How to Increase Production

Northland Age, Volume 1, Issue 11, 18 December 1931, Page 3

How to Increase Production

The Plow and Winter Feed We extract the following from an article by “K.P.” It was written for Waikato conditions but is worthy of consideration by dairy farmers in the North. Earning Capacity of Land It is only too apparent to those most intimately concerned that the earning capacity of the land is too low. Many farmers today are drawing less than relief workers’ rates of pay simply because the earning capacity of their farms is low. Earning capacity is so closely related to carrying capacity that the two are inseparable. Mr. Fawcett, economist of the Department of Agriculture, has stated very definitely that the most important feature in dairying is production per acre. The present average production is round about 1201bs of butterfat per acre, which, at 1/ per lb., equals £6 per acre. It will be realised that herd averages are of little value in arriving at one’s true position, as herd averages do not necessarily mean high per acre averigi.s. With rates, rents, interest, overhead, depreciation, etc., standing as fixed charge? per acre, it is absolutely essential that income, or farm output, should also be reckoned on a per acre basis. If this system be applied to the assessment of farm incomes it will be realise 1 how vary low most of them are, and ' ow urgent is the need for bringing about a speedy improvement. Excessive Waste of Grass Excessive waste of summer grass and the conversion of over-ripe grass into milk or meat are two very pronounced weaknesses of our present grazing system. Carrying capacity is determined chiefly on winter conditions, and present day efforts to equalise matters are generally inadequate. By December, pastures other than those kept close-grazed have passed their most nutritious stage and only partially meet the requirements of dairy cows. Dr. Woodman, Cambridge, England, assures us that the close-grazed pasture has a food value equal to oil cake and that it is possible to maintain that high food value throughout the growing season. The cutting of pastures for hay and ensilage certainly offers the farmer an opportunity of controlling grass growth, but even under the most favourable conditions the grass in such case is past its most valuable stage, and cannot hope to compare favourably with the short, sweet, close-grazed pasture. The only certain way to completely control grass growth is to stock up to the summer limit, graze fields in quick rotation and make other arrangements for winter feed. Winter Feed Conditions vary from district to district and even from farm to farm, but taking a general survey over a wide area there does not appear to be any doubting the statement that the present standard of winterfeeding dairy herds is altogether too low. Confirmation of this statement may be found in the monthly figures showing intake at any dairy factory. It frequently happens that the “peak” month is not reached until the season is some four or five months old. Complete dependence upon hay and ensilage, often made from over-ripe indifferent species in the first place, is not just, fair treatment to mete out to cows that, having concluded a strenuous year, are fulfilling the natural function of reproducing their kind. They are deserving of some greater consideration at this time, consideration which takes the, form of shelter and more nutritious fodder. Better Pastures It is a fact that the soils of the Auckland Province are capable of carrying better class pastures than many of those being carried today. In the light of the information supplied by the Department of Agriculture in connection with rye-grass and white clover strains, one can only conclude that many of our present pastures are merely substitutes. It

is true that wonderful improvements have been effected as a result of regular top-dressing, but progress along those lines is slow compared with establishment by sowing down in pedigree seeds right from the start. Top-dressing with fertilisers is most effective when applied to high quality pastures. True perennial ryegrass is as much superior to ordinary rye-grass as the latter is to Brown Top and there seems to be no sound reason why pastures should not consist substantially of certified rye-grass. Where the Plow Comes In The alternative to depending on hay and ensilage cut from pastures for winter feeding is to grow a few acres of roots and lucerne as special fodder crops. With adequate areas set aside for these two supplementary fodder crops, there is no reason why the pasture land should not be stocked up to very nearly the limit of its summer carrying capacity. According to Mr. Fawcett, whose economic surveys of dairy farm groups have thrown much useful light on existing conditions, the average carrying capacity per 100 acres in the Piako County is, or was, just over 42 cows. Now it is laid down authoritatively that a dairy cow requires annually about 18 tons of grass or grass equivalent, so that 42 cows would require approximately 750 tons each year. One acre of grassland properly treated is capable of yielding 10 tons of grass, so that ti is at once apparent that there is a substantial annual waste on every 100 acres of grassland. As a matter of fact 100 acres of land, of which 80 acres in grass, five acres in roots and five to ten acres in lucerne can be expected to produce annually 1300 to 1400 tons of fodder, or sufficient to fully maintain over 70 cows. There are 100 acre farms in the Waikato doing this today, but they are the exception rather than the rule. How Does This Work Out? Let us see now just how this works out. Instead of 42 cows per 100 acres it is possible to run 70—income increased by the produce of 28 cows without increasing the fixed charges. More stock to consume the grass at its most nutritious, and consequently most valuable stage. Wasteful methods eliminated with dairy cattle doing the mowing and converting siu-plus grass into marketable commodities. Standard of winter feeding substantially improved by using roots, such as mangolds and swedes, and mineral-rich lucerne hay instead of over-ripe, woody hay and ensilage. Sowing down to high-class trueperennial rye-grass pastures after roots will gradually bring about the pasture improvement so urgently needed. Thanks to the wonderful results secured by the free use of superphosphate and lime, ,the pastures of the Auckland Province have shown a marvellously improved carrying capcity, but the economic position today, and the prospects for the future demand a still greater carrying capacity, which is equivalent to saying a still greater earning capacity. We believe firmly that this greater earning capacity will be realised with a wisely directed return to the plow.