ENSILAGE COMPETITION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18162, 9 August 1933, Page 8

ENSILAGE COMPETITION

JUDGING STARTED TO-DAY IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY AN AVOIDANCE' OF WASTE Poverty Bay’s ensilage this year is of better quality and Ims less waste than that of last season. . This view is prompted by an inspection of the first of the silos entered in the Fanners’ Union ensilage competition, and, judging from reports from other parts of the district, to-day’s experience will be extended to stacks jo bo visited later. The judge is the instructor in agriculture, Mr. M. A. Black, and lie .was impressed to-day with the steps farmers have taken to improve the quality of their ensilage. The first stack visited was that of last year’s Winner, Mr. 11. S. Davis, who had very good quality again this year. His is maize ensilage placed in a pit with a depth of sft. in the light soil that exists at Taruheru. Although the pit is not concreted, the sides have stood up very well indeed- The maize was cut in February at a time when the cobs .were beginning to swell, and the quality of the material was excellent, and it was also very well cooked, with practically no waste. Mr. (1. It. Moore’s ensilage pit in Hausen road was another good example. It was inspected immediately after Mr. Davis', like whose the material was of maize cut in February.. The material and method of curing were much the same, and the quality was again very good. Mr. Moore’s is a concrete silo, about 10ft. deep. The only other pit judged during the morning was that of Mr. J. A. Pearce’s, Nelson road. The material was mainly lucerne, and the quality of the ensilage was again good, but with a little more waste than the other two. This pit was deeper than the other two, and it embraced some novel features that made it very interesting indeed. Further inspections were made this afternoon, and a demonstration was arranged for at' Mr. H. Cooper’s farm, followed by. a further one to-morrow morning 011 Mr. G. W. Duncan’s farm, Buha.

The system of allotting points is slightly different this year compared with last, and the judge is viewing the silage with a more critical eye. As a. result, some of the entries might not score as well as they did last year, but others have improved so much after the farmers had benefited by last year’s experience that higher scoring should result in a number of cases.

So far, the number of entries received for the competition is not as Large as on the previous, occasion, but it is pointed out that so, long as they come to hand before the completion of the judging in a day or so they will be received.

A little difficulty is being experienced by the judge in awarding his points. Some of the stacks have been open for so long that it is difficult ip gauge how thei pit or the stack had fared from all points of view, and he has had to sift tho remaining evidence very carefully indeed before allocating his points. Ho found it difficult to select 11 time of tho year that would he suitable for judging, for, while one man might have finished his ensilage by the end of July, another might not have opened his silo by ilia! time. Tho silos visited this morning had been well cut into. The points being allotted this year provided for maximum scoring as follows:—Quality of the silage, or the manner in which it was “cooked,” 59 points; material, the stage at which it was cut and the absence of weeds, 15; absence of waste, 25; cover, 10; total, 100 points. Last year, 20 was the maximum number of points for material, 15 for waste, and 15 for cover.