THE RURAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24633, 14 June 1941, Page 7

THE RURAL WORLD

NORTH OTAGO

FARMING OPERATIONS * WHEAT, WOOL, AND SMALL SEEDS THINGS’ TO CONCENTRATE ON .' tContributedJ Taking it by and large May was a good month. Certainly on two or three occasions the wind came from the south-west, and was almost of gale force, added to which the weather was extremely cold. Then, too, there was a flurry of snow; but to balance that we have experienced days on end of warm sunny weather and gentle zephyrs,-in-dicative more of spring than of the early winter. The rainfall too was light, a little under an inch falling during the month. This light rainfall enabled teams and tractors to get on with the work of preparing land for wheat and sowing the grain. A lot of wheat went in last month and a lot more will go in this month Farmers have been asked to increase their acreage, and they mean to do so. A trip round: the country seems to point to the! fact that , there is a larger area in wheat thfr year than was the case last season; but appearances are deceptive sometimes, and 1 the most reliable indication'' is the quantity of seed wheat sent out by the merchants The latter report a much greater de mand this year than last, and so we may take it that appearances ■ are not deceptive this time. Hie Voung Crops

Wheat sown early last month is now showing well above ground, and it is making good growth, the genial wea ther which we have experienced being to its liking. The interim report on last yields is very satisfactory, showing an average yield of over 42 bushels per acre for North Otago - - Green feed, is making strong growth and in a number of cases is being already fed off If it is intended-to save a crop of seed after feeding, neither barley nor oats should be permitted to make much growth. They should be fed hard all the winter and shut up in the spring—-the earlier the better. The disadvantage of this is that we do hoi get the bulk of feed when it is most needed, that is to say in July and August. What some farmers are doing is to sow in February or early March, and allow the feed to grow until it is sometimes more than two feet high before feeding For dairy cows it is cut and carted out. but for sheep it is fed in breaks, like turnips and the sheep clean up every stalk Quite a number of farmers say they get excellent results this way. with very few deaths, but I have heard complaints of sheep' dying. Any farmer who has an unusually high mortality should immediately advise the Department of Agriculture, so that an investigation may be made. This will cost the farmer nothing, and it maymean a great gain, not only to him .but also to his fellow-farmers. Wintering Stock We will have to devise some method of feeding our stock during the winter so that we may not be dependent upon ; turnips. This is the second year in succession in which we have experienced an almost total failure of turnips; and for the past five years we have not had what could be called a really good crop Mangels are an excellent substitute but such a lot of hand-work is required that very ffevv farmerls will risk putting in more than a few acres.. . This state of affairs is likely to continue so long as the present scarcity of labour lasts. Lucerne hay is'also good: but again the labour factor must not be overlooked.. Oats and' oaten-sheaf chaff'are- safe crope to grow, and With enough feeders give quite good results. For a number of years now Canterbury farmers have given up growing turnips, and are relying upon oats and chaff- and green feed to see them through' the winter •' The Pastures r Green is still the predominant colour in the pastures, but the grey , is extending and soon we may expect all growth to stop. Those farmers who took the hint and top-dressed their pastures early have now every reason to be satisfied, a» the Government is restricting the use, of super to grain crops, root and forage crops, and young grass. This limitation of the use of super will have an unfavourable in-

By RUSTICUS,

YOUNG FARMERS

CLUB NOTES

fluence on the quantity ot stock that can be carried. I do not mean to suggest that the Government can help it; it is one of the penalties of wair, and we will have to make the best of the position in which we find ourselves The best thing to do is to give annua] dressings of lime, say scwt per acre and hope that the restrictions will soon be lifted. The Lambs Lambs have been fattening well on a variety of feed. Good results have been obtained with green feed and oats and chaff. Mangels have also been used successfully, a few loads being carted on to clean, fresh paddocks with the addition of some concern trates. In this way lambs have fattened quite satisfactorily and with very few deaths. With the closing of the freezing works early this month most farmers will have had a satisfactory clean-up Prices of store lambs are so low that it pays to put everything that will kill into the freezing works, even if they are under-weighi or thin. They will realise more this way than at'the yards; that is, if it is impossible to carry them over to the spring Long-awaited Policy At last, after a long wait, the Government has announced its'policy This would have been of infinitely greater value three months ago. before we had made our plans and turned out the rams Wool, wheat and small seeds are the three things upon which we should concentrate now We arcsure of the price of avool and Wheat but that for small seeds is in the lap of the gods. If we produce an exportable surplus and there is a shortage of shipping, prices are sure to slump Still, we must take that chance, and I think it is worth taking. At the present time there is very little inquiry for either perennial or Italian ryegrass owing' to the difficulty of shipping space There is a demand for all pasture seeds for the United States of America if we-'could only, get the transport. The Ewe Flock The ewes have staged a remarkable recovery during the past three months, and, generally speaking, are looking very well. From now on for the next three months great care should be taken to see that they do not get a check. With practically no turnips and very little hay. something additional will be required at an earn date. In feeding concentrates such as chaff, moosenuts and meat meal, etc;, very little should be given to start with. Another point to be remembered is that the feeding of concentrates should be commenced well before the pastures become too bare, because as a rule it takes the stock some time to agree to make the change-over from grass to concentrates If at all possible have the sheep spread out thinly over the farm, and carl the feed to them, rather than have them congregated in one big mob When sheep are huddled together m one big lot they simply hang around the gate waiting for feeding time but when spread out they come and get their feed and then go away and forage for a bit of anything. Crutchlng Crutching will start any time now. All practical sheep men know' that it is harmful to crush sheep through narrow gateways or knock them about in the shed Such damage might not be apparent for several months, but false ' presentations and lambing troubles are generally caused by such treatment. Prices Prices generally have shown no change, though fat sheep have firmed in value Ewe hoggets are being inquired for by speculators, but not much business has eventuated. It is always a healthy sign when dealers commence operations, as they have done this season. We are still in the dark as to the prospects for next season, and until the Government announces its pro gramme and prices for next seasons meat we will be groping blindly.

Thirteen ,members were present iat the last meeting of tlv* Roxburgh Young Farmers' Club on May 12, when a debate was held, the subject of which was “ Town versus Country.”/ ¥ ¥ . ♦: The May meeting of the Orepuki Club was held on. May 12. when 18 members were present. Arrangements were made for the holding of a "tock-judging competition, and delegates to' the District Committee were appointed. The speaker for the evening was Mr B. C. Horrell, who gave an address on “ Principles of Agriculture.” A,¥ ¥ * On May 20 the Upper Clutha Club held its monthly meeting at Glendhu. Dr Douglass spoke on “ Sights of London.”, ¥ ¥ ¥ At the annual meeting of the North Otago District Committee the following office-holders were elected: Chairman. Mr J. B. Chapman- vice-chair-man. Mr B. B. Blackmore. In the annual report of* the North Otago District Committee it was stated that during the past year Young Farmers'Club ac tivities were, in comparison with other years, very much curtailed, and that membership of clubs had been considerably depleted. 1