ON HE LAND.

Temuka Leader, Issue 10589, 26 August 1930, Page 4

ON HE LAND.

TOl'-DIiKSKINt; SilKKI* <'(>l N'S'in I Di':co.\ii.\i; \ xkck.-iSity. somk intkkestixg kxi'EKH.'ni'ks. ( l',y K.C. I. Striking resale, from lop drossnr-- j |,;,Ve 1..T11 seenred by ll|oll,amis of dairy-tanners I bi'ou.L-loeil \'e*\ /.<•■' ' land, i-osalls uhi h :i I''-'. :■<■■"'■< ■'■"" w ,i!i!il liaiv been 111 ■>. i --111 impossible are f> tin v being secured in scores ~)• ,ii,;irie.s. It is »!' uncommon ihieg miwiiiliiv.i lo read of a dairyI'aniier taking up Ui 2 .'in lb of linl!,M'i':if per acre oii' his farm, whilst a tew instances of heavier yields are on record. in every case of heavy production ihe lanncr confined is a lii'iii believer in, and j peiv.isietii user ui', i-> i * dre-sin .' manure.,. 'l'lie progre. si iv increa-.ei r, corded in ; lie Auckland pro\in.--in |]|,. tola! piodlleiioll ; >!' hllllerf II ever I lie )>nsi live reasons is in close keeping Willi Hie increase in the use of top-dressing feriilisors over the same period. II is also interesting lo nole thai. Ihe increase in the sheep popuiaiioli ill Hie Auckland province is much more rapid lhau dial of any oilier portion of Xew Zealand, as. according to the figures compiled by the Governinent Statistician. Iliere were in creases of atlO.lMii) sheep, -12,0110 dairy cattle, and SO,OOO other catlle, wiihin :he last. .12 months. Expressed in porceniagos of Ihe total increase! for (he nonunion, the Auckland quota, represents :l 1 per con., in sheep, SO per cent, in dairy cows, and .'Hi per cent, in other cattle. The Auckland usurps are quoted hero to show that very substantial increases in carrying capacity follows the extension of I on-dressing practices. By increasing the flocks of sheep from 2,73-1,000 lo ;:,:iOO,OOO within a year, the sheepmen of Uie North have shown very clearly what a wonderful effect top-dressing has in increasing the carrying capacity of sheep pastures. ROOM FOR Fl-RTIIER EXPANSION. Whilst the area of real dairying land in the Dominion is compata lively restricted, there is an alines: limitless range of sheep country, and it is here where ihe g rentes' room for extension of top dressing exisls. li is true thai the sheep, man is up against difficulties not 'experienced by dairymen, and then is ti tendency on the part of i'ln sheepman to exaggerate his disadvantages. For instance, the dairyman is usually closer to the rail way, and consequently litis less ('<■ pay in the way of cartage on forth ; Users. Again, dairying land h ! callable of being covered by means of implements, whereas a good deal of .sheep country is sleep and rough. Another important faciei- is "he monthly milk or cream cheque which the dairyman enjoys. Notwithstanding these differences, flu sheepman will find it to his decided advantage to top-dress, and as tine goes on lie will ho faced with the alternative of top-dressing or gelting out. COST OK DISTRIBUTION. ];■ is sometimes put forward a: an excuse that the cost of applying fertiliser to hill land is prohibitive. That is only an excuse, and has no foundation in fact. There are many farmers to-day who apply ihe whol< of their top-dressing by hand, although they would have no difficulty in getting a machine over their land. Top-dressing by hand to-day costs in ".lie vicinity of 3s per acre, and there tire very feucases where top dressing by machine can be done for less. Results in increased carrying capacity and heavier clips of wool more than jusiify expenditure on fertilisers and their application. .SO.MK INTKRESTIXG CASKS. One could till a hook with interesting cases of improved financial returns as a result, of lop-dressing, hut one or two will suflice to show what can be done. Ai- Paferangi, Ohaupo, Mr W. H. (ierinan carries S 3 5 ewes and s'l other sheep on 125 acres of grass. and the farm is actually underslocked. At Horoiiu, Mr F. J. Farrell carries 1100 ewes, besides a few head of cattle, on 150 acres. At Tauwhare, .Air Alex. Ramsay improved his area of 120 acres from a carrying capacity of 2'to ewes anil ;!o head of cattle, to ils presenl capacity of 1 DoD ewes and HO head of catlle. At Walton. Mr F. Iv Harris nine years a-'o milked :;o cows and carried :'oo ewes on :lsu acres. i-asl season Mr Harris look off ::;, lb of bulierfai', lii bales of wool, and fattened 2000 sheep. The above are only it few cases picked out tit random, bin v.liai an interesting story llley |eil! These men realise thai they could not maintain such carrying capacity were it not for the use of fertilisers. SKILFFL MANAGEMENT NECESSARY. It is at once admitted I hat. a good deal of skill in Ihe manage mini of lop-dressed pastures is called for. One sometimes comes up against the idea that slock troubles of various sorts are ticceiil nai ed as a ivsitli of i op-dri'ssin'J. The v. iii i-r d re.- -in'- 1 ' ' real nteni for a linn a re I arm in lie- - ; eii;h. Ei-iilei-n moo' h a fi' r i In- mi \i nre p-emii ne tided had beep applied to : J"o

■:rr.:i. the ov, 10T called buck to a ,dv ; v, hui ingredient of the top dre:;sin:-: mi-.i ure had poisoned hi:; sheep, j Hi:. leporl was to Ihe eflecl that ! hi: lanihs had failed lo fallen. 11l j far I . he ha,l lost a few lamhs and j .oiirse of conversation, my friend i adnulled that he ciiubl have cut M.iiioihim- like van ions of red ,!mrr hay from the top-dressed j ~,-ea. hul lhal he had not the! I.ihour I" handle il. There was file j, ~. hole e-.phinaiion of his I rouble -- j had ma lis ■_■.«■ iih-ii t. 11 is no use ; siariin;; out to top-dress unless one 1 makes arra at the same , lime .ii have extra stock available | io handle (],,. cxira growth, ilttd jny | irieud contented himself with treat- j in-.;, say, •ii) am-es for a. start', lie j won id have realised Ibe value of | top-dressing, but he nearly ruined j himself by doin.u' 300 acres tit one . lime and I hen trying to carry on I as ihouah he had done nolhini; out \ of ihe usual. I!.\D IOFKKOTS OF ('t)AKSE OK ASS. 1!' trouble c.isls ill lii|i-di-essed j area. . ii is moie lhau likely due lo aa.-u u j'.ei rim; a way 100 i'ou - h I'm- sheep. As c,rass reaches mnl ur~ ity. ils fei'din.i; value decreases so rapidly Iha-t slock cease to thrive on ii. The shoiser Ihe pasture is kept. Ihe richer it is ill minerals and in digestible proteins. As if gets older, the mineral content decreases and the indigesl ible fibre content increases. Of course, there is always the risk of the soil deficient in lime, phosphate, potash or iodine, in which case troubles would be likely lo develop even I without: top-dressing, hut more so afterwards. Such cases, fortunately, arc rare, and those which do exist are pretty well-known. If there is any suspicion of malnutrition in any of it's forms, steps should ;tf once he taken to have samples of the soil and pasture analysed so that the trouble may he diagnosed without delay. So low is the feeding value of old pasture that every effort should be made by the sheepman to keep his pastures always short, and rich. Smaller paddocks is one way out of Ihe dilliculvy, and where top-dres-sing is practised on a. large settle, is ihe only way out. Willi a series of small paddocks, sheep—even ewes and lamhs —can bo shifted frequently so that Iliere is always a clean paddock ahead of them and a hare one behind them. As the growing season advances and there is more grass available than the stock can eat down, the only thins lo do is to close the gates of as many paddocks as necessary, leaving for grazing only that area, which the slock on hand can effectively control. My doing this the pastures will be kept right and the paddocks closed up can lie cut for hay or ensilage. The man who attempts to graze the whole of his summer grass with his normal bead of stock is looking for trouble and should not complain if he finds it. MINERALS ESSENTIAL. There is nothing in any of the fertilisers on the market that could he in any way injurious in their effects upon sheep, other than asexperienced above. My far the greatest volume of fertiliser used is jihosphutic, and the reasons for this are that there exists throughout New Zealand a very definite phosphate,: deficiency, and also that, phosphates are essential in the building up of the animal frame. In many cases lime is required in addition to phosphates; in other cases potash is in short supply, or it may be that a deficiency of iodine places ti limit on Hie power of the animal to assimilate other minerals. There is no denying the fact Unit animal nutrition has its complications, just as there is no denying the fact; that malnutrition is responsible for most of Iho deaths that occur outside the slaughterhouse. To suggest that' lop-dressing increases the mortality amongst sheep is to suggest something altogether contrary to fact. A well known northern sheepman was asked recently by a neighbour if it. were true that a lot of his lambs had died last season. "Yes," replied the sheepman in question; "f bad a li — of a lot die, but' it wits in the freezing works." Top-dressing with suitable fertilisers will bo the salvation of the sheepman and make it possible for him to accept 9(1 per lb for wool and 15. s a. head for lambs, just' as il has put many a dairyfanner in the podtion of being able lo accept Is per lb for butterfat, and still smile.