red Poll sires for cross breeding with dairy cattle such as Friesians, Ayrshires and Shorthorns.

Butter Trade. Practically all butter exporters look to Great Britain to absorb the major part of their surplus. In spite of all that has been done to' encourage home output, it does not exceed 10 per cent, of the total United Kingdom requirements. Under the pressure of receding prices, New Zealand, which is now the world’s chief exporter, has increased her output so that the value of shipments was 29.6 per cent, of the Dominion’s total trade last year, as against 22.8 per cent in the 1926-30 period. Denmark, on the other hand, has been compelled, by the restrictive policies of former customers, to curtail output. The proportion of her’ butter shipments to general trade is 9.5 per cent, below what it was five years ago. In the six years to 1935, world butter exports increased by 18 per cent., but those from Empire countries alone have advanced by 81 per cent. With the exception of Australia, all the principal suppliers of dairy products to the United Kingdom with whom trade arrangements have been made have substantially increased the value of their sales during 1936, with New Zealand, Denmark and Holland in the leading positions. The situation revealed has special bearing on the discussions now in progress or contemplated with Canada and New Zealand for the conclusion of bilateral

trade pacts in advance of the wider plans due for consideration at the Imperial Conference. American Breeders’ Lead. The American Jersey Cattle Club feels that milk production alone does not constitute a superior herd, so a few years ago the Type Classification Plan was originated. To qualify, all cows must be officially classified by an American Jersey Cattle Club judge. The animals are rated as follows: Excellent, score, 95 per cent.; very good, score, 87 i per cent.; good plus, score, 82 \ per cent.; good,. score, 77 \ per cent.; fair, score, 72| per cent; poor, score, 60 per cent. The whole herd must average at least 82 per cent, which is practically a good plus rating. The health of the herd is of prime importance for production and reproduction. Therefore, every applicant must certify that he has a federal accredited herd, free from tuberculosis. Furthermore, his herd shall be free of Bang’s disease or he shall be actually engaged in a Bang’s disease eradication programme under the supervision of the State veterinarian of his State. To the Jersey owner who accomplishes this complete programme of breeding a high producing, healthy herd of outstanding good type animals, the American Jersey Cattle Club will award a certificate each year that he qualifies. „ x ’