FARM MANAGEMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22390, 9 April 1936, Page 20

FARM MANAGEMENT

WORK FOE APRIL FEEDING OF STOCK . TOP-DRESSING METHODS ■- BY SUNDOWNER During April a steady lessening of the hours of sunlight will be accompanied by a slowing-up of grass growth, and a great, though invisible, reduction in the nutritive value of what grasses 'there are. Farmers frequently do not realise that the food value of grass does not depend so much upon its bulk as upon the amount of sunlight wfcich- it receives. Thus when there is a fair autumn growth resultr ing from abundant rain,, they are apt to look upon this as equal in value to the same bulk grown in spring or summed Actually it contains little moro than half the nutriment, and for this reason supplementary feeding of dairy cows with ensilage, hay and roots grown during the bright days of summer, should be now commenced. It is much easier and cheaper to keep a cow in condition by giving her a small daily allowance now, than to try and pull her up when she has once lost condition. Further, there is generally a deficiency of minerals in autumn and winter-grown grasses, and tho addition of hay and ensilage which is grown in summer, and has a high mineral content, helps to maintain the yield of milk ana butter-fat at this season, and also to supply bone and tissue-forming materials for the development of the calf. Allowance of Hay

Where hard turnips or swedes are fed, an allowance of hay should be fed with them to obtain the best results from both. This also applies to the feeding of ensilage, which, like the roots, contains a large proportion of moisture. The energy expanded by the animal in raising a large bulk of this cold food to blood-heat consumes a lot of its food value, whereas if itj is bulked with good hay, this energy is not lost

Well-fed cows which are starting to dry off now, after having come to profit at the usual Augußt-Septembor period should be viewed with suspicion as unprofitable producers. A careful record will reveal that the most profitable cows in the herd are those which have a long milking season, even though their test, or daily milk production, may not be so high at the peak. When a cow is "hard to dry off" she is almost invariably a good profit producer. Cows which milk on well to the end of May are particularly likely to suffer from a shortage of available minerals for the formation of both their milk and the unborn calves which require large supplies for normal development. Unless such coiVs are liberally fed with hay and ensilage, or have access to a mineralised lick, they are liable to milk fever when they next come to profit, tf they * escape this, the shortage of minerals in their systems will surely cause a diminution in their milk supply. It is therefore essential to see that they suffer no shortage of those very essential minerals, lime, phosphate, salt nnd iron, Top-dressing with superphosphate or basic slag at-this season will supply a large part of their mineral requirements in a very assimilable form, but it is advisable also to give them access to, a salt Tick containing boneflour and limonite in equal proportions with the salt This will provide ample to ensure the birth of healthy calves; guard the cows against milk fever and ensure a full flow of milk from the commencement of the new reason.

Benefits bl Harrowing It is advisable to harrow old pastures at this season both to scatter the animal manure evenly over the surface, and to allow aeration of the soil; To ensure best results, the surface cultivation should be severe, and it is a good idea to broadcast a few pounds of a mixture of early clovers and grasses immediately prior to harrowing so that these will replace moss and weeds which the harrowing will uproot. If this practice is regularly followed, weeds, bare patches and moss will be replaced by a solid grass and ' clover pastuie in the course of two or three seasons, adding enormously to the productivity of the land. Wheic top-dressing is to be done on grassland which has been "surface cultivated," the application of the manure should be delayed until about a week after harrowing and surface sowing has been completed, when the resultant quirk arowth will provide excellent late winter and early spring feed for cows or lambing ewes. Where general topdressing for the encouragement of winter growth is being undertaken this month, it will pay handsomely to add one part of sulphate of ammonia, or other nitrogenous manure, to every two of basic slac or superphosphate The nitrogenous manure encourages leaf growth of- grass, which in turn is able to extract more nutriment from the air and from what sunlight is available during the dull winter days. It also helps to maintain the balance in the pasture between grasses and clovers, with advantage in early spring growth of the former.

Where the land is stiff and clayey, or where it is largely of cayed vegetable matter, as in drained swamp or peat land, a dressing of limn —afyout four to five hundredweight of air-slaked, or six to seven hundredweight of ground lime per acre—will benefit it considerably. Lime should, however, be cautiously used on sandy, pumicious, or light and open soils in the North Island, as from my own experience and observation it results in these soils in a very rapid depletion of humus, with consequent ultimate exhaustion. It is better to lime moderately and often than heavily at long intervals. Where milk fever is a frequent occurrence, it is definite evidence that the land requires liming. t It will be necessary this month to sow Algerian oats, black barley, Italian rve and other green fodder for winter and spring supplementary feed. These Rhould not be sown deeply, nor should the ground be heavily rolled at this season unless it is very free and light. For winter growth to take place air must' have access through the soil surface to stimulate bacterial activity. Throughout most of the low country the long wool rams will be taken out from the ewes at the end of April. Meantime, however, the ewes, with their consorts, should be carefiHly shepherded every day to ensue© that they are receiving attention. They can be mobbed aynd held for an hour once a day, or yarded at nights in a temporary netting yard erected for the purpose. If the rams show a lack of interest in their duties, or if they look tucked-up, they should be at once taken out and replaced with others reserved for the purpose. A jaded and. tucked-up ram will not have a big crop of vigorous lambs