HAY AND ENSILAGE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 18 June 1926, Page 8

HAY AND ENSILAGE

ITS USE IN DAIRYING FARMERS' "SINKING FUND" THE HARVESTING OF CROPS lu an address given at the Dairy Farm School at Hamilton, Mr- G. W. Wild, assistant instructor in agriculture at. Auckland, spoke on "flay and Ensilage." He showed the position that hay and ensilage occupied in dairy farm practice as seen in the Thames and Waikatu Valley. Hay and ensilage .formed* as it were, the sinking fund iii a fanner's business, to be drawn on in time of scarcity and want. Such periods were always to be met with, and it was the wise farmer who harvested his surplus crops in time, of plenty and stored them for use during the lean months. The figures from the Agricultural and Pastoral Statistics Bulletin showed that in the. season 1923-24 the amount of hay per cow (i.e.. if all hay saved were fed to dairy cows alone) was sc\vt. In 1924-25 ihl' position had improved to 6£cwt. In the same period the yield shows 1.6 ton of hay tier acre for 192324, and 1.8 tons per"acre in 1925-26. If this last figure was increased to 2.5 or 3.0 tons of hay per acre, then the amount saved would be almost sufficient for the winter months, which in Waikalo and Thames Valley extended from early June to mid-September and even later. SPRING TREATMENT OF PASTURE At least 15-20 cwt. of hay was necessary per cow, and the farmer iii the abovementioned districts should aim at such a production of hay. The figures for the different counties showed that the large dairy centres of Piako, Waikalo, Waipa and Matamata were saving from 8-10ewt. per cow, or about half the requirement. In the. northerii dis> triets of Whangarei and the Bay of Islands about lewt. only was saved per cow, whereas the requirement in this part o£ the country was from 8-12 cwt per cow.

The lecturer then dealt with the early spring treatment of pasture closed for hay. While temporarily sown was possibly the best for hay crops, providing bulk anil succulence; yet many farmers did not include this in their crop rotations, and consequently delayed their permanent pastures. This practice could only be recommended when the fawner paid great attention to the fertility maintenance of such a pasture. Hay cropping a permanent pasture tended to eliminate the bottom grasses and allowed the invasion of weeds and grasses of low worth. Spring treatment of hay pastures should comsist of a thorough tripod and chain 'harrowing and top-dressing. The laud should be cleared of stones, etc., so that breakages and stoppages be reduced to a minimum. The next thing was to see toTho mower, tighten nuts and sharpen knives so that the work, once started, could bo finished without delay!

v HARVESTING OF HAY In cutting hay it was best a fast-stepping pair of horses, as there.was less wear and tear on the machines and a cleaner cut! A spare team should be in attendance, and changes made when flic first pair siiowcd signs of lagging. A change of knife b;i,r should be made at the same time. Willi breakage of sections the best plan was to remove the knife box, clamp it in a vice and hit smartly at the base of the section. This section being of hard steel would cut through, (he soft .iron rivet holding it., and a new section could be replaced rapidly. i In districts where good sunlight was assured, a hay crop could be harvested with tin; use. of the rake only.. Light windrows, so as to- get air percolation, were best, but these needed turning so as to thoroughly dry the under side. A good guide to judge hay fit for stacking was to wring a wisp of hay in the hands. If it exuded no moisture and did not snap then it was ready for the stack. Losses of liay occurred in ihree ways: (1) Respiration losses from cut surface; (2) fermentation losses; (3) mechanical operations. The first two were met* with j when rains had fallen on the cut swathe > Tf rain threaten at this period the bay I should be built in cocks to turn the water. In good bright weather cocking of hay was unnecessary. The less mechanical aids that wera utilised the. better, as valuable leaf was lost and seed shaken out The swathe, turner was pes- ; sibly one of the best implements to use in conjunction with the hayrake. The. whole range of hay-making implements used in England was not always necessary and might be even harmful when used under the good weather conditions obtaining in the South Auckland district BUILDING OF STACKS Grass was best cut when (U l.m'.k ajid succulence were hot-h attained; (?)

grasses and clovers past flowering stage —getting tho seed. In stacking the (•co-.J fc finer put. flown a. "bed'' of straw, fern i or brush. The losses on the stack bottom were thus minimised. I" building. Ihe fundamental scheme was to keep the coritro up well—"well bested" as the farmer himself called it. Tiro builder should have someone lo follow him and bind his footsteps soundly, so that no objectionable "sump"' appeir.'d at .the "edge of the slack. If the stack was left' overnight, it should be well mvped up, and a bag cover or tarpaulin strctcbe i tight over it. If rain falls on a flat-roofed unfurnish-ed-stack, penetration was set up. and possibly "firing" would ensue. YVhe 1 the stack was finished, it shouid be raked down, allowed to settle for a week or so, and then thatched, and a good fence erected to keep cattle* «>si• The aftermath should be grazed, and I hen

the field shut up to allow *oroe g.owth. Autumn or ensilage, should hi cnWid out and systematically spi"»a<2 :n long hres over the field, so that it was thoroughly trodden, and clrcsed wild dung. When this had been accomplished 'he tripod and chain ha ,, *i>iv should finish by distributing the dung. Tf permanent pastures were hayed and clover growth, was not strong, oi.'C pound of cowgrass and the same cf v.hite clover should be iniwd with the autumn top-dressing and broadcasted OAer the field. It was neces-virv to keep up the fertility of the hay paddock by such methods, and he had seen pnnia- , rent meadows hayed for .5 3 ears, from which were produced ;roD- of hay as big or better lha-11 for*.Cfly. Paspahim was an ideal hay crop and-all rank paspahim growth in winter should be mowed and saved either as liay or 'ensilage. The aftermath of sweet paspalum was secondto none for milk production. In feeding out j,bay, .racks were no 1 , »d vised, but the systematic spreading of hay to get the dunging* of stock and seed scattering was the'best.