The NORTHLAND FARMER

Northern Advocate, 30 July 1938, Page 5 (Supplement)

The NORTHLAND FARMER

Butter Publicity. It is apparent that the local consumption of butter in New Zealand I could be materially increased by a j little judicious propaganda. Australia iis giving us a lead in this respect. | The dairying industry in the Com- | monwealth has launched a publicity J campaign designed to increase the use jof butter withi Australia. Altogether, ! some £BSOO has been provided by sec- : lions of the industry for the purpose, j The foundation of the campaign is a

A page prepared for the purpose of , helping the Northland farmer to make the utmost use of the remarkable advantages which Nature has , bestowed on Northland, and thereby 1 to develop the most fertile territory in New Zealand.

booklet entitled “The New Nutrition.” which explains a new technique in butter cooking and contains many important and interesting facts about butter. A section of the book is devoted to recipes provided by a graduate of the Philadelphia General Hospital Training School for Dietitians, who is acting as consultant in dietetics to the Hospitals Commission of New South Wales. It has been the aim ot these recipes to provide dishes which conform with all scientific nutritional requirements as 'to balance, caloric >values and other essentials. With the recipes and cooking hints as a guide, the average housewife should have no difficulty in adapting other recipes in order to secure the requisite vanely

Edited By C. E. Cuming

in the daily menu. The campaign, which will last for several months, is being waged through the medium of the press, while free use will be made of printed matter. A feature will be recipe competitions. A similar scheme in a modified form would do much to increase butter consumption in this country. ~ * Farm Shelter. At this time of the year the wise farmer will be thinking of the provision of more shelter. We hear a let about the prevention of disease and how the stock should be fed properly to ensure freedom from ailments, but surely one of the greatest preventives of disease is adequate shelter. There is no improvement on a farm which pays such a good dividend as does shelter. Adequate provision of trees to protect a farm from strong winds is necessary in any country, but in New Zealand, with the stock exposed to the elements all the year, shelter is specially necessary. And the more the production of milk extends into the winter period, and ft is extending all the time, the more important does shelter become. The farmer naturally aims at improving, apd still further improving the productive standard of his stock, and it is hardly likely in the process that the vigour of his animals is increased at the same time; indeed, the very opposite influence must be at work, the more finely constitutioned animals must become more susceptible to harsh weather conditions. Therefore, the need of shelter is becoming more important every year. Proper shelter is an economical proposition. The greater the need of food for maintenance purposes the less food there is available for conversion into milk. The Mineral Factor. The directions in which one should look for the effects of continuous feeding of mineral-deficient minerals are all plainly indicated by a study of the functions of the individual mineral elements. It becomes obvious at cnce that any ill-effects will be most readily observable in the pregnant animal, at parturition, in the lactating animal, and in the growing animal. One of the best-known examples of disease due to mineral deficiency is the “lamsiekte” of South Africa. The soils of the areas where the disease occurs are so markedly deficient in phosphorous that the herbage grown thereon is quite inadequate to meet the phosphorous needs of the grazing cattle, with the result that these animals, in their craving for phosphorus, develop a depraved appetite and obtain their phosphorus supplies by consuming putrid skeletons on the veldt. This bone-chewing habit is the direct result of phosphorus deficiency, but the ill-

’ effects do not slop there because the i consumption of decaying matter re- - suits in infection of the animals with t the consequent disease to which the - name “lamsiekte” is given. Bone- . chewing, resulting from deficiency of | - lime and phosphorus, is also common . , in several of the United States, and I 3 fn fact, in most countries. Dr. Orr, 7 the well-known. British authority, has I; stated that deficiency of either calcium i or phosphorus in the food of young 1 animals resulted in slow growth, im- : perfect bone formation, nervous symps toms, and generally impaired health. . In the adult, deficiency of calcium may ) cause low milk yield, unthrifty coni dition and lowered breeding capacity, r the cows either failing to breed or giving birth to weak or dead calves. Deficiency of phosphorus will also n ause low milk yield, and this constitutes a problem of great practical importance in certain parts of the Empire where phosphorus is deficient in pastures. 3 Winter Grass. (; > Although, after centuries of scien- } tific progress, we are still unable to t control the weather and bring that do--3 gree of warmth to the pastures which 3 enables plants to grow naturally, we can now definitely supply a means of growth under cold winter soil conditions, namely nitrogen. This fact has been confirmed in every country. Of course, the use of nitrogen is not alone L sufficient to get grass growth when we j, want it most. The nitrogen must be combined with the other necessary , elements of fertility and the grass must be of a variety such as rye-grass, which thrives in the winter months. ’ Then the best results will be obtained only under a sound system of grass- , land management. One important 5 phase of management is that the fields r to be treated must not be over-grazed prior to treatment, but the field should have been eaten down evenly, say, by sheep, or have been mowed close. There is a vast difference between punishing a field and eating it close. ’ By applying nitrogen land 2,cwt. of sulphate of ammonia is better than lewt.) in the latter part of April and May, given the other requirements referred to, will ensure grass throughout the winter; provided, of course, the grass is intelligently used. Rota- [ tional grazing is imperative, and the j valuable grass should oe rationed, ' } that is, the stock should not be allowed . to camp on the ground. The specially , , treated fields should be regarded as I ’ land for the production of food, and the most valuable cf all foods, and not as enclosures in which to keep ani- 1 , mals. There are few soils that can be exploited year after year and yet maintain their yield; one or other of the three plant foods, nitrogen, phosphate and potash, will sooner or later [ become deficient, and if the deficiency . passes a certain point the grass will > fail as a complete food or fail to make ; vigorous growth. Effective manage- . ment of grassland involves frequent . cropping, i.e., by grazing or cutting, r and as each crop removes quantities of t valuable plant foods, it Is obvious that these must bo replaced. t . Importance of Calf Clubs. In many districts, the value of calf f clubs is not being properly appreci- ’ ated. The movement demands all the support that can be given it Dairy 1 company directorates should take a live interest in calf clubs, and so especially should herd-testing associa--1 tions and branches of the Farmers’ 1 Union, while agricultural and pastoral ' associations should come to realise that * such work is distinctly within their 5 province. It is a matter for salisfac- *■ lion that the Education Boards are taking a leading part in this good ~?work, and the agricultural instructors of the Department cf Agriculture and the teachers at country schools should have every rural organisation behind them. There is much more in the calf dub movement than meets the eye. In the first place, it provides a splendid hobby for country children, and if the work is well directed it can make this hobby a splendid means of education in more ways than one. The love of animals is encouraged, the fact is driven home that it pays, and pays well, to care for an animal, to feed it well and become familiar with it; and then there is pride of possession and the very important: fact that the cash return from the work will be the child’s own. There is another important advantage. Having to keep a notebook, and this should always be insisted on. is a very good means of forming the necessary habit of keeping a record of all work done, a habit that will prove valuable in aiior years. Artificial Insemination. Denmark has had the distinction of *(j| having organised the first co-operative creamery, the first dairy herd improvement association by way of milk I records, the first bull association, and apparently she is new claiming, along 8' with Russia, to be a pioneer in artificial insemination. A Largo scale corai merclal experiment is being conducted

co-operatively by a group of Danish farmers belonging to a large-scale breeding association on the Island of Saras, in the Baltic Sea. Some ‘-’2O members have entered 1200 cows for these tests, representing a small pro-portion*-of the herds involved, and many of which had given difficulty to the owners in breeding.