PROGRESS IN DAIRYING

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3809, 16 September 1936, Page 5

PROGRESS IN DAIRYING

MIODERN METHODS IN NEW SOUTH WALES. A SYDNEY MAN’S IMPRESSIONS. The expansive Hunter River district, with its innumerable historic associations with early land settlement, dating back to the beginning of last century, and its notable examples of intensive farming, is still playing a progressive part in rural development and production, according to a letter just received from a well-informed Sydney man, who goes on to quote Mr A. A. Dunnicliffe in a most interesting article, from which we make the following extracts as being interesting to our New Zealand dairy farmers:— * The forward movement goes on increasingly towards the making of a fuller use of the old and the newer lands, opening the way to more producers and more intensive production. In furtherance of this object, many thousands of acres are being added to improved pastures, and irrigation is being constantly extended on the fertile river frontages. Vieing with any other portion of the State in its varied resources and high-grade pastoral and agricultural productions, the Hunter statistical division > embraces the hundred-mile stretch of the Hunter Valley and tributary areas; and extends to Dungog, Stroud, and Gloucester on the north. As an index to the progress recorded, take the Government Statisticians’ returns over the three years 1932 to 1935. These show that in that period the area under crop increased from 86,000 acres to 92,250 acres, and the area of sown pastures advanced from 170,700 to 219,800 acres. The advance has been made in the face of a run of rather irregular seasons and rainfall deficiency. The Hunter is due, on the law of averages, to a return to more generous seasons, as of old. It is known, too, though official statistics are not yet available, that the last year has been featured by a greater revival in pasture sowing and improvement. FAMOUS NAMES IN CATTLE INDUSTRY. The Hunter Valley and associated districts to the north have ever—for a century back—being foremost in the breeding and fattening of beef stock. To-day that reputation is held undimmed, as may be verified almost any week by reference to Homebush sales records. Great names have been linked with the history of the beef cattle industry a s leaders among breeders. Most of them are represented in the present generation. Take a few, such as Dangar, Loder, White (Belltrees and Edinglassie), Bowman, Keys, Reynolds, McKay, Hooke, and Waller. Still in the front, some of these meat growers joined in pioneering the chilled beef export from the Aberdeen meat works, in the Upper Hunter. Of 472,500 cattle in the division in 1935 (latest statistics) 207,000 were cows in registered dairies, and the outlet, of factories totalled 29,520,240 lbs of butter and 1,724,133 lbs of cheese. In addition, the northern milk zone, bounded by Singleton and Duno-og, contributes very largley to the metropolitan as well as the Newcastle milk and sweet cream supply, under Milk Board control. PIGS AND DAIRYING PROGRESS. The pig as the ally of the cow is also a profitable source of revenue to the dairy farmer, and production in this field offers sound opportunities lor expansion. Metropolitan buyers operate at the various district pig sales. The Newcastle Abattoirs, which have been making regular direct shipments of baeoners to London, and unable fully to fill standing orders, during 1935-36 slaughtered 28,878 pigs. The Aberdeen meat works during the same period slaughtered 9435 pigs. A consolidation of dairy factory companies and centralisation of manufacture have proved advantageous to the industry. In this movement the Raymond Terrace Company (Hexham) absorbed the Branxton, Scone, Mulwellbrook, and Denman companies, and closed the former two factories. The Stroud Road factory also amalgamated with Bowthorne. This has permitted of standardisation of quality and reduction of overhead and manufacturing costs. The percentage of choicest grade as a whole ranks high. The Dairy Branch records the total manufacture of factories in the division and the net percentage of total outputs marketed as choicest during the 12 months ended 29th February last as follows: Factory, Aberdeen; output, 856,155 lbs; percentage of choicest, 97.8; Bowthorne, 985,639 lbs, 96.4; Denman, 1,464,344 lbs, 94.3; Dungog, 1,111,932 lbs, 92.4; Gloucester, 1,837,507 lbs, 92.4; Muswellbrook, 181,063 lbs, 97.3; Raymond Terrace, 4,089,527 lbs, 96.4; Singleton, 1,567,797 lbs, 67.9; Stroud Road, 403,454 lbs, 98.6. These returns show the total factory output of butter for the period at 13,497,418 lbs. NOTED FOR LUCERNE AND WINES. Lucerne for hay and seed, as well as for green fodder, is a key crop in these districts. The rich alluvial flats along the rivers, especially those at Bolwarra (Maitland), constitute much of the finest lucerne land in the State. Hunter River lucerne seed sets the standard for all Australia. The latest statistics (1935) show 16,727 acres of established lucerne in the division produced 47,630 tons of hay. There were also 14,975 acres grown for green fodder and grazing. Other staple crops included: Maize, 15,700 acres, returned 466,600 bushels of grain, and a further 7120 acres for green fodder and silage. Oats: 14,500 acres for green fodder and 2340 acres which produced 3700 tons of hay. Kitchen vegetables to the value of £24,267 were grown on 8900 acres. The Hunter Valley has won worldwide fame for its light, dry wines, the hock and chablis types in particular being without equal in Austra-

lia. The earliest vineyards were planted over 100 years ago. The 1935 vintage produced 264,000 gallons from 1530 acres. Hail damage reduced this year’s wine-grape crop to about one half M normal. PASTURE AND PROGRESS. A great impetus has been given to all phases of pasture improvement activities in the appointment last year by the Department of Agriculture of Mir C. E. Ahrens as resident district agristologist. As the work extends dairying in particular should be placed upon a more stable basis and substantially increased production made possible. These districts owe the inauguration of this forward movement to the progressive spirit and vision of the Primary Producers’ Union, the Lower Hunter and Gloucester District Council of which is providing a subsidy of £l5O a year towards the agristologist’s salary, and also donating generous prize money for pasture improvement competitions. These competitions, begun last year under unfavourable seasonal conditions, proved a marked success, and now entries have increased to ( sixty in the Lower Hunter-Gloucester area and 13 in the Central Hunter section. Mr Ahrens was able to report for the year ended 30th June last: “ The pasture competitions did more than anything else to push my work and enlist the active interest of farmers and graziers.” The good work is bound to go on and spread, while the farmers’ leaders in the ranks of the P.P.U. throw their personal support into the movement and their organisation backs it up liberally with hard cash.