FARMING ABROAD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20764, 26 June 1937, Page 15 (Supplement)

FARMING ABROAD

NEW ZEALANDER’S IMPRESSION OVERSEAS METHODS DESCRIBED I Some interesting impressions of farming conditions in England, i Europe, and North America were given in an address In Hamilton last week by Mr J. P. Kalaugher, secretary of the New Zealand Friesian Association who recently returned from a world tour. A surprising amount of wheat and roots were growm in England and the New Zealand production of root crops was very small in comparison said Mr Kalaugher. The harvesting of wheat, due to the uncertainty of the weather, however, was rather an exacting operation. Although pastures were good, weeds | were frequently present in large numbers and certain types of vermin, such as moles, did serious damage to grasslands. It w’as possible to see whole paddocks a yellow mass of wild turnip or crimson with poppies. While these fields were undoubtedly picturesque, they were not of much use to the farmer. One farmer, Mr Kalaugher visited in the south of England was able to obtain Is 6d a pound for his butter and a good price for a limited quantity of pigs. As supplementary feed this farmer grew a mixture of wheat and barley which was known as "shandy." English Shows Describing shows In England, Mr Kalaugher said the housing was of enormous extent .and practically all ■ the cattle exhibited were under can- ; vas. There were many breeds of cattle I and pigs on show which were not seen in the Dominion. Separate judges j were appointed for male and female cattle, and contrary to New Zealand custom, judges handled the cattle very little and apparently did not attach much importance to the quality of hair and hide. At one of the shows

Mr Kalaugher met a Dutch judge whose ideas regarding the Friesian breed corresponded very closely with those held in the Dominion. All cattle on exhibition were in particularly fine condition and it was evident that in England herds were given much more attention than in New Zealand. They were practically all housed during the winter and those intended for show purposes were always kept in wonderful order. In speaking of his visit to Holland, Mr Kalaugher stated that there was an extraordinary amount of reclamation w’ork being done in this country, where thousands of acres of farm land had been brought in by the draining of the Zuyder Zee. Tire land was all tile-drained, the work being carried out by the government. It was hoped eventually to reclaim 500,000 acres in this manner, as Holland was a country which had an urgent need of land. Many of the Dutch farmers lived in the same quarters as the cattle in the summer-time, but everything was spotlessly clean. Dutch Milk Standard Milk for town supply in Holland was required to contain only 2.8 per cent, butterfat, but on the average farmers aimed at a 3.8 per cent, herd average. There were remarkably few fences in Holland, but the grasslands were in splendid condition. Cattle were of good type and the majority had good production records. Visits to some of the famous Friesian herds in North America were made by Mr Kalaugher. In Seattle he had seen many members of the famous “Carnation” herd including numerous cows with 1000 lb. production. Several had records up to 13001 b. In Mr Kalaugher’s opinion the “Carnation" herd was the finest in the world. It was a practice at "Carnaiton” to test heifers for the first two lactations and to leave them untested until they reached their maturity.