50,000 ACRES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16539, 5 January 1928, Page 10

50,000 ACRES

AUDACIOUS FARMING LARGEST WHEAT FARMER IN AUSTRALIA If Mr- I'. W. 0. Liebe, of Wubin, Western Australia, lias not already achieved that distinction, he is certainly veil on tho road to do so. Ills farm is undoubtedly one. of the. show places' of the Commonwealth, lie is operating in a gigantic way, and each year lie is adding thousands of acres to the area, brought under cultivation. He regards his land in tlie Wadi Wadi forest area, between the Wongan Hills-Mullewa railway and the Midland Co.’s railway, as perhaps the linest tract of wheat growing country in Australia. The. work proceeds on (lie various farms under his control willi iwia.batiiig energy, and ho has the- capacity to imbue others with his enthusiasm. It is impossible, to undertake the development of 50,000 acres of land on the scale he is developing it, without a huge expenditure. It, is audacious farming, i No .other word really accurately describes the extent of his operations. Its magnitude, would frighten men of lesser courage and more restricted outlook. PIONEERING DAYS. The original.farm at Wubin was selected in 1908, and was of 10,000 acres. To-day it is about .20,000 acres. Mr. Liebe was one of the pioneer settlers of the district,, and as a pioneer had to endure most of the hardships and all of the difficulties ■ associated with farming land distant from the railway. Before the railway' came from Wongan Hills carting to Wubin had to be done from the nearest siding on the Midland Co.’s railway, approximately 40 miles away. The nearest water supply was 27 miles from tho spot where ho 1 built Ids home, and necessitated much loss of time and great inconvenience in. cartage. The road 1 from the railway ling Was merely a rough bush track, and the water supply on the wagon, was often nearly exhausted by the thirsty team before Wubin was reached. Mr. Liebe planted tanks iu-tlie bush along the roadway, but on one or two occasions the secret places were discovered and the water disappeared. The story of how after many disappointments, lie discovered permanent water, which became the source of supply for settlors throughout the district, is a remarkable one, even in these days when the use of the divining -rod is no longer treated with ridicule. The almost complete failure of his' ci'op in the dry year 1914-15 compelled him to follow the course imposed on so many settlers of seeking .assistance from the 'State, and it was not until some years later that he had redeemed his indebtedness. But in -the last few years his progress has been remarkable. Two years ago, ;Mr. Liebe acquired 32,000 acres of land in what is known as the Wadi Wadi forest. About- 28,000 acres are regarded as first-class country, and the dimension of the area is approximately 10 miles bv six. It is situated over 40 miles from the home farm at Wubin. This year, on the two farms, there are approximately 11,000 acres under wheat. ( SECTION FARMING. Mr. Liebe divides each farm into sec-' lions, and places .each .section under an experienced man, whom he calls a leader. Each section is a distinct farm, and is operated as though it were controlled by an individual farmer, although Mr. Lielae has a controlling oversight of all operations. Section farming eliminates waste of workmen’s tfinie, 'and . gives the section loader much better control of the operations. Each farm is equipped separately with, all the noces, sary plant and machinery. The Wubin property, in addition to wheyt-groWing carried an average of about 1500 sheep per annum, 100 horses, and some cows. For some years its wheat production has been approximately 30,000 bags of wheat, including seed from an average area under crop of 5000 acres. The farm is divided into four sections. The homestead, surrounded by a magnificent garden, is replete with every comfort. It was designed and built by Mr. Liebe, and was planned to suit the special requirements of the"' farm. It is electrically illuminated throughout, oven to the' garden, meu’s room, and stables, and water is laid on every Whore. The No. 1 section nearest the main homestead lias another residence even more substantial than that, occupied by Mr. Liebe. This home was also designed and erected by Mr. Liebe. It is of a, bungalow design, with an immense viysti.bulo separating the main living-rooms from the kitchen and store.-; rooms. The garden and orchard are well established. The implement sheds at both homesteads are huge and substantially built, Mr. Liebe believing that it is a wifee policy to keep all farming machinery under cover when not actually in use in the field,. From this first sectional homestead, situated on rising ground, a- magnificent panorama of the surrounding undulating country is obtained. OL the four farms eomnrising the Wubin property there are 16 dams, with a capacity ranging from 2500 yards to 15.000 yards, one datn pear the main homestead having a holding, capacity of over 2,000,000 gallons. BROAD SCALE CLEARING. With the acquirement of the Wadi forest area in 1925. Mr. Liebo set hiinself a definite goal, namely, to become the -biggest wheat producer in the Commonwealth. He bent himself to the task of developing this area with characteristic thoroughness and energy. _Tu April, 1926, or six. months after he commenced operations, he had 1600 acres ready for seeding: this year he. added approximately 4000 acres to that area, and the wheat crop acreage this year is about 5500 acres. The work of clearing and preparing 4000 acres of virgin country in 12 months is an outstanding individual achievement. Six tractors .fire in operation on the Wubin -property, and there are six more on the Wnrli farm. Huge five-ton rollers, specially' built to Mr. Liebe’s design, and drawn In- tractors, are employed in rolling down the forest.- and scrub country. The rollers are equipped’ so that the toughest tree is not merely bent, but completely 1 crushed or severed from the. roots. The surface of the roller is fitted with blade)To attachments, the edges of which become keen after use, and the forest can be sliced down at a maximum rate vif 30 acres per day per tractor. 'Ploughs and harvesters are also drawri hv tractor power. MILES OF WHEAT. The Wadi forest farm is also split'into four sections, and each section will have its leader. Mr .Liebe calls the home he has erected for the section leaders “camps,” although the first of these 1 , has cost £2OOO to erect! It is really a combination homestead. At one end is the residence of the section leader, aud ■ .adjoining the residence, but under t lie same roof, is an immense machinery 1 .slietl. The topmost beam of the roof is’ - 29ft. from the ground, ami the whole > structure is supported on immense logs j cut from the forest. Tim living-rooms i have at second roof below the main roof, 1 the design ensuring relief from the heat 1 of midsummer. The roof catchment- is i so large that- an ample supply of rain- < water is obtained. 'From the eminence c on which the house .is built, Overlooking ‘ leagues of country, one sees an unbroken 1 stretch of three and a-lialf miles of I wheat crop, standing close on sft. high,, j

over a belt from one to two -miles .wide. As one motors along the road which in- ; terseets the field, one gets an' ;iinpvessiett -of travelling between two Walls, -of wheat. From ibis Wadi area Air.‘Liebe expects to obtain a yield of ngt less than 15 bushels to the acre. Hit estimate for the two farms is between 55.0CQ and 60.000 bugs on rails, -with another 5000 bags to be reserved for seed. My. Liebe expects ultimately to-carry-up-to TO,OOO sheep on the two farms. At present there are 50 men employed in clearing, well sinking, and boring, ■ , This year’s contenmlytod-'- purchases for the development of the Wadi ’-farm include 12 tractors, 10. drills, 15 ploughs, and 12 harvesters. Although this farmer on a magnificent scale believes in motor power, he himself is content with a very modest car with which to cover the huge mileage entailed' in going to and from the different parts 'of his holdings. “ I would rather buy a tractor than a motorcar.” he said. Huge of phvsiipie, he practically fills the front- seat of his motor. He rises early; he has been known to travel the 40 odd miles from Wubin to Wadi in time to start the men at work for the day—and work on his farms does not commence at 8 or 9 o’clock. He is a dynamo of energy. “ Provided my health remains good,’' he says. “mv object is to produce 100.000 bags of wheat on tho Wadi property in one year,”