ON THE LAND

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20104, 24 March 1928, Page 22 (Supplement)

ON THE LAND

DANISH METHODS AN EXAMPLE TO NEW ZEALAND Though undertaken primarily in the hope that it would benefit British dairy farmers and enable them to compete in their own market against imported dairy produce from Denmark and elsewhere, the finding of a special Commission composed of English farmers, which recently toured Denmark, reveals matters of great importance to dairy farmers of this Dominion. In both the quantity and quality of its dairy produce—particularly 'butter— Denmark holds a position which we cannot but admire while we envy, and as we are always prepared to* learn from the success of others, the findings of this practical Commission may help us to adopt the Danes’ secrets of suc-

“One must not regard Danish agriculture as being invariably and necessarily lucrative,” says the Commission’s report, neither must one confirm the wide-spread impression that the technical skill and organising abilities which permeate it confer immunity against the effects of adverse economic circumstances-”

One conclusion that was apparently early arrived at was that the Danish farmer, contrary to the prevailing impression, is not enjoying at the moment any outstanding measure of prosperity. Vith the rest of the world’s farmers he is finding it. hard to make farming a paying proposition. It was noticed, however, that he was little inclined to blame or to trust to other resources than his own in helping him through his time of adversity.

“What his position would be if he were a less skilful manager and practised unorganised marketing is too depressing to contemplate,” says the report. What, then, are the factors which have placed Denmark in the foremost position as a butter-producing country and enable them to maintain that position in spite of hard winters, depleted currency, high production costs and the ravages of foot and mouth disease, which have been rampant since the beginning of 1925? Secrets of Success. The secrets would appear to ’ embodied in a short paragraph of the Commission’s report: —“The fact remained that, apart from a few very isolated instances, and those doubtless based on some abnormal or temporary factors, we found that the land was well cultivated, that scientific methods were widely applied, that the products of the soil were marketed in the 1 ist possible form and condition, and that the benefits of co-operation in buying and selling were exploited to thefulleast degree.” We in New Zealand are under the disadvantage, compared with Denmark, that we are a long way from our principal market. This, we feel, not only in the cost of freight, but in the difficulty of regulating our supplies according to the demand, and, further, in not having that comparatively close and personal touch with the • retailing market which the Dane has. At the same time we have tremendous advantages in our climate, which enables us to carry our dairy cattle on pasture—rhe cheapest form of feed—all the year round; we have, so far, complete immunity from foot and mouth disease, and we have adopted labour-saving milking machines to a greater extent than our rivals. Where do we Fail?

Placing our climatic, advantages as an effective offset to the superiority of position which Denmark enjoys, we must question ourselves as to whether we could increase our production and simultaneously lower costs by more thorough and intensive cultivation of fodder crops. While good mixed pasture is generally considered in this country to be the cheapest method of feeding dairy cows, it would seem that we could double our carrying capacity on the same land by growing “soiling” crops to supplement this feed.

With regard to the greater application of the finding of science to our dairying practice w c have yet a long wa y to go. Among the 58,936 dairy bulls in New Zealand only 10,871 are said to be purebred. Of the 48,065 crossbred bulls, some, of course, may come from specially selected high-pro-ducing forebears—but what an enormous number of “scrubs” there must be that are breeding producers below the 2001 b. average. . Only a very small proportion of our dairy fanners interest themselves in testing their herds and culling out the duds, with the result that more than fifty per cent, of our good grass is being eaten by cows which do not pay for their keep. Generally, the dairy farmer looks askance at what he calls “scientific fads about farming,” in spite of the fact that scientific research has done more for the dairy farmer than for any other branch of primary production- Although the farmer *is not actually responsible for the grading and packing <»f his produce for export, there is no real reason, if care and cleanliness is practised, why all this produce should not go on the market as “finest.” One grade only, and that the finest that we can produce, would soon put our butter in a rank by itself.

The report, stresses most of all, however, the advantage that Denmark has derived from the application of scientific methods of forming and concludes: “For years Denmark has called science to rhe aid of her husbandry, and it is in her achievements in scientific farming*, patiently thought out by her best minds, and well tried in* good times and ill by those whose daily livelihood is won from the soil, that, she offers an example which our own farmers may study, and in many respects, profitably copy.’’

There are 15 farm institutes in England and Wales, and all except one have demonstration farms attached. The main purpose of, the teaching that is given at farm institutes is to provide instruction in the scientific principles underlying sound farming practice. The existence of the demonstration farms allow of such instruction to bo closely related to practice, and this applies not only to general agriculture, but also to gardening, dairying, and poultry instruction.