FARMING NOTES

Waipa Post, Volume 48, Issue 3482, 21 June 1934, Page 2

FARMING NOTES

CHILLED BEEF TRADE.

ANOTHER SHIPMENT SENT FORWARD. The success that attended the two experimental shipments of chilled beef in January and June of last year has encouraged Messrs.. T. Eorthwick and Sons to persevere still further with the development of this .trade. The first shipment, which comprised 330 hindquarters and 270 fore quarters, although not a commercial success, paved the way to success for the second shipment,, consisting of

520 hindquarters. This was described in a Londo'n cablegram as "much the best trial shipment ever made by Australia or New Zealand." The consignment. realised lVad per lb. more than frozen beef.

The March shipment, which left Wellington by the new motor vessel. Port Chalmers, specially fitted for the trade, and now on her miaden voyage, consisted of 1200 hindquarters.

Referring to the type of beef used for the trade, Mr. P. J. Borthwick said that experts had been greatly impressed with the quality. Us condition had borne out his contention that there was plenty of good beef available in the district. He said that ■ while , this shipment must still ber egarded as experimental, he considered they were approaching a point where the shipment of chilled beef from New Zealand to Great Britain could ber agrded as a commercial proposition.

Considerable data of great practical value was gained from the results of the two former shipments, and it is the opinion of the firm that this shipment will definitely put them on the right track. The firm intends to continue with the trade, and holds out strong hopes for its future prospects.

The Sori Needed.

It must be remembered that New Zeala'nd will have strong competition in the chilled beef tradt, so that only superior quality should be sent forward, if this Dominion's product is to secure, a profitable footing on the markets at Home. It is essential that the cattle be young, not ?riore than 2Y 2 years, prime, and weighing from 650 to 7501 b. The individual hindquarters should average about 160 to 1801 b. There is little or no demand at Home for chilled forequarters. SPREADING MANURE. If the manurial droppings are not harrowed regularly after each grazing, they produce patches of rank gowth wihch ae left by stock thouggrowth which are left by stock throughout the entire season. This condition increases with each successive grazing and results in the loss of a large proportion of valuable grazing area. It may even happen that much of this manure-covered land, if not harrowed, will not be available for years unless ploughed in or removed in some way. ' After careful observation it has been calculated that the year's manure, from thirty cows contains fertility equal to that found in the following 'commercial fertilisers: 9 tons sulphate of ammonia, 2 1 -* tons superphosphate, and 4V> tons of sulphate of potash'. At present prices these would be worth about £2OO per year to the farmer, and. would represent a very real contribution towards his farm's upkeep. On the other hand, if the droppings are left unspread, the capacity of the pasture'is limited in many respects.. The wisdom of using the grass harrow to spread the droppings is, therefore, very apparent. TREATMENT OF YOUNG PASTURE Special care in the treatment of young pastures is advisable. The plants having been given proper opportunity to establish themselves, should neither be allowed to become long and productive of flower-heads nor be eateVi odwn closely and continuously. To keep the growth suitably controlled, it is usually best to turn in a relatively large number of stock for a short time only. This method of grazing avoids the selective hard grazing of the most attractive species and the neglect of other species which is apt to occur in case of light stocking. Properly controlled stocking, which prevents undesirably rarik growth during the youth of the . pasture, leads to the stooling-out of the plants, and this gives a denser sward. Stock should not be grazed on young pasture if the ground is softened by rain, for trampling of wet, soft ground will lead to the kill-ing-out of plants and poaching of the soil in sueh a manner as to lead to invasion by weeds. The damage from undergrazing of young pastures may readily become partcularly serious "when Italian rye-grass and red clover (at times called cow-grass) are prominent in- the pasture—these temporary species outgrow, and, in con 7 sequence, if not controlled, weaken the Slower valuable permament species by shading. FEEDING PIGS.

If the value of all the food wasted annually in pig-feeding could be accurately estimated, observes a South 'African paper, it would certainly amount to a. very considerable sum. That money would be much better in somebody's pocket than on the muckheap. A certain amotfht of wasted food is inevitable but a great deal of

the waste that occurs might be prevented by a little foresight. Unsuitable troughs are, perhaps, the first and most frequent cause of wasted food. When pigs are fed with slops in troughs which have no rim a certain amount of food is bound to be pushed overboard and lost. oFocl is also wasted when the trough accommodations is not sufficient for the number of pigs, and again when there are no divisions, so that the pigs jostle one another or can run their noses along the bottom of the trough, as they often will. This habit is encouraged when food is mixed too thinly, for this induces the pig to push to the bottom for the solid matter to be found there. •That results in a good deal of liquid being* pushed over and any meal suspended in it is lost. THE v"ARROWING SOW. Gilts should not be mated until they are eight months old, otherwise weakly liters may be expected. Ten months is the most desirable age, but the animals are inclined to get too fat and fail to hold the service (writes a contributor to the Farmer and Stock-breeder). When a sow does not conceive the best plan is to take her inside for a day of two until ready for the next mating. A dose of salts should be given, and providing the condition occurs again within a reasonable period, nothing but water should be supplied. Water should be continued during the period, and service should take place when it comes on and when it is going off. The writer states that he has never known this treatment to fail.

Sows should be brought in about three weeks before they are due to farrow, and should be given a dose of worm medicine. A thorough treatment of the pen with a strong soltuion of boiling water and soda is advocated. When infestation is bad, a periodical disinfecting with a painter's blow lamp should take place. After the sow has been washed, particular atention being given to the udder, she can be returned to the pen.

Experiments show that where sows are reared under cover, half a teaspoonful of a 222* 2 per cent, solution of sulphate of iron given internally is an effective safeguard against anaemia, with subsequent white scour and pneumonia. For almost three weeks the suckers are dependent on the dam's milk. Although larger litters are being produced, nothing has been done to increase the content of the milk, therefore some ration is necessary.

The young pigs soon begin to root in the soil. A freshly cut piece of turf or a trayful of soil drawn from a heap in v/hich 21b of sulphate of iron has been mixed, should be placed in the pen. The youngsters soon leans tc root in that and obtain what they require.

At three weeks yellow scour may appear. This usually is caused by nibbling stale food on the sow's trough but can be curtailed by mixing the dams' food with lime water. As an alternative, when the youngsters are obtaining a ration the addition of a dessertspoonful of bicarbonate of soda will help.