DAIRYING METHODS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19235, 26 January 1926, Page 14

DAIRYING METHODS.

PROPER USE OF THE SOIL. BENEFITS OF ARABLE CROPS. PASTURE AND DETERIORATION. It has been staled that, as the years go by, dairying in New Zealand is becoming more and more a simpje question of topdressing and chain-harrowing pastures, and that the use of the plough and cultivator is steadily falling into disrepute. *' Permanent pasture" is the farmer's watchword; he is content so long as he ran see his paddocks " greening up" well at the commencement of the milking reason, and-his haystacks lasting out satisfactorily throughout tho winter. Pasture-grasses provide. admittedly, one of the finest milk-producing foods that ran be desired —because they are the natural forage lor stock. At tho same time, to rely almost entirely upon s-nch a mainstay is not only to presume lathei heavily on the geniality of the Dominion s climate, but also to neglect very largely an opportunity for utilising the natural resources of a soil.

• Speaking roughly, the process of dunging, top-dressing, and chain-harrowing makes use of the soil superficially only, in that it is employed as a thin crust of inert medium for holding plant-food of •which the greater quantity has been bought expensively. The lower levels of a soil, however—as is well-known—pro-vide a copious store of nutrient material •which merely awaits aeration and exposTire to the weather before becoming fully available to the plant-root. Further, on every pasture, indigenous grasses will invariably predominate in the long run, and these —in many districts—are of inferior feeding value. Permanent pasture, therefore, may deteriorate very considerably in course of time, while yet looking well. Tho correction of such deterioration is again expensive in that it may 'involve re-seeding with useful species. English Methods and Conditions.

A comparison with English methods and conditions is useful. Dairy-farming in the Mother country, -where beasts are stall-fed for five months in the year, involves, of necessity, a greater area of purely arable land than is required for similar work in New Zealand; yet the system of feeding out winter keep in the paddock does not differ so essentially from that of stall-feeding that similar foods cannot bo utilised with advantage in both cases. This opens up, a further argument in favour of the arable crop—grown either for ensilage or for storage in the root-clamp. The use of roots in conjunction with hay makes a better substitute for fresh grass than does hay alone, for the roots supply necessary moisture which is not present in hay. Moreover, ensilage prepared from an arable crop such as maize—o* a mixture of green oats and vetches—is inoto likely to retain its succulent properties than is that for which meadow-grasses alone have been used. In normal seasons, the climate enjoyed by New Zealand renders less care necessary in the protection of stored roots. It should therefore be an easier proposition for the farmer to make use of such crops for winter feed.

Whereas the growth of permanent pasture is very similar to a system of continuous cropping, it is possible on arable land to work 011 a rotational basis, a thus drawing evenly upon soil resources and consequently making tho fullest use cf thcso reserves. No two crops feed in exactly tho samo fashion. Some are deeprooting, and derive their ncirirnent from lower soil-levels, others feed mainly from the surface. Similarly, one draws more heavily upon a particular class of foodmaterial, another upon a second, and so on. By arranging a suitable rotation of crops, it is possible to make one season's growth compensate for that of a previous year, so that tho soil, instead of being taxed in one direction mainly, is subject to a unifqtm demand. Pasture grasses and clovers, if properly mixed, will provide the necessary variety within limits. Mention has already been made, however, of the tendency for a few indigenous and largely similar species ultimately to predominate. Feeding Soot Crops. Roots may be stored and carted to the paddock as. required, or they may be left m the ground and fed off in situ. In this connection it may be as well to note that, although a great deal of labour is saved by turning the herd into an entire crop simultaneously for a given period daily, it is probably more economical in the long run to regulate the ration by feeding a paddock on the fold. Not only is this practice occasionally desirable in order to prevent tho "blowing" of stock, but also for reasons of economy in feed. Beasts which are allowed the run of an entire crop will usually tend to mangle every root and clean up none, whereas—when fed by the piece—the whole of a given area . should be thoroughly consumed while the remainder of the crop is left unspoiled. Another plea for the plough lies in the fact that, by including a fair proportion of arable land on the dairy farm, it is possible to make fuller use of the natural form of manure—namely, the droppings of farm animals. Properly-made farmyard manure is employed most advantageously upon ploughed land, because it can be thoroughly incorporated with the soil. Dung and urine dropped promiscuously over a pasture do not form an ''efficient substitute—this not only for the above reason, but also because the liquid excrement requires some absorbent material to hold it in a form which is not subject to leakage in the soil. Formation of Fertilisers. On mixed farms (the most usual type of holding in England), straw is the normal absorbent medium used, but the Jack of a cereal crop need not preclude < tho manufacture of efficient farmyard manure. Peat-moss, bracken, or fern will all form satisfactory substitutes, being disliked in England only on account of the uncom- s fort-able nature of the litter which they j form. New Zealand conditions do not j normally involve the use of litter at any period of the year, and—although maximum efficiency us a fertiliser depends upon consolidation by the trampling of stockthere is no reason why a quite useful mapure h£ap should not be formed without such aid at a reasonable distance from the milkitig-shed. Yard-dung ma/ be mixed with an absorbent of the type mentioned above, and liquid excreta pumped over the heap from a suitable septic-tank receiving the discharge from shed-gutters. The fertiliser thus formed should more than pav for its manufacture by the conservation of liquid excrement (the most valuable portion of farmyard manure), which would otherwise run to waste. Ihe foregoing remarks are not intended ns a general deprecation of permanent pasture. Grass—in season—is one of the finest milk-producing raw materials that could be desired. At the same time, as implied at the outset of this article, the u " d P° l 's«stonee of such 'lf™ " . V omi ! Uon to lull the ft ■' °ii ls <®tnetimes a hasty • nl™(!v° n ' Mi at t} ' e hibour involved by cheque! not be repaid ia the milk m