Dairying Near and Far

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 103, 22 July 1927, Page 2 (Supplement)

Dairying Near and Far

Auckland Leads in the Growing Industry FORESIGHT OF FORMER GOVERNOR BEHIND the piled dairy produce at the Winter Exliibiton lies an encouraging stoi-y of increased production in the Auckland Province. The visitor to the dairy produce annex is first struck by the pleasant fragrance of the butter and cheese. The exhibits are arrayed in an impressive parade, and the firms interested in the marketing of dairy produce have staged private exhibits, adding to the attractive nature of the dairy section.

r PHE dairy farmers and dairy factory managers handling the rising industry are a serious-minded lot of men, devoted to their business. hTe herd-testing and herd-selection experiments carried on throughout the district are testimony to the enterprise of those associated with dairying. Their efforts have resulted in the elevation of Auckland Province to the leading dairying territory of the Dominion. Early in the century Taranaki easily held pride of place in dairying, followed by Wellington. The next 20 years saw Auckland take the lead. Wide Waikato pastures were brought into production. Top-dressing was adopted with success, and the standards of the herds were mightily improved.

board fades directly east, there is dairying from coast to coast. Different places, different conditions: On the Hauraki Plains the cattle somet'imtes cannot find grazing, on account of water, when the landscape is submerged by winter floods. But such occasions are becoming rare as the drainage schemes are perfected. Experiments have been carried out successful! with “island” blocks, areas walled in by dykes, and kept clear of water by internal pumping systems. Hydro-electric power, whereby the pumps are driven, has helped to make these possible. In the Bay of Plenty country dairying has expanded its scope. Large factories are now scattered across the fertile basin, and the farms reach back to the mountains. Even at Rotorua, once valued only for its freakish volcanic composition, dairymen are toiling and prospering. Nature, in that queer patch of country, has been prodigal with certain mineral elements which give dairying land an added fruitfulness and value.

NO LONGER DEPENDENT Dairy farmers aspiring to introduce better blood into their herds were at lirst dependent on Taranaki. The Jerseys which founded the herds of the Auckland Province were nearly all brought from Taranaki, but now Auek- . land is independent. Indeed, the dispersal sales of famous Waikato stud stock are now as well attended by Taranaki farmers as sales in the Taranaki districts were formerly attended by prospective buyers from the North. Auckland still differs materially from Taranaki in the size of the dairy holdings. Right through the Waikato holdings are of larger size than is the average dairy farm in Taranaki. Close observers consider that the difference is not altogether warranted It is held that Waikato land is quite good enough—in fact, is admirably suited —for working in small holdings - —and that production would be still more increased if some of the holdings were cut down, and the land thus given the benefit of closer attention. FINE DAIRYING AGE This is the dairying age in New Zealand. Right through the country dairy farmers are endeavouring to improve their herds, and raise the quality of their pastures by judicious topdressing, There are dairy farms, now, on land that was once considered useless for anything except casual sheep grazing. Away up in the North of Auckland cattle browse on country that was formerly regarded as No Mans’ Land. Fertile basins yield admirable results. Near the coast some of the farmers wage a war against shifting sand, but in few places are they not consolidating their position. The North Auckland as a dairying territory has indeed arrived. If proof of its advanced status is required, the exhibits of fine dairy produce now on view at the Winter Exhibition supply It. North Auckland factories are responsible for many excellent exhibits. The rogfring timber trade, razing the kauri forests, prepared the way for farming development in the north of Auckland. Kauri land has not proved ideal, in its raw condition, for dairying, but with the application of fertilisers its possibilities advance immeasurably. The horse, the steam-engine, and the motor-truck all through New Zealand have a hand in the collection of the milk and the distribution of the factory products; in the Northern Wairoa district another agency helps —the steamer. Down the wide, sluggish Wairoa move the Kaipara harbour steamers, picking up and dropping cans at ancient jetties. Thus is conducted one of' the staple industries of the North. FACTORY FIGURES Nearer Auckland is the zone of smaller farms and pocket-edition sup- : pliers. Thus the Eden factory has | 640 suppliers sharing in its output, 330 tons. Paerata has 1,720 suppliers. With these the figures for the immense Waharoa factory, near Matamata, which exports 2,647 tons of butter on behalf of 420 suppliers, afford au interesting comparison. Where the Auckland Province widens as the land sweeps south, be : coming broader as the eastern sea-

THE OLD GORTON BLOCK At the Waikato Winter Show, at the beginning of June, the Governor-Gen-eral, Sir Charles Fergusson, told how his father, a Governor of tile seventies, saw the possibilities of Waikato land. The manner in which subsequent development has fulfilled the vision of the old-time Governor is a tribute to the knowledge given him by his experience as an Ayrshire farmer. He bought a large tract of land at Gorton, near Cambridge, worked it for many years, but lost on it when economic conditions finally compelled him to sell. The time for the fulfilment of his vision had not yet arrived; but it has done so now. To-day the old Gorton homestead is passed by motorists who drive from Cambridge to Arapuni. On a knoll above the Waikato, it has picturesque surroundings, and an old-world atmosphere clings to its mellowed walls. Summer in the wide valley is a legend of fair weather, and on the benchlands above the Waikato the crops ripen plenteously, so that an autumn or early winter impression retains pictures of field upon field of golden pumpkins, enriched by the fat of the land. The old Gorton homestead looks out, toward Cambridge, or east over Matamata way, across leagues of country that has fulfilled the foresight of its vice-regal pioneer. Here and there a stark smoke stack rises from distant trees. They mark the places where dairy factories are transforming the wealth of the countryside into max-ket-able commodities. Here there are great factories at work. At Waharox and Hautapu are mammoth butter factories; the Matamata cheese factory is among the world’s largest; and at Waitoa and Matangi the milk from

l- faithful herds is transformed into feathery flakes which are packed and exported.

TARANAKI FACTORIES SMALLER Compare the Waikato’s big and bustling factories with the numerous small, one-man concerns of Taranaki. Not all Taranaki factories, of course, are thus, for there are many big con cerns in the shadow of Egmont. But the average size of the Taranaki plant is much below that of Auckland. Taranaki dairy farms run from the reclaimed swamp land at Ngaire to the heights on the slopes of Egmont, at Mahoe, or above Kaponga. It is wonderfully fertile country, endowed with a bracing air, and an astonishing liberality of rainfall. There is a local proverb to the effect that when Egmont is visible, rain is imminent, while when clouds shroud the mountain monarch, rain then is falling. At Inglewood few days pass without a shower. The rich, volcanic soil, under the influence of the moisture, makes admirable dairying land. Further down the coast are the dairying lands of the Wanganui dis-

trict —a fairly wide coastal belt, backing on to sheep country. Between Marton and Taihape there is much dairying land, not so long cleared, and the cows often browse among fallen timber. In the Manawatu, further south, there is a mixture of rolling country, drained swamp, and river flat. Across the range the Wairarapa dairy farms occupy an ancient riverbasin, across which large stones are fairly liberally distributed —and the adjoining hill country is occupied by historic sheep stations; OUTPOST AT TOKAANU To the north is the Dannevirke dairying country, bleak but productive, and then there are the Heretaunga Plains, forming a lovely picture in a setting of distant hills, but not ideal as dairy land, because the Hawke’s Bay skies are sometimes blue and rainless for weeks on end. Perhaps the greenest outpost of the dairying industry is in the heart of the North Island, at Tokaanu. Tucked between colourful Lake Taupo and the majestic Tongariro Mountain group, is the tiny factory, supplied largely by Maori farmers, who are making a good living from their holdings round the lake.