Increased Production

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 89, 20 August 1923, Page 2

Increased Production

HINTS TO FARMERS BY MR J. W. DEEM. At Saturday's meeting of the Demonstration Farm Society Mr J. W. Deem (chairman of the Society) delivered the lollowing address under the title of "Increased Production from the Soil". 1 With the present high prices of 'iand, material, manures, and lac our, the question of increased production looms very high and everything possiLle has to be done in the way of procuring better returns. To bring this about requires very careful consideration, but broadly speaking it resolves itself to the question of carefully farming each portion of the farm so as to make it produce the utmost, together with a careful selection of the dairy herd. Taking the farm first there is no question but that the pastures are the farmers' wealth, and that everything he grows in the way of supplementary crops is really to carry his stock along during the periods when his pastures are producing at their minimum. For this reason a farmer should treat his pastures in the very best manner possible—(l) by seeing that land he is putting down ty pasture is in good heart and condition

to receive the seed, (2) to select the best permanent mixture for his district and to see that it is sown at the right season and under the most favourable conditions, (3) Having sown his pasture, to see that it is judiciously grazed during the period of establishment, (4) Having established a good pasture, to keep it in first-class condition by judicious feeding and top-dressing. Taking No. 1 question first. It is essential to have the land in good tilth and rich in plant food. These conditions are generally to be found after a fed-off crop, the consuming of the crop by stock returning a large amount of fertility to the land in a condition easily available to young plants. On the other hand the worst condtion, but one often

followed is to sow do> n to pas.ur e a field that has been frequently cropped, the crops removed either in the form of a cereal or root crop and sold or fed out on some other part of the farm, leaving the field so poor that it will not grow fir the good crops, so as a last resource it is put down to grass No conditions can be imagined likely to give a "lore disappointing pasture. In cas s of this sort it is far better to sow the field in temporary pasture, Italian ryegrass and red clover, which will last for a couple of years and j during that period will greatly restore the fertility of the land, espec- \ r ally if during the second season the farmer will allow the elbver to get" a good growth on it and then turn it . under as a green manure to add fertility and humus to the land. The above suggestions also apiply with equal force to newly broken up land in central Taranaki. The soil when first turned up is very light and somewhat sour, and after a root crop or two has been grown it is good practice to sow it in tem- i porary pasture before putting down in an expensive permanent pasture Dealing with the second question. The selection of the best mixture to I sow is a very important point. There should be a proper proportion be-1 tween grasses and clovers, and' these as far as possible should be j of a permanent nature. The addition of large quantities of quick-! growing grasses like Italian rye' which produce a lot of feed the first! season and look very nice are very detrimental to a permanent pasture. The following general mixture is 1 suggested-Cocksfoot 141b5., perennial rye I2lbs, Italian rye 41bs, timothy 41bs., crested dogtail 21bs„ poa | travalis lib., cowgrass 41bs., white ■ clover 21bs., lotus major Jib. in | this mixture the only rapid-growing grass is Italian rye, and this is I'm- | ited to 41bs., just sufficient to give! the finer grasses a little shelter; during the early stages of their I growth. Having decided on the mix- ! ture the question of the right time; to sow is very important. This '■ should be, in Central Taranaki,! 'i'ber in the, early autumn or the j spring. Late autumn is not satis- i factory in a normal year. The cold I weather and frost greatly retards j Ihe development of clover. Thirdly: i Flaving sown a permanent pasture ! ,r reat care should be exercised in I feeding during the first year of es- ] f.ablishment, taking care not to feed oo bare. The fourth question if not actually the most important is i'ery close up. Having a good per■anent pasture every endeavour •hould be made to keep it good by careful feeding and judicious top'lressing. The important point is to start, the top-dressing while the pasture is good and the fin r grasses flourishing instead of waiting until these grasses disappear and the nasture generally shows signs of running out. Although a certain amount of good is clone in the latter case the best of the grasses (rate disappeared and nothing like the value is returned for the money spent in manures. At one time it was considered best to give a hfavy dressing of artificial fertilisers at fairly long intervals, but more recent experience goes to show thai it is a much better practice to give

lighter dressings at more frequent intervals, at least once a year being considered advisable. In some parts of. New Zealand top-dressing

twice a year is now being practiced and while it te not advised for Taranaki it is a point worth investigating. The varieties of manure suitable for the district have beai frequently dealt wifh and it is not necessary to repeat them, but Bas'c Slag, Basic Super, and Limj and Super still lead. In dealing with the question of supplementary crops necessary to carry the stock dunng the periods when the pastures ire resting, it is not n cessary to nam<> the varieties of crops as these h <vz Teen fully dealt with in p-ovlons addresses. It is considered sufficient to point out that these crcps

should be sufficient to p'roperl* foxl the stock during the period under review so that their condition will be maintained and the pasture not unduly knocked about. To be sure of this at all times necessitates u reserve being built up during favourable seasons. For this pu-pose there is nothing so good as a stack or pit of good ensilage wheh if carefully made, will keep , for several years. Recognising the wealth of the pastures it follows that as much as possible should be kept n. grass and that any land broken r for supplementary fodder should b wr'i tilled so that, it will produce a maximum of food from a mimimum area. The area that is to grow sufficient feed when poorly tilled as compared with that worked under the best conditions wmi f ] be much

better employe' l growing grass, than weeds. In addition to the points already dealt with ' the question of shelter and herd selectim are very fmportant factors in brinting higher production. In fact the without the other hardly leads to anywhere. There is no use producing good pastures and fodd°r« if you have not profitable stock to consume it. Azain it is impossible for a first-clao.s cow to e'v o big retn~nq unless pho is snnrdicd w' f h the necessary raw material. Further it is not profitable to have nnstnres. c,rops, . and cows if the latter have to use up an of the value they receive from their feed in keeping up their bodily while standing about or feeding in cold ed positions. Judicious therefore a very important fr f tor in farm management and shouM carried out wherever circumstances will permit Trees, ani~t f r om shelter, after a few years provide very useful timber on the farm, and what is equally imnortant on many Taranaki farms, they can be S'icessfully used along creek la-iks :md roundi places for the ion of blackberry pest. The selection of the breed of cattle userl is also a very important i question. These should be cattle suitable to the farm and district. Having p-o----enred the cows and the necessary fodder to do the m well, the next point'is to raise the butte fat by selection after seeing that the cows have been properly fed, milked, and tested This may be done by buying in good heifers from a reputable herd or by using a purebred sire noted for constitution and fcu - terfat production, ami keeping fh-> heifers from th,e best cows. TMs way is really the most economical and satisfactory, provided alwa-s that you are in a position to do the heifers well right from the date of birth until the time they come into profit. Tf you are not able to do this it is better not to keep your calves but rely on someone who is able to fulfill the above requirements. A poorly fed, badly grown animal cannot be expected to! turn out a profitable cow. It is noy suggested that every farmer will be able to do everything on th* best lines for a start, but he can set an ideal to be aimed at and gradually work in that direction, in farming, like everything else, very liitl3headway is made unless an ulJmate goal is aimed at. Briefly fot, j f every farmer would f rtilise, .feed, test and select, the increased production from the dairying lands of New Zealand would be enormous

In reply to questions Mr Deem s{ f j he would not advise the use of pj» r salum in a grass mixture. Howevei one paddock could be sown in pap. salum for summer fed. It must however, be confined to one padd ck Papsalum was pretty well a complete food. He would not grow papsalum by itself, but with a clover. Poa travalis when found in Taranaki was a good grass, but he wou d not sow the other poas in Tara-aki. Meadow fescue was more suitable for rich flats. The deeper the pi ughing, the better, provided sour soil was not turned up. Ploughing could not, therefore, be done very deep in Taranaki As far as Taranaki was concerned the first machine a farmer should buy, should be a roller. Or he might borrow sheep to do the work of a roller. When grass seed was sown a gr< at deal was lost unless the ground was rolled.

j On the motion of Mr J Thomas, J seconded by Mr W. A. Hewitt a j hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr Deem for his address.