FAT LAMB FARMING

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 72, Issue 6239, 7 June 1946, Page 3

FAT LAMB FARMING

SUCCESSFUL VENTURE TE AWAMUTU PROPERTY OF 84 ACRES The following article is taken from the May issue of the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture:— Fat-lamb farming would be the choice of many returned men and ogiers who are at present dairy farmirtk, but it is generally believed to require at the very least 200 acres and a capital expenditure of £7500 or more. In this article A. T. Shannon, Field Economist, Hamilton, describes the activities of a grassland farmer whose taxation returns show’ that his 84-acre sheep farm is as successful financially’ as the productive capacity is from the viewpoint of farm management.

The farm is within a few miles of Te Awamutu on the main road to Cambridge. The main soil of the locality and the farm under discussion is of the Ohaupo silt series. This consists of a light, brown, powdery loam derived from showers of volcanic ash. It is easily cultivated, responding well to phosphates and slightly to lime. It does not bake or crack, and holds the moisture better than most Waikato soils, especially when consolidated. These features undoubtedly contribute to the success of the enterprise described here.

After being demobilised from the First World War, the farmer of this 84-acre property took up a block of s'ore sheep country in; the northern King Country. This project absorbed the finance available and the efforts of years without promising adequate returns. Turning from this class of farming for these reasons, attention was focussed on the possibilities of a high-producing small sheep farm, where the capital outlay would be within reasonable limits while providing a decent living. In 1929, some six months before the bottom dropped out of the sheep market, activities were transferred to the small holding, which till then had been running dairy cows.

Bought at £32 an acre and with a mortgage of more than £2OOO, the property had only four poorly-fenced paddocks and an inadequate natural water supply. The possibility of carrying about 400 breeding ewes and a score of dairy cows on the 84 acres without any cropping had been discussed with farmers in the locality. As might be expected, that was declared impossible, and it might have been to a less capable and determined man.

From the beginning the small farm was run independently of the store sheep farm, in which interests were soon to be relinquished, except that cheap totara posts which had been bought some years previously were brought down to the small property. The first step in development was to renovate the existing fences and construct more subdividing fences. This eventually made available for grazing ten paddocks varying from six to twelve acres. The next improvement was to put down a bore to provide an all-the-year supply for the six troughs which provide water for the ten paddocks. These were the essential developments making possible the controlled grazing which is the basis of intensive farming. In addition a low area of between three and four acres was drained and put into production. Fortunately it was not necessary to renew any pastures, nor has this been the case since.

Dairying had left the paddocks in good heart and free from sheep parasites, which assisted in carrying the 420 ewes in the first year, but that benefit could not be relied on for long. With such a high concentration of sheep some form of management had to be devised to spell the pastures an 1 eliminate the chances of this farm becoming sheep sick. The necessity of milking a few cows to maintain an income throughout the year also had to be taken into account.

In the first years a herd of up to 24 milking Shorthorn cows was run, and the number in milk was slowly tapered off as the farm became established. The calves were then run with the cows and sold fat at 2i years old. When milking finally ceased a herd of 20 breeding cows was kept, so that in addition to these the farm carried approximately 20 calves and 20 heifers or steers a year older. Apart from bulls, the policy has been to rear all the cattle on the place, and very few other cattle have been brought in. In the past few years, because of the good prices for younger cattle, the breeding herd has been increased to 30 cows, and calves are sold off the mothers as vealers. In view of recent market prospects the production of mature fat cattle may again have to be considered. The bulls run freely with the cows, for there is no spare acre for a bull paddock. Starting with 420 cw’es under conditions which the casual observer would have described as overstocking, the numbers carried were increased to a maximum of 525 breeding ewes plus 20 cows and their calves. Fortunately, this season breeding ewes were down to 335 for the winter, plus 166 ewe hoggets bought in May, 1945, 8 rams, 30 cow’s, 3 yearlings, and a bull. The hogget replacements are being put to the ram this autumn as two-tooths. To raise the productive capacity to this level and hold it, a topdressing of 12 tons of superphosphate annually w’as applied before the war; no lime was used. War-time rationing stands at 3 tons now, but 20 tons of lime were spread last year and 12 tons the previous year.

It is hardly appropriate to describe the present pasture as typical of what is expected in a season of normal rainfall. This farm will usually support a strong ryegrass and white growth, but it is in poor' form just now’-'and in places weed growth and goosegrass development is in evidence, especially in the hay paddock. Subterranean clover showed up on the lighter, rolling areas earlier, but that is peculiar to the season. The key to stock management on this farm* is in keeping the pastures short and never permitting rank growth. That ensures that the grass is always coming away fresh and succulent, and the stock do not graze on stale or stemmy feed that is knee high. Harder grazing ensures a close sward, and the result on this farm, is a heavier pasture production throughout the year, although at no time is it inches deep. Naturally a closer watch has to be kept on stock management, and in drought conditions the stock can be set back severely. I Lambing begins in late July, but the rams are left to run with the ewes till the end of December. This policy is workable on a small farm where

[ the maximum production is essential and a late lamb is preferable to none l at all. At the end of June the ewes are thoroughly crutched, so that when lambing is about to begin it is more easily, possible to draft off the ewes that are close up and put them into paddocks pear the house. That is repeated three or four times. When the lambs are a week or ten days old they are shifted to other paddocks and left there until drafted fat or w’eaned. As a general rule the lambs are shorn, and they appear to do better in consequence. This policy is payable because the shearing is done by the farmer. The normal procedure is to split up the cattle after feeding out is finished in September or early October, and put three or four cows with calves in each paddock, where they are left until June. The calves are sold in the autumn. The farmer endeavours to feed out only in the hay padaock, so that the fertility is maintained. The first draft of lambs, amounting to about a third, is taken usually on November 25th, although drafting was delayed until December 6th this season. After that the remaining lambs are all weaned and run together, for it is necessary at that stage to keep all available grass for the lambs and to ensure that the ewes are maintained on minimum requirements. Weaned lambs are not strictly rotationally grazed, but are moved according to pasture growth. The ewes are carefully drafted, the culls being put on to fair pasture in one of the smaller paddocks, just sufficient to hold their condition until the works can take them. Breeding ewes go- on to the barest areas and are grazed hard until tupping time. Possibly two further drafts of lambs are taken off up to as late as March, depending on the season. Drenching of lambs is not considered necessary, nor are the ewes flushed for tupping. It has been found possible to rely on getting a lambing percentage of at least 100 away to the works. The aim is to secure an average weight of about 381 b. Because of favourable conditions last season, the first draft averaged 421 b, the second 371 b, and the third 401 b, with an over-all average of 401 b. The position at the end of February this year was:—33s twotooth to five-year breeding ewes wintered; first draft, December 6th, 174 lambs, averaged 37.491 b; second draft, February 7th, 132 lambs, averaged 34.871 b; on hand, February 28th, 80 lambs; total, 386 lambs, equalling 115 per cent.

In view of the severity of drought conditions and the carrying capacity, these figures tell their own story. After the normal weaning in late November, it is the practice to shut up a 12-acre paddock, for silage if possible, otherwise for hay. The success of this unusual procedure reflects the denseness of the sward and the rapid recovery of the close-grazed pastures. Built-up fertility and the nature of the soil undoubtedly have much to do with this. It should be noted that these paddocks have little paspalum on them. Cut in late January or early February, this short and leafy growth makes first-class hay or silage, which is fed only to cattle. When the cull ewes and lambs are all gone, the entire farm, except for one or two paddocks with the breeding ewes, is grazed by cattle only for three to four months to clean the pastures of sheep parasites. Two widely-recognised principles of management have to 1 be given careful attention on this farm. One is to avoid a sudden change in the class of pasture available for the stock; the other is to ensure that the ewes are carried though the winter on a steadily-rising plane of nutrition, especially with the approach of lambing.

Experience has emphasised the necessity of giving full attention to these questions. Even under the best conditions some losses are always possible. This farmer feels that the main aim is to ensure that the ewes are never too fat in the autumn. An important part of successful farming lies in the culling of the ewe flock and the selection of replacements. These are made up each year by two-tooth ewes in preference to five-year-olds. Practically no ewes are kept over five years old, the aim being to keep the flock young and thus able to stand up to the conditions of intensive farming. Moreover, it is considered that five-year ewe replacements are a more costly proposition than two-tooths, taking into account depreciation and other expenses. Stress is laid on securing the best ewes available. If an outstanding line is noticed in the stockyards they may be bought from May onward, depending partly on seasonal conditions. Though some fanners would not agree entirely with this policy, it is considered that early buying is preferable because it is then possible to ensure that the ewes are in the best condition to take the ram at tupping time. Realising the common tendency to hold on to aged ewes in the hope that they will pull through for yet another season and rear - a good lamb, this farmer is prepared to cull heavily on any indication of constitutional Weakness or unsoundness of teeth. There is no place on a high-production farm for any ewe that might crack up, whatever the justification may be on a larger holding. Commenting on the possibilities of starting out along similar small-farm lines at present, the opinion was expressed that it is more necessary now than some years ago to begin with a high percentage of cash equity and a low mortgage. That serves as a safeguard against declining prices over a period of years. A further point is that, although small fat-lamb farming may be easier physically, it requires very careful thought and planning. Capital outlay is lessened but maintenance costs are relatively higher than on a larger farm, especially for fences.

That in short is an outline of the management methods employed on this successful small fat-lamb farm. Of course, no article by soundness of fully the part played by soundness of judgment, which is partly a personal factor and partly the result of experience. But it does show' that there can be few definite ideas of the size of what is vaguely termed an economic farming unit.