FARMING METHODS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19040, 10 June 1925, Page 15

FARMING METHODS.

NEW ZEALAND AND BRITAIN. NEWCOMERS' IMPRESSIONS. • COMPARISON OF METHODS. El' J. B. HYATT. Coming from the Old Country to the New, possibly one of the most striking impressions which ono receives regarding farming is that of specialisation in agriculture. Whero the Dominion grows grain, there the land is arable ; whero she produces milk she is a country of pasture-/ paddocks. The great majority of outlying English farms are " mixed." (Jram crops are run side by side with pasture; potatoes grow next door to tho lucerne field. Not only is truo "mixed farming" most common in the Old Country, but we find also that oven where—around largo towns and transport centres—a holding is worked purely for dairy purposes, the proportion of arable to pasture is not so drastically cut down as would be possible over here. Such crops as potatoes and cereals (for grain) "disappear, but general fanning must still be practised very largely in order to provide winter feed for stock. Climate is undoubtedly the main'influence in this diroction. Whereas in the northern areas of New Zealand a herd may bo run out at grass during tho mild winter, and will need comparatively little additional feed, in the Old Country the winter months aro neither sufficiently kindly to maintain in health any other than tho hardiest of stock, nor will the grass last. Housing must bo provided for night use at least, and jn most cases tho herd is entirely stall-fed during these months—a practice which involves the maintenance of a regular succession of succulent crops, such as mangels, cabbage, etc. Both these items result in a heavy drain upon profits. <: The upkeep of buildings, oSpendituro in wages, cost ot seed, and the additional horse-labour necessary for arablo work placo tho English dairy farmer at a disadvantage. New Zealand's Advantages. Tho corresponding facilities which the Dominion enjoys, and has been prompt in utilising to the best advantage, have resulted in many other differences in management which cannot fail to be remarked by tho newcomer. For instance, tho New Zealand dairy herd often attains numbers in terms of which only the small sheepfarmer in, England can think, for at home, where it is necessary to provide buildings capable of accommodating the whole herd simultaneously, the herd must be "made to fit the cowshed," and an average of 1£ to 20 head is considered normal. This fact explains, in a great measure, the reason why machine-milking in the Old Country has found little favour, for an English herd of normal size is well within the capacity of ,'a" reasonably small staff of hand-milkers, and it is generally believed that, where possiblo, hand-milk-iug is more satsifactory. Further, .the ci-ist of installing a milking plant for so small a herd would be iu most cases prohibitive. Conditions of labour, too, are different. In England there is vory little segregation j into separate classes of workers. Whereas the horseman is not usually qualified as a milker, the milker will, as a rule, be expected to take his turn at any other fa,rm duty so soon as his particular work in the shed is finished. . Differences in Systems. An English dairy farmer would, I think observe that his New Zealand colleague is in tho onviable position of being able to run his herd in many ways similarly to the management of an English flock of sheep, mass treatment being employed in the Dominion to a much greater, extent that at home. In this connection the writer has in mind the comparative i systems of calving. Calving in tho paddock at home is generally regarded as an accident, and. English cowsheds aro usually provided with a ljjoso box into which the cow is brought before parturition is due. This. aisain -is a logical outcome of numerical differences, together, with that of climate. Where a herd is small, tho loss of a calf is a greater loss, proportionally, than in tho case of a large herd, and in a milder climate it is probably possible to calve-down out-of-doors with less risk than would attend a similar system in England, whore the closest attention is given to each individual. The question of concentrated feeding is of- moro vital importance at home than in New Zealand, tho use of proprietary oilcakes and meals being comparatively , heavy. This is ospecialjy tho case with milch., cows maintaining a heavy, yield; and, on the more' progresiivo farms, rations aro " balanced " in two parts—one portion basal (for. maintenance), and tho other fed as a " milking mixture," consisting of concentrates at so' many pounds per gallon of milk. Dairying an Industry. Tho newcomer to Now Zealand is tempted to classify her agriculturally as a land of system, machinery, pasture and energy! Ono feels that the business of j dairy-farming over here is no less an in- | dustry than is that of coal mining or tho manufacture of motor-cars; and, further, that it is appreciated as such,' As an example of this impression, tho co-operative milk-factory " fits " admirably. In the Old Country, where the word " factory " conjures up chiefly implosions of textiles and steel, it is a little difficult for the layman to realise that the handling of milk is truly an industrial .process, and; on tho part of the city worker, tho tendency is possibly to regard tho dairy as a sort of semi-pastoral institution harbouring buxom milkmaids and a hand-churn. J In New Zealand, with a basal ngricul- j tnral system working on fair terms, ono j feels that tho farmor has a " placo in tho sun," and such mistaken impressions aro dispelled.