DAIRY FARMING ON ARABLE LANDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 10 August 1888, Page 6

DAIRY FARMING ON ARABLE LANDS.

In a paper referred to above as being read by Mr Howman at a meeting of the Dairy Conference, the author strongly recommended the extension of dairy farming in the arable districts of the United Kingdom, and for the sufficient reason given — " That in the great majority of the lands in England there is not sufficient margin of profit under the rule of the present prices to justify the growing of corn as the principal mainstay of the farm in enabling a tenant to meet the outgoings." Farmers, he .further stated, must consider whether the course of cropping cannot be changed to suit the altered circumstances, and whether there may not be openings that would justify his growing crops outside of the usual old fashioned cut - and - dried system. In urging dairy farming as the alternative, he outlined the course of cropping necessary to success, and pointed out that the industry requires no special climate, nor does it depend on a large area of the farm being in grass, because " a larger bulk of suitable food can be grown under the plough than can be grown upon permanent pasture, with this immense advantage in favour of the plough land, that you can provide a succession of crops to follow each other, and which enables yon to carry out the essential point in the feeding of all stock— namely, variety. There is nothing that conduces so much to the health and well-doing of stock as a constant change in their diet." If, Idr Howman says, grass lands could be managed so as to yield as much in the winter as. they do in the summer, and of as good a quality, then the difficulties would disappear, but this not being soj we have to turn the arable lands to supply the deficiencies of the grass. Lengthened extracts from Mr Howman's paper are published in a late number of the Mark" Lane Express, .and these enable us to give an outline, of his views and his system of management. He is very partial to ensilage, and the advantages of silos on a farm after very extensive experience. He states, " I hUve every year been gaining confidence in the making of them, and last year I used 46 silos on the estate where I was farming, because it is

only by their help that we are" able fo pre. serve for future use any surplus that there may be of any of the green " crops after the best of them have been taken for consumption." It is nearly impossible he argues, to so arrange the, cropping that each crop shall last just so longtill t the next is ready.- They must always overlap each other, so that in case of accidents of weather or other contingencies there is a sufficiency of food. Any surplus, when it becomes unfit to be eaten f by the cows by reason of age,,is at once put intqthe silo, and it comes out again later onequally good for food as it was in its -green state. The system of propping is of course reversed, " The question is not," Mr Howman says, "how many acres of corn shall we -grow; but how many acres of green crop shall we grow ?" Of course it must be understood he writes of his managementof a dairy farm. He next proceeds to give the details of his system of cropping. The green crops available for the purpose are many and variable, but the staple ones he prefers to depend upon are autumn-sown rye. The wheat stubble is manured and ploughed,; and the rye sown as soon after 'harvest as possible. The earlier it is, got in the better it will stand the winter, and the earlier and bulkier the crop will be in the spring. Then directly the rye has been sown, winter sowing is made of vetches mixed with wheat or winter oats. "These two crops come in forjeeding in April and May (corresponding with October and November in the colony), and almost, if not equal with them, comes lucerine. These carry you on until the seeds are ready for mowing. The seeds grown by Mr ( Howman are the strong growing clovers and Italian ryegrass mixed, as he finds these come quicker for mowing than . where more elaborate mixtures are > used. After • the seeds the more permanent grasses are fit for mowing, and these and spring sown vetches keep up the supply of cow feed on to r autumn, when the ' seeds are ready ta ; be mown a second time. Thousand-tieaded kale he regards as the most valuable crop of all. This crop, sown in spring and well manured, will give a heavy yield to succeed the second cutting of the seeds and sufficient to carry on the stock till the earlier turnips are ready." Then follow on swedes, and sow on to mangles when c the round comes in again. Mr Howman had experimented with sorghum. He " sowed the seed in June, and though it had no rain for six weeks, (it will be remembered that the English summer 1887 was unusually dry), it grew by September into a bulky crop, from 4ft to 6ft , high, and as a milk producer the effect was very marked." All his green crops are passed » through the chaffcutter and mixed with silage and any purchased feed, the silage, however, being considered the backbone of the mixture. No hay is made, as the milk cows and the necessary farm horses are the only stock kept.