THE FARMING OUTLOOK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19455, 11 October 1926, Page 13

THE FARMING OUTLOOK.

HISTORY OF A HOLDING. A WONDERFUL RESTORATION. JHE REWARD OF EFFICIENCY. 1 SOLDIER SETTLERS SOUND. No. VII. In the previous; article of this series it was shown how farms of great, potential productivity were sorry,,losing concerns through the inability of the occupiers to finance for improvements. A financial gap exists which numbers of men are unable to bridge to allow them to pass over to pastures of plenty. A notable illustration of what can bo achieved by a practical businesslike man, commanding the resources that, enabled him io build the bridge, has been supplied by Mr. Ivan Black, of Matamata. More by chance than anything else, a neglected farm of 215 acres came into his possession in 1921. It was little more than a waste of scrub and fern — "a cattle cemetery," lie called it—which could not have carried more than 20 cows. " Obviously the first thing to do in such a proposition," said Mr. Black, " is to provide feed for stock, not, as some men do, to buy stock and unessential things and then think about growing glass " Poured in Fertilisers. He had to race against time and broke rules by sowing grass in October. But he broke no rules when he poured manure into the land. The result was that quickly he made pasture. He had to chance to the luck of the saleyards in obtaining cows and to-day has an average butter-fat yield of only 2631b., but even with this return ho is showing a satisfactory profit notwithstanding the fact that all the labour on the farm is paid for. In the first season, 1921-22, he milked 56 cows and his total butter-fat supply was 71421b. He kept the top-dresser going and in 1922-23 the yield was doubled, the. total being 14,6201b.; in 1923-24 it was 15,4951b.; in 1924-25 it was 21,4661b. ; in 1925-26, when adverse weather conditions occurred, it was 19,5781b.; and this year, if tho season is normal, he expects to reach 25,0001b. with 102 cows, icr which there is an abundance of feed. These figures are solely the result of topdressing. Mr. Black is having his herd tested with a view to improving it, but herd improvement cannot be achieved in a season or two. The outstanding fact of the moment is that in six years he has increased his herd from 36 to 102 cows. "The first thins for which I would mortgage myself,' 1 satrl Mr. Black, "is manure. It is impossible to dairy succesfully without it. Three hundredweight to the acre should be the minimum dressing and it should be of the best of whatever sort is used. 1 allow my land £1 an acre a year for fertiliser and the outlay gives a handsome return. Many farmers stint and perhaps save two or three shillings an acre thereby, but they lose in tho end." Wonderful Pasture, Mr. Black took his visitor to a rise overlooking the farm and asked him if he could follow the boundaries by the colour of the grass. This could be done quite easily. The deep greeu and vigorous growth made a clearly defined line. Successful with the milking side of his farm which in his case is definitely a business, run on business lines, Mr. Black has done remarkably well with pigs. Ho has a model piggery. The yards of the sty are laid in concrete and are daily hosed down and made thoroughly clean. The pigs get nothing but curdled milk and grass until the last few weeks of fattening, when pollard is added. From his own experience he considers that a herd of 100 cows should carry pigs to the value of £4OO to £SOO a year. Seeing he has not yet developed a high-grade herd of cows he keeps none of the calves. He prefers to use all skim milk for the pigs, which provide so good a profit that he is prepared to pay well for heifers raised bv those who have high grade cows. "The man who is building up a herd should not try to raise his own heifers," said Mr. Black. "Let him concentrate on pigs, do them well and they will pay for the best heifers and leave a lot to spare." Meeting Lower Prices. A few calculations which any farmer can make without further data than have been supplied, will show the profit the farm represents even with butter-fat at Is 4d. But Mr. Black has only begun. The efficiency which has developed the pasture to its wonderful condition will eventually result in improving the herd yield. Assuming that the average return per cow were raised from 2631b. to 3001b., it would much more than compensate for a drop of twopence/per lb. in butter-fat. And so one comes round once more to herd-improvement, which, hand in hand with pasture-improvement, will meet a lower price standard than is at all likely to appear. Furthermore, there are tho possibilities of pork. In view of the scope of the pig industry of Denmark, New Zealand has not begun to appreciate the possibilities of the pig. If, as Mi". Black says, £4OO to £SOO can be made from pigs for every hundred dairy cows, under present conditions, what would be the result if every farmer raised pigs scientifically and produced the pork for export which is most acceptable to the English market ? The pork trade of little Denmark is worth £20,000,000 a year. The Danes did not accomplish this by regarding the pig as a minor ".side line" of dairying, but by breeding him scientifically and by treating him properly. "Agriculture is Sound." To conclude this article and the series one may sum up in the words of an authority. "Except in two or three districts, which have suffered general bad fcitune," he said, "agriculture is sound in I hid province. It is the failures who come prominently before the public eye, and the public mind is apt to form wrong conclusions on that account. "The development of the Auckland Province has been remarkable, in so much as it represents labour rather than capital. Tf in addition to this labour there had been available the capital of such districts as Ifawke's Bay the progiess would have been very much greater. "What impresses me is the eagerness of farmers to adopt, the. lessons of scientific investigation. There was a day when an arrogant ignorance of part of the farming community helped to hamper the march of progress. It all comes d( wi. to individual achievement in the end, and the average individual on the land to-day is not defeating his own interests by blindly adhering to out-of-date rulc of-thumb methods. To a great extent successful farming is the measure of individual capacity, and the standard of individual capacity is rising." line word more to correct a wrong im pifssion: The soldier set tier in general is now well, established. The majority of 'he men in six or seven years have fought their way through difficulty to the gateway of prosperity. Many of them have become model farmer?. Courage, enterprise and an eagerness to learn from the experience of others, have established good farms. Relief from excessive capital charges has been granted where necessary, and the benefit to the individual is becoming a benefit to the St ate.