FARM NEWS AND NOTES

Taranaki Daily News, 22 June 1935, Page 24 (Supplement)

FARM NEWS AND NOTES

Spread of Ragwort. w Despite the fact that a great deal of clearing has been done, ragwort has become so widespread that it might appear that no real headway has been made in its eradication or proper control, states the director of the Live Stock Division of the Department of Agriculture. It must be borne in mind, however, that approximately 500 tons of sodium chlorate went into consumption during the season, and this, with other methods of destruction must account for no small measure of success in clearing. Many individual farms have been cleared and kept clear of ragwort, but, on the other hand, there are many that are probably worse than they were a year ago. Special efforts have been made to keep the already clean districts clear of ragwort.

Culling Dairy Cattle. From the number of cattle to be seen on the roads heading for the freezing works it is evident that now that the embargo has been lifted dairy farmers are culling their herds very freely. That is as it should be, for at the present time, when the price of dairy produce is low, it is more than ever necessary that dairy farmers should see that they are not retaining in their herds low producing cows. With present prices it is hard to farm successfully when milking highly productive cows, whereas to milk any others is to court failure.

Rice-growing in Fiji. Not much more than a decade ago Fiji was dependent upon rice from Burma and other producing countries for her needed supplies. To-day Fiji has 10,000 acres under crop and imports have practically ceased, except for special rice from China for the Chinese residents, states the Suva correspondent of the Auckland Star. This happy condition of affairs has been largely due to the Government rice mill and the enthusiasm of the rice manager, ths late Mr. J. P. Tarby. Now that the industry has been firmly established, the Government has shut down its mill and the community is supplied with good rice by over 30 small mills (owned and worked by Indians), many of which are worked by motor power. The Indian farmers, even those dependent upon sugar cane growing, generally manage to have an acre or so of growing rice for home consumption. “Red Flag to a Bull.” \ ,

A railway crossing keeper recently discovered to his cost that although a red flag may be very useful at times, it is rather out of place when it comes to placating a cow. It is reported .that a cow escaped from a truck in the Invercargill railway yards and trotted off with employees in hot pursuit, says the Southland Times.; The animal’s obvious enjoyment of its escapade was considerably marred, however, when the crossing keeper, doubtless with the best,- of intentions, endeavoured to turn it back with his red flag. The flag would no doubt have arrested a tram, but in this case it j merely resulted in bovine ire being aroused with the consequence that the flag-waver took no further part in the “big round-up.” Increased Yields.

The files of the New South Wales Department of Agriculture’s Gazette instance a case where a grade herd of 71 cows was proved under official test to be averaging 1491 b of butter-fat. In that year a Guernsey bull was introduced, and some years later 53 progeny of the same herd, sired by this bull, averaged 2351 b. The .owner of this herd, found that with 18 fewer cows Ke got 23151 b more butterfat, and this with considerably less labour. Many of the foundation cows averaged 185 Tb, whilst their Guernsey-sired daughters reached 2261 b.

Canterbury Lambs. What he declared to be the real reason for the failure of a Canterbury entry to succeed in 'the recent export lamb competition, won by Southland, was given by a prominent Canterbury lamb-raiser. He contradicted the general view, that it was because of the gradual deterioration in the quality of Canterbury’s produce that other districts were robbing it of. its former reputation as a lamb-producing district. “Farming,” he said, “cannot be divorced from economics, and in the economic scheme of things Canterbury cannot be expected to produce the same class of lamb as that produced in districts where lamb-raising is a speciality.” I