THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21600, 22 March 1932, Page 4

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

By Ritstictjs.

NEW ZEALAND WOOL SALES 1932 ROSTER The roster of the New Zealand wool •elling dates for the 1932 season has been arranged as under: — March 31—Christchurch April 4—Dunedin. April 7—Timaru. April 11—Wellington. April 14—Napier, April 16 —Wanganui.

; 1932 SHOW SEASON FORTHCOMING EVENTS March 28. —Mackenzie County, at Fairlia March 28.—Strath-Taieri, at Middlemarch. March 31.—Otago Ram Fair. March 31. —Temuka and Geraldine. Tribute to British Stock A tribute was paid to British breeders of stud stock by Lord Mildmay of Flete, on the occasion of hia recent election to the presidency of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. In the course of an address he said: “It is a remarkable fact that overseas breeders, such as those in South America and South Africa, however great care they may exercise originally in buying their beasts, have to come back to the fountain head in England for fresh blood, so that their stock may not degenerate.” Farming in Czechoslovakia

The Government of Czechoslovakia, one of the youngest of the European independent States, evidently has a lively, appreciation of the importance of agricultural development on scientific lines. It possesses one central and four provincial agricultural research institutes, together with a complete net of experiment stations throughout the country. The average annual wheat yield is 27.59 bushels per acre, oat yield 37.91 bushels, maize 24.70 bushels, and barley’ 34.83 bushels. Forty per cent, of the population is engaged in agriculture, forestry, etc., and only 34 per cent, in manufacture. The Recently Calved Cow

The digestive system of the cow that has recently, calved is not in a condition to utilise large quantities of food. She should be fed gradually, giving easily digested roughage for the first few days, and any grain should.be fed in the form of a mash. No definite rule can be laid down for getting a cow on to a full ration; the_ feeder must exercise judgment. The grain should be given gradually, starting with 11b or 21b a day, and increasing the amount by not more than 11b a 'day until the point is reached when additional food will not bring about an increase in the milk flow.

: HERD-TESTING The excellent work that is being done in Otago and Southland by the Herdtesting Association is indicated by the fact that for December and January of the present season the Southland and Otago Association held premier position for all Dominion associations, having the highest butter-fat average in New Zealand. The figures of the association’s operations for , the month of February are as follow:

Central Otago Group There were 39 herds, comprising 835 cows in the Central Otago group, and the milk yield averaged 8341 b per cow, with a mean test of 4;1. The average butterfat yield was 34.501 b, and the highest herd in the group averaged 521 b, comfared with an average of 241 b per cow rom the herd occupying bottom place on the list. The best individual performance in the group was 861 b of fat for the 29 days, the lowest return being 71b of fat for the same period.

Middlemarch Group The 23 herds tested in the Middlemarch group comprised 458 cows, whose milk yield worked out at an average of 8381 b per cow. The mean test- was 4.0 and the average butter-fat production per cow 33.751 b. The highest herd in the group yielded an average of 451 b per cow and the lowest an average of 23.51 b. The highest yield in the group was 901 b for the month and the lowest 71b.

Taieri Group There were 24 herds, comprising 825 cows, under test in the Taieri group, the milk yield per cow being 8031 b, the mean test 4.0 and the average butterfat yield for the 29 days 32.15. The best herd in the group averaged 521 b of butter-fat per cow and the poorest herd 221 b per cow. The best individual return was that from a cow credited with 881 b of butter-fat for the month, the lowest producer in the group yielding only 81b. Stirling Group

The 29 herds under test in the Stirling group comprised 1154 cows. The milk yield in this group was better than any of the others, being 8741 b. but the mean test was only 3.9. The butter-fat average per cow for the month was 34.111 b, and the best herd in the group averaged 44,951 b of fat, while the lowest averaged 28.161 b. The best return for a single *ow was 761 b and. the poorest 91b.

Items of interest to those engaged In agricultural and pastoral with a view to their publication in these columns, will be welcomed. They should be addressed to “Bust! cu*,” Otago Dally Timet, Dunedin*

The Owaka Group There were 30 herds, or 591 cows, under test in the Owaka group. The milk yield was 7651 b per cow for the month, and the mean test was 4.1. The average butter-fat production for the group was 31.891 b per cow, and the highest herd in the group averaged 42.151 b per cow. The lowest averaged 171 b. The best producer in the group was credited with 68lb for the 29 days, and the worst with 101 b.

MILK YIELD AND FAT EXPERIENCE IN VICTORIA HERD-TEST FIGURES Government herd-test reports in Victoria show consistently that the heavy milking cows give the highest butter-fat yields. Out of 99 cows of all breeds which have given over 6001 b of butterfat in 273 days under the test, only two have produced less than 900 gallons of milk, and the yields of only three others have been under 1000 gallons. On the other hand, 35 big records have been made from milk yields of from 1000 to 1600 gallons; and 40 more from yields between 1500 and 2000 gallons. There are 19 big butter-fat records in connection with which the milk yields Were over 2000 gallons in the 273 days, and these show an average of 6961 b of butter-fat for each term. The 19 records have been made by 12 Friesian cows, and the top yields of each of these give an average of 2172 gallons of milk with 7201 b of butter-fat. These big yields have all been attained in the seven years from 1924 t0_1930 (inclusive) by cows such as Diminion Queen Mercedes, 7191 b butter-fat; Springfield De Kol, 665; Halcote Oakleaf Fobes, 693; Holland Lass 2nd of Berry, 678; S.P.C. Lenora Canary, 666; Westmere Oakwood Piebe, 726; Westmere Oakwood Duchess, 817; Dominion lona, 749; Tarrawarra 58, 641; Bainfield Netherland Sylvia 2nd, 746; Halcote Opera Girl, 761; Victoria Freemartin, 653; Bololek Trixy, 736; Springfield 9, 859; Greenvale Piebe Patch, 659; Banfield 40. 639. All of these, except Springfield De Kol, S.P.G., Lenora Canary, Victoria Freemartin, and Bolobek Trixy were 2000-gallon cows.

The top cows of other breeds- for the years mentioned were Babs of Somerville (Jersey), 8431 b butter-fat; Poppy of Ben Kell (Ayrshire), 692; Goldy of Strathbow (Jersey), 668; Molly Bth of Banyule (Jersey), 637; Beauty 4th of Somerville (Jersey), 713; Fairy of Willow Park (Milking Shorthorn), 731; Princess 2nd of Strathbow (Jersey), 654; Cherry of Willow Park )Milking Shorthorn), 737; Mercedes Pansy of Avalon (Jersey). 636; Ipomea of Swansea (Jersey), 674; Duchess of Avalon (Jersey), 668; Miss Guy of Tarnpin (Jersey), 631. The 16 leading Friesians, it is pointed out, have. totalled 4301 b butter-fat more than the 16 best cows of all other breeds. The 12 Friesians have exceeded 4001 b of butter-fat more in their highest 273 days’ term than the 12 best of all other breeds tested in those years, Friesians have two records of more than 8001 b, and six exceeding 7001 b. All other breeds, the publicity officer says, have one of over 8001 b and six of more than 7001 b.

MECHANISATION IN FARMING EFFECT ON SOIL FERTILITY EXPERIMENTS AT ROTHAMSTED STATION (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, February 11. At a conference at Rothamsted Experimental Station tins week the subject of “ Mechanisation and British Agriculture ” was discussed. Sir John Russell, D.Se., F.R.S. (director of the station), spoke on the “ Effect of Mechanisation on Soil Fertility.” Under the old four or five course rotation, he said, the fertility of the soil was maintained by four different processes:— 1. The straw was converted into farmyaxd manure. 2. Clover was grown once in four years, as far as possible. 3. The roots and the aftermath of clover were fed off on the land by sheep which received purchased feeding stuffs. 4. Artificial fertilisers were given in

the root break and sometimes also to the crop These four methods when properly worked sufficed to keep the land permanently in a good state of fertility. On a four course rotation per 100 acres of arable land the annual yield of straw would be of the order of SO tons, producing about 300 tons of farmyard manure, and this would give a dressing of 10 tons per acre to the roots, and leave a little over for the “ waistcoat ” of dung which the old farmers like to give to a piece of backward wheat. The dung, together with the feeding of the roots and the aftermath on the land, ensured a dressing of animal manure for almost every crop. The reduction of the root area, and in the amount of sheep feeding on the land, had greatly reduced the amount of animal manure available, and also it had reduced the amount of treading which the land received. Further, the change in method of feeding animals, whereby more use is made of

grass and less of arable land, greatly diminished the amount of farmyard manure available. They did not yet know whether farmers could affofd to continue an exclusive grass system for live stock, with the resulting glut of fat stock in autumn and consequent low prices. But they had to reckon with a continuance of the system because of its cheapness, and they must assume that the glut would be remedied by the simple expedient of lessened production. These tendencies became more and more intensified as mechanisation advanced. It was quite possible to combine a considerable degree of mechanisation with live stock farming, as indeed they were doing on the Rothamsted farm. The problem thus arose: Could fertility be maintained on an arable farm without the dressings of animal manure formerly given?

For some years past (said Sir John), we have been engaged, on this subject at Rothamsted and a considerable amount of information has now been obtained. We .find that the importance of animal manure depends on the kind of crop. EXPERIMENT ON WHEAT.

Our experiments on wheat have gone on since 1843, but in recent, years they have been extended to deal more fully with this problem; • The experiments show that yields of the order of 30 to 40 bushels can be obtained by the use of artificial fertilisers only,- and without any_ organic manure, so long as the cultivation processes keep the land free of weeds. The results are confirmed by the practical experience of John Prout, of Sawbridgeworth, Essex, who, with his son, William Prout, as a profitable commercial venture, gre\y large acreages of wheat almost continuously’from 1861 to 1907 on purely mechanised lines, one of the first examples of mechanisation in this country. We occasionally took a red clover crop, but it is not at all clear that this was necessary although it was probably an advantage. He used no farmyard manure but artificials only, and his scheme of manuring was based on the recommendations of Dr Augustus Voeleker, father of our present Dr Voelcker. There was no sign of deterioration of yield; for the first 19 years (1862-1880) it had been 32 to 36 bushels per acre, and for the 25 years (1880-1904) it averaged 35 bushels per acre, with two loads of straw. The average price during this second period was 31s 9d per quarter for the wheat and 25s a load for the straw; the average cost of growing (including 25s per acre rent) was £6 8s; the average return was £9 8s lOd, leaving an average profit of £3 0s lOd. So long as the straw was saleable at 255, and grain and wages stood at their old levels, all went well.

Barley, like wheat, is independent of farmyard manure and can be grown quite well with artificials alone. Our experience at Rothamsted has, however, brought out one important result %vhich holds both for wheat and for barley; farmyard manure steadies the yield, and saves it from dropping so low in bad seasons as it is liable to do when artificials alone are given. This is generally true of all crops, and it is one of the good qualities of farmyard manure not easily reproducible by artificials. The general conclusion is that wheat and barley could perfectly well be

grown with artificial fertilisers alone, and without farmyard manure, but at a risk of some depression of yield in bad seasons. This difficulty can be mitigated by using large quantities of artificials, but we have no evidence that it is much affected by ploughing in occasional clover leys. When we come to potatoes and sugar beet, however, the case is entirely different. It is not usually possible to obtain with artificials alone as good yields as when farmyard manure is used. Smaller dressings of farmyard manure can be given when necessary; in that case the dressings of artificials should be increased, especially the potassic fertiliser. MANGOLDS AND SWEDES. Mangolds come into rather a different category. So long as yields of only about 25-30 tons per adre are produced, these can be obtained almost as well by artificials supplemented with rape dust or similar organic as by farmyard manure, and the cropping can be on the same land year after year. Our Barnfield has carried mangolds every year since 1876, excepting in two’years, 1908 and 1927, when the crop failed owing to bad weather. The average yield for 50 years (18761928) has been on plots receiving the best combination of irtificials in tons per acre; — Artificials Artificials with with Artificials rape farmyard alone. dust. manure. Plot Plot Plot 4N (b) 4 AC. 2 AC. Boots .. 17.8 26.1 27.6 Leaves . 4.1 5.3 6.3 Where higher yields of 40 or 50 tons per acre are desired it may be essential to use farmyard manure. Swedes can do without farmyard manure in regions where yields are 18 tons per acre or less; where higher yields are possible farmyard manure is required. At Rothamsted our crops are usually about 15 to 20 tons per acre; in the comparisons available there has been little difference between artificials, when used in sufficient quantity, and farmyard manure. USE OP STRAW.

One of the effects of mechanisation (continued Sir John) is to reduce the demand for straw. It can no longer be sold, as in the old days, for 30s a ton, and no one can now afford to lose money over fattening animals for the sake of making it into manure. So lon§ as any form of indoor winter feeding of animals remains profitable the straw can be made into farmyard manure, and this is the best way of using it. But if the winter feeding is itself unprofitable one cannot charge the animals with much for the farmyard manure; at present prices of artificials I should not be disposed to allow more than 10s per ton for farmyard manure. It is very easy nowadays to lose money over winter feeding.

For some years past at Rothamsted we have been trying to use the straw in some other way. Three methods have been tried. 1. The straw has been ploughed direct under the ground. The immediate effect of this is to reduce the amount of available plant food in the soil because the micro-organisms that decompose the straw feed on nitrate and phosphate, just like plants, and so take up for themselves what the plant ought to have had. This does not much matter in the autumn, when the plant food might be washed out if the miscoorganisms did not take it, but it is a serious loss in the spring when the young plant is ready for food. So far as our older experiments went — they were done on Broadbalk—the ploughing in of the straw, even in the autumn, was useful only on land short of potash, and here its effect was very slight. The experiment is being repeated on broader lines to see if this is the general rule. 2. A more useful method which has been widely adopted in many countries by farmers who do not practice animal husbandy is to treat the straw with the necessary food for the microorganisms so that they can decompose it before it gets into the soil. This is the basis of the so-called Adco process, discovered at Rothamsted and developed on the large scale by the Adco Syndicate, Harpenden. The resulting manure is quite good. The practical difficulty on an English farm is usually to supply the water to wet the straw.

3. A method now being tried at Rothamsted is to leave the straw on, the ground and in autumn to drill over it a mixture of complete artificials, then to plough it under and let it rot. In order to compare straw treated in these last two methods with farmyard manure a rotation was started on Hoos field in 1930, and is to continue for many years, in which the following are compared:—Farmyard manure, straw treated by the Adco process, straw left on ground, treated with artificials and ploughed in, complete artificials. For the first two crops the two treated straws seem to be comparing very favourably with farmyard manure, but we shall not be in a position to speak definitely about this till the experiment has run on for a longer period. GREEN MANURING. Green manuring is a very promising method of supplying organic matter to the soil; it is, however, more difficult than is usually supposed. In the older farming systems it was common to grow a mustard, tares, or other crop, and either feed them to sheep on the land or, if they were not wanted for the sheep, to plough them in as green manure. Many farmers, however, sowed the crop even when there was no likelihood of it being wanted for the animals; it was ploughed in. This green manuring is a recognised practice on light land. The first serious tests in this country were made with mustard and in the tares at the Woburn Experimental Farm, then under the Royal Agricultural Society, now part of the Rothamsted organisation. The soil is light, and was expected to respond well to green manuring, but it did not; the green manure was entirely without effect.

For a long time this result was regarded as exceptional, due to some undiscovered peculiarity. In 1920 and 1921, however, the Rotharnsted workers (Mr H. J. Page and his colleagues) made a number of experiments here and in different parts of England by aid of a grant from the Research Fund of the Royal Agricultural Society, and only in few of these was green manuring successful. Yet there is no denying- that many farmers have obtained very good results with green manuring. The subject has recently been fully examined at Rotharnsted, and an explanation of the discrepancy can now be given. Green manuring succeeds only when the time of ploughing in the green crop fits in with the time ot sowing of the next one. The green crop must be allowed sufficient time to decompose and produce nitrates, but the following crop must be ready to take up the nitrate before it is washed out from the soil. Those farmers who succeeded with green manuring had got the timing right; others had not. Further experiments are being made to find out precisely how to work out the timing, but meanwhile green manuring should not be trusted blindly. If it is succeeding that is proof of correct timing, but it it is not known to be successful the timing should be looked into. Once this is right, however, green manuring becomes a valuable aid to mechanised farming. FALLOWING.

Recent Rothamsted experiments have shown that the old problem of the fallow is by no means cleared up. Ihe Broadbalk wheat field has carried wheat every year since 1843; never has there been a complete break. In 1926 and 1927, however, part of the field was fallowed; in 1928 the wheat grown after the two years fallow gave extraordinary yields. The result was a remarkable increase in the yield of grain. Never in the 88 years of successive wheat-growing has Broadbalk grown a crop so thick set with grain, and we *are unable at present to explain it. The season was very favourable, but probably not more so than some of the great wheat seasons of the past, yet in none of these was so much grain produced. Much of the effect is probably attributable to the fallow, but whether the action is the suppression of weeds, the decomposition of vegetable and other matter, or some physical change in the soil, we cannot decide Something more seems to be involved than an increase in plant nutrients, for no fertiliser scheme we have yet tested produces so remarkable a result. The effect lasted only one year, however. the 1929 yield was about 10 per cent, below the average for the 74 years while in 1930 it had fallen about 40 per cent, below the average. Even the sandy soil at Woburn was greatly improved for barley, but not so much for wheat, by two years fallowing, the results, however, were not nearly so striking as on Broadbalk. Under mechanised conditions fallowing would become relatively inexpensive and could therefore be practised. Our experiments suggest that a twoyear fallow may be much more effective than one year. The unmanured land on Hoos field gave in 1928 after one year’s fallow only 10.5 bushels instead of the 28 bushels on Broadbalk, The subject is being further studied.

THE “GOLDEN HOOF.” It is a commonplace that light soils are improved by the folding of sheep, both the manuring and the treading being important. Apparently the manuring can be satisfactorily imitated but so far the treading cannot. Experiments at Woburn showed that the compacting of the soil by sheep is different; from that produced by implements; it extends to a greater depth and lasts longer: the top three inches of the soil is mainly affected. It also gives a coarser tilth. In the experiments so far made it did not increase the waterholding power of the soil, indeed the trodden part w r as, if anything, somewhat drier than the cultivated part; the work, however, is being continued.