ON THE LAND

Southland Times, Issue 20903, 12 October 1929, Page 7

ON THE LAND

REVIEW OP THE WEEK LAMBING SEASON NEARING END HIGH PERCENTAGES EXPECTED “Southland needs rain” has been the remark of the agriculturalists during the last few days, the continued strong winds having dried up most districts. Light showers fell on Thursday night, sufficient to freshen the pastures temporarily, but further rain with warm weather is required to induce a quick growth. The lambing season is now practically over in the main districts and in the majority of cases will end during the next two oi' three weeks, fco far, very little trouble has been experienced by farmers and should the weather continue to be free from rough periods, very good percentages should be obtained. The price of ewes shows a slightly easier tendency. This is probably due to the fact that prices for wool and lambs do not seem to be very good. Comparatively few ewes are offering at present and most farmers appear to be able to carry all the ewes they can get. A few sales of ewes and lambs have already taken place. Chiefly aged ewes have been sold so far at prices from 15/- to 15/6 all counted, but it Is expected that younger ewes will command a higher figure.

The demand for horses lately has been fairly keen despite the number of tractors that have been sold. Anything in the nature of a good worker, especially if young, will command from £35 to £5O.

A fairly large quantity of grass seed and seed oats have been sent out to the farmers lately. There is still a good demand for lime, and the crushers are still busy. Now that the land is becoming dry, farmers with flax to sell are taking the opportunity to dispose of it, and there is a good demand for green flax on trucks provided the price is in keeping with, the market rates for hemp, which at present are not particularly bright. Calves for slaughter and export as baby veal are coming forward in good numbers in Southland at the present time, the daily offerings being about equal to those for the present period of last year. The falling off which occurred at the beginning of the season has not, however, been caught up with the result that the number put through to date does not equal the figures for last year. Dairying. The activity in the local cheese market recorded last week has not been sustained, and during the present week the market has been definitely dull with no offers open. Most factory directorates are awaiting the re-opening of f.o.b. sale negotiations. The intakes at the factories appear to be about on a par with the previous season, but in some cases a decrease has been recorded. This is said to be due to the fact that a number of farmers have experienced trouble with their herds and have been unable to get some of their cows into milk again. One or two cases have been reporteel in which only a quarter of the herd has come in to date. It is expected that when this trouble has been overcome the factory intakes will show an increase. Experimental Work. A good deal of experimental work is under way in Southland at the present time under the direction of the Fields Division of the Department af Agriculture. Three different manurial experiments in oats were laid down at the Winton Experimental Area during the week and work is now proceeding with the laying down of three different manurial experiments with potatoes. Two potato experiments have already been laid down at West Plains on the farm of Mr. J. Dyet. Certification of Seed. There has been increased interest shown in Southland recently in regard to the certification of seed. Last year, only two farmers in the province applied to have their potato crops certified for seed purposes with the result that Southland, which should be the chief producing district for potato seed, was scarcely represented at all with certified seed. This year, no less than 65 growers have decided to enter their crops for certification as a result of the recent propaganda of the Department of Agriculture, and it is anticipated that the majority of these farmers vzill have their crops certified. An interesting feature is that the trials will be carried out on the Gore Experimental Area for Southland and Otago lines and not Ashburton as has been the case in the past. Any farmers interested in the certification work should visit the Gore area to see the methods of certification adopted. No further applications for certification will be accepted this season.

During the past year, there has been considerable agitation in the minds of farmers in regard to the fact that ryegrass seed produced and grown in Southland has been severely condemned on account of its nonperennial characteristics. It is gratifying to note that quite a large number of Southland growers have been imbued with the necessity to produce perennial ryegrass seed and have made contracts with various merchants to sow genuine perennail ryegrass of Hawkes Bay and Poverty Bay origin for the purpose of producing seed which in due course will be certified as maiden seed derived from certified old pasture seed. The ryegrass seed industry in Southland has in the past been of such a lucrative nature, running into approximately £55,000, that it would be a pity if, as a result of the recent investigations made by the Department of Agriculture, Southland growers should lose this return on account of producing an undesirable type of ryegrass seed. Changes For Seed Pcxtatoes. One of the perennial arguments which always arises when farmers foregather is in regard to the value of a change of seed in potatoes, or in other words, whether potatoes brought from a cold district into a warmer district are superior to those brought from a warm district into a cold district. The general consensus of opinion, however, backed up by age-long precedent, has been in favour of the growing of potatoes the seed of which has been procured from a colder district than that where they are intended to be planted out. Thus, for instance, a highly valuable trade has been built up in Scotland, which produces the bulk of the seed potatoes produced in the British Isles. An interesting trial is being carried out in many parts of New Zealand with a view to ascertaining the effect of growing Canterbury seed in colder parts of the Dominion. To this end, a line of Canterbury seed has been sent to Southland where it will be grown for a period of four years. Each year, a supply of this Southland grown seed of Canterbury origin will be returned to Canterbury and grown in that province with a view to ascertaining if any material benefit has accrued from the change. It is assumed that the chief cause of potato deterioration in cropping power is largely bound up with the occurrence of what are known as “virus diseases.” These are common in hot climates and are freely transmitted from crop to crop per medium of biting and sucking insects, such as aphides. Aphis infection in Southland in potatoes is of little consequence and no doubt the inherent virility of potato seed produced in this province is largely due to this aphis immunity. The trial will undoubtedly prove most interesting inasmuch as the reverse process is at the same time being put under observation, namely, the growing of Southland seed in Canterbury and the returning of the' produce of that seed to be again

grown and kept under observation in Southland. An Important Tour. During the last few days, Mr R. Lindsay Robb, grasslands expert for Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd., of England, has been visiting Southland in company with Mr A. Y. Montgomery, crop experimentalist of the Department of Agriculture in Canterbury, and Mr R. B. Tennent, fields superintendent for Otago and Southland, with a view to studying the effect of different manurial treatments on grasslands, particularly those designed to determine the value of sulphate of ammonia and superphosphate. The use of sulphate of ammonia in New Zealand is a comparatively new factor, chiefly on account of the high price charged in the past, but there can be no question of the value of this manure in promoting early growing grass and this fact has been strikingly illustrated insofar as Southland is concerned to the party of experts who have just completed their tour of observation.

A number of farmers are co-operating with the Department of Agriculture in trials of sulphate of ammonia under a rotational grazing scheme and in practically every case investigated considerable stimulation has taken place in the growth of grass on those paddocks treated with sulphate of ammonia and phosphates. This stimulation has been so marked over those paddocks treated with phosphates alone that the number of cow days grazing obtained from the paddocks with nitrogen has been vastly superior to the cow days grazing on paddocks treated with phosphates alone. There is no question that a new era in grassland management is close at hand and the subdivision of the dairy farm into small paddocks each intensively treated with lime, phosphates and nitrogen and kept in a closely grazed condition must undoubtedly become the prevailing practice with the dairy fanner who is going to manage his farm successfully on proper lines. The experiments at present in hand in regard to the use of sulphate of ammonia and the close subdivision of farms are of first importance to Southland dairy farmers who will await with the keenest interest the results therefrom.