FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1931, Page 16

FARM AND DAIRY

COST OF TESTING. RE'PAID BY RESULTS. The economic aspects of herd-testing and various points on which it provides profitable information, are emphasised in a circular issued by the Dominion Group Herd-testing Federation. It is claimed that the most successful dairymen, in nearly all cases, adopt herd-testing and fertilising as integral parts of their farm management. “Such men realise fully that the actual cost of testing is more than made up by the extra butter-fat obtained through the herd being under test,” it is stated. “They know that testing results in keener management and in more thorough milking. “Cows do not milk to the machines in way year after year. Some cows are quite ready to have an ‘off’ season if they get half a chance. The comparison, cow by cow, of the test sheet for the first month of the new season with that of the same month the previous season will indicate definitely which cows must be given careful stripping. The fact that the milkers know what each cow is giving, and what she should give, brings about that keenness in the actual milking which gets the maximum results. “The testing figures bring the work in the shed under review month by month. The efficiency of new milkers or, in fact, any change in management, is immediately checked up through them. Farmers employing share-milk-ers or wages men are now recognising the great value the testing figures are to them. Through a study of the figures ■they know more about the cows than the men who do the milking. “The milkers themselves' will get better results from the herd if it is under test. Few farmers realise that these better results have only to amount to, say, 51'b. of butterfat per cow to pay for the testing fees. Put in another way, a 2 per cent, increase in efficiency will pay the cost of testing.” CULT OF ECONOMY. ■SUPER ON THE FARM. The prevailing trend towardsf conomy was dealt with 'by Mr. E. L. Hausechild, of Cleve, South Australia, in a paper read before the conference of the Agricultural Bureau at Cleve. Regarding savings that might be made on the farms, he advocated the replating of plough and other shares and. the use of scrap-iron in making bolts, eye-bolts, hooks, and such-like things, and the shorter cutting of hay, so as not to leave such a high stubble as was often done now, and which meant waste. Dealing with the dressing of soils, Mr. Hausechild said: “It is necessary for a good farmer to know his farm land, and how to manage it. Some,soil will stand a heavy dressing of super., while other soils will not stand nearly so much. The experienced farmer should not allow himself to be persuaded by anyone to put more super, or seed on his land. The Deputy-Director of Agriculture, Mr. Spafford, speaking with reference to Mr. Hausechild’s estimate of super, requirements, disagreed with the figures. He pointed out that the average yield from 108 crops in 20 centres in South ■Australia (including Eyre Peninsula) was lli 'bushels with no manure, 15J bushels with icwt. of super., 17 bushels with one cwt., and 18| bushels with 2 cwt. The popular idea in some quarters, ho said, that super caused a blighting of the crops, was a fallacy. EXHAUSTED GRASSLAND. SCOTTISH EXPERIMENTS. An experiment in the restoration of exhausted grassland has been conducted under the North of Scotland College of Agriculture, at Wes terton, Plubcarden, at an elevation of 600 ft. above

sea level. The land had been out of cultivation for over 12 years, and the herbage was very poor and mostly overrun with rushes and other weeds, but with some traces of white clover. Three plots of one acre each were treated in May, 1930. The standard dressing was 4cwt. ground mineral phosphate per acre. The equivalent of this on. one plot was 6cwt. basic slag, while on the other the phosphate was half soluble and half insoluble, the mixture being 2cwt. ground mineral phosphate and 3|cwt. superphosphate. Half of each of these plots were dressed with potash salts, 30 per cent., at the rate of 2cwt. per acre. Owing to the dry spring season of 1930, only small differences were noticeable; but this year there has been a striking difference. The three acres dressed have shown such an abundance of wild white clover that farmers viewing the plots under demonstration would scarcely believe they had not been - resown. Even among the rushes it was growing in profusion. There was little difference between the manurial effects of slag and phosphates. The clover was thicker on the half of the plots dressed with potash salt. LATE AND EARLY BITE. NITROGEN IN AUTUMN. That a nitrogenous dressing in September (March in New Zealand), is useful for producing a very early bite th.e following spring as well as in late autumn is suggested by. experiences on a farm in Ballyglunnin, County Galway, Ireland. Here plots, after September dressing with sulphate of ammonia, were heavily grazed with sheep until early in November when the sheep were all removed to other pasture until after lambing the following spring. Grazing commenced on excellent grass on March 3, and 32 Galway ewes and their lambs were fully maintained on grass alone on ten acres. Hand feeding was unnecessary, and was actually refused by the ewes when offered. The grazing was carried out on the rotational system, the ten acres being divided into five plots of two acres each. There are, it is stated, no signs of ill-effects from the heavy stocking after, four years of this intensive management. Fyom the financial standpoint, as well as that of health of the stock and. pasture, the results have 'been entirely satisfactory. The district in which the trials have been carried out has a comparatively mild climate, but it is suggested that similar results are obtainable elsewhere providing dry-lying, sheltered fields are selected. Tf the pasture to be treated has had a suitable dressing of phosphates recently, an application of 2cwt. per acre of sulphate of ammonia would be all that is necessary. Otherwise it would be as well to apply phosphates with the sulphate of ammonia and, also on the lighter soils, potash. HEIFER’S GREAT YIELD. PERFORMANCE IN ONE MONTH. The remarkable return for a heifer of 971 b. fat in one month is the chier feature of the latest Merit List for pefligree Jerseys under test in New Zealand. This four-year-old Jersey, which rejoices in the name of Woodlands Fclecie, has a total to her credit for th® 73 days she has been in milk or approximately 226,531 b. fat, and use can carry on in anything like the sensational manner in which she has started, she should easily shatter all existing New Zealand records for age. Woodlands Felecie, who was bred by Mr. H. C. Sampson, New Plymouth, is the property of Mr. P- Peterson, ton, who already enjoys the distincttion of having developed three New Zealand record breakers, notably the phenomenal heifer Ivondale Silver Rainbow, which last year established a world’s record for a three-year-old heifer, all breeds, on twice daily milking, by producing 9501 b. fat.