FARM NEWS AND NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1935, Page 24 (Supplement)

FARM NEWS AND NOTES

Canterbury Fruit Export. Approximately 20,000 cases of apples and pears have been exported front Canterbury so far this season, and it is hoped that before the export season concludes between 30,000 and 40,000 cases will have been shipped overseas. Already this year’s figures exceed the total exports of last season, which was the worst for several years, the crops having been affected by hail and frosts. This year no damage has been caused by hail and fro£t.

Pig Conversion. A farmer who could not be persuaded to take an interest in pigs finally let his boy buy a sow, but this with the boy’s own money. The boy was particularly keen, having followed the work of the Waikato Pig Recording Club. He worked along the lines advised and was successful from the jump. The following year he purchased three more sows, and to-day, three years from the establishment of his piggery, he owns nine sows. This season, up to Christmas, he had turned off 70 porkers, which realised over £lOO, and the cost for meals for each porker was only 3s lOd. This is a great performance when it is considered that the principal food was whey. One of the foundation sows, a Tamworth, produced 20 pigs in a litter, 13 of which were born alive and 10 of which were reared. The average weight of these at eight weeks was just on 401 b. .Thus prolificacy is not confined to any one breed. It may be remarked that the father is now just as keen on pigs as is the son.

Catering for White Butterfly. While the majority of crops of swedes bear evidence of the ravages of the white butterfly an Inglewood farmer believes that he has saved his swedes by catering for the butterfly. He sowed two pounds of seed of chou mollier, which he knows the white butterfly enjoys, with five pounds of swede seed on his 6J acre patch. The plan succeeded as the butterfly went solidly for the upstanding chou mollier leaves, whilst the swede crop growing underneath was practically unharmed. Movement of Stock.

During the past two or three weeks there has been considerable movement of stock along the roads and numerous droves were to be encountered. Up to last Monday it was estimated that over 2000 head of stock had trekked from the King Country and north to the Waitara freezing works, and that another 1700 were on the road. The cattle comprised a wide range, from fat bullocks and cows in fine condition, some suitable for chilling, to cull bulls and cows.

Coping With Blackberry. A marked improvement is to be noticed on certain sections in the Bristol Road district, which a few years ago were a mass of blackberry. As the result of hard work and the application of top-dressing pasture innd has now replaced what were blackberry brakes. One farmer, indeed, who had some of his furniture dragged out of his motor lorry by blackberry vines when taking it along the track to the house on his newly acquired property sfx years ago has effected a vast improvement. That is also reflected in his returns, for whereas in the first year he could only take 30001 b of butterfat off 113 acres, he last year took 80001 b of butter off 83 acres, having in the meanwhile disposed of 30 acres. Another farmer who has farmed 94 acres has been equally successful. When he took up the property nine years ago it was all blackberry and he could milk only 18 cows, which produced 4000 lb of fat. Last year he was able to milk 39 cows, which produced 12,0001 b of fat. In addition he is carrying 12 head of dry stock and three horses and has sent away 30 baconers. He expects to do even better next year as each year he is breaking in and grassing a fresh area. He has plenty of feed for the winter, too, having saved 35 acres of hay and ensilage. He has also a crop of swedes, which besides being useful as a breakingin crop will be handy for supplementary winter fodder.