MANGATOKI FIELD DAY

Taranaki Daily News, 12 July 1933, Page 5

MANGATOKI FIELD DAY

HIGH QUALITY OF ENSILAGE. SCHOOLBOYS’ KEEN INTEREST. The educative value of the farmers’ field competitions was again illustrated yesterday in the Mangatoki district, when the judging of the entries in the ensilage section was made the occasion of a field day, attended' by a party of about 30, led by Messrs. W. E. Carter and S. McGuinness, president and' secretary respectively of the Mangatoki branch of the Farmers’ Union, and including many of the farmers of the district and their sons as well as six of the senior boys from the Mangatoki school. The judges were Messrs. J. M. Smith and C. Haynes. Mr. Smith gave an interesting demonstration, pointing out the method of awarding points and stressing the importance of good raw material, early cutting and proper covering. The judging was followed with interest, information being' gained from the discussions.

A feature was the number of earth pits, these being very popular in the district and comprising 13 of the 16 entries judged. They were all placed in positions convenient for economical working and their advantage over stacks in reducing waste was evident. The quality of the ensilage generally was high, a feature being the amount of lucerne included in the pasture in many instances. There was a tendency in some cases to be rather sparing with the amount of cover. The district covered yesterday comprised the Duthie, Hastings and Hunter Roads. About eight stacks were not ready for judging, necessitating a further visit in about a month’s time. The winner of the earth pit section was Mr. W. Dowds with 93j points, Mr. J. A. Carlson, Hunter Road, being run-ner-up with 91J points. In stack ensilage Messrs. McGuinness Bros, were winners and runners-up with 904 points and 854 points respectively. There were several haystacks to be seen, showing that the district does not altogether rely on ensilage, but none of the stacks was entered for competition.

The schoolboys had an interesting and instructive day. In the morning they closely followed the demonstrations and in the afternoon they took part in a judging competition arranged by Mr. B. H. Parker, chairman of the Mangatoki School Committee. The judges were Messrs. Smith and Haynes. The boys showed that they had grasped the idea very well, the winner, L. Bublitz, being only 6J points out in the six stacks judged. The party was entertained at morning tea and lunch by Mr. and Mrs. C. E. McGuinness, to whom Mr. W. E. Carter conveyed the thanks of the gathering, and at afternoon tea by Mr. and Mrs. Parker, Mr. .J. H. Anderson returning thanks. Mr. Carter thanked Messrs. Smith and Haynes for having officiated as judges and for having demonstrated to the schoolboys, whom he was pleased to see present, as they were the future farmers.

Mr. Smith congratulated the farmers of the district on the splendid quality of the pit ensilage, there ■ not. having been one poor pit or . stack judged that day. Such was the quality of the ; ensilage that he had not been able to demonstrate to the schoolboys a comparison between good and bad. Some of the ensilage was perhaps a little brown, but years ago that ensilage would -probably have gained first prize. As the result of scientific research it had been decided that ensilage that came out green, nearly the colsur of the grass that '■ went' in, was, slightly the better. He,did not think the average of the pits seen that day would be surpassed in any other district. There was. very little waste. There was, however, room for in the quality of the raw material, but, that would come with resowing in 1 some cases and with topdressing in others. When the quality of the'pasture was improved it would be difficult to. effect much further improvement as they now had the making of the ensilage up to a very high standard.

Mr. Smith expressed gratification at seeing so many pits in the district as that was a sign of progress, pits eliminating waste. There was, of course, the objection- that with pits there was a tendency to use the same paddocks continuously for ensilage-making, but as the pasture was cut early there was not the same drain as if the pasture were cut for hay and, moreover, as the ensilage was fe’d out to the stock in the same paddock the pasture would benefit greatly by . harrowing. He advocated the use of pits where possible, but at the same time recognised that stacks, though inclined to be more wasteful, had their advantages as they could be built where required and of any size to' accommodate the material. The results were:— ENSILAGE. Grass Stack.

Boys’ judging competition: Len Bublit? (64 points out) 1, J. Muller (10 points out) 2.

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