FARM AND DAIRY

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXV, Issue 8901, 7 April 1936, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY

PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER GRASS TIME FOR TOPDRESSING TREATMENT OF PASTURES (Edited by C. E. Cuming) Pastures should now be prepared for topdressing. They should be topped, to get rid of all roughage, or where sheep are available the topping will be done for nothing. The use of the penetrating harrow is desirable, especially in view of the effect of the dripping summer on many soils. Opening up the soil with a clean penetrating tine must secure greater benefit from the fertiliser applied, and aerating the soil must be beneficial to the pasture. This month, or early in May is the best time to apply fertiliser to special pastures for winter grass. If these pastures carry good ryegrass all the better. Indeed, if there is no rye-, grass in the pasture the nitrogen will be wasted. It is well to use potash as well as nitrogen. The latter will give the growth but the former will not only make the fertiliser balance complete and make the grass more palatable, but it will further strengthen the grass to resist the effects of frost. The value of potash to enable a plant to resist the effect of frost is undoubted. A friend who has experience of Swedish agriculture says that the use of potash for cereal crops to enable them to resist frost is a common practice in that country.

MONEY FROM SHEEP. The weakness of farming in New Zealand is that the great majority of farmers want more land than they can afford or than they can properly handle. The range system of farming is, therefore, the usual custom. This means that the principles of intensive grassland management cannot be applied. Apart from the fact that pastures cannot be properly managed under the areas being used the attempts to manage large herds of cows is seldom attended with success. Attention to individual cows cannot be given, and consequently disease cannot be checked at the outset. The fallacy of the big area idea is more common with sheep than with cows. To keep sheep a man, it is generally thought, must have several hundred acres, as proper fertilising and rotational grazing are not considered necessary. The sheep man wants to be a squatter on a small scale. The case of the 150-acre farm of Mr F. Farrell, at Horotiu, is, however, a striking case of the possibilities of a farm of this area which would be generally considered much too small for sheep fanning. The land is rolling country which in its original state was of a poor type of gumland, definitely third-class country. Yet to-day, by decent and balanced fertilising, the consistent use of the penetrating harrow, and common-sense management, it has been developed into a highly payable sheep farm, with a carrying capacity which has astounded the farmers of other countries.

CARRYING CAPACITY This season the farm has carried SOO ewes, 200 dry sheep, turned off 700 lambs, is grazing 70 to SO head of cattle and 20 horses. The previous season, under a very keen foreman, 112 S lambs were turned off from 1000 ewes. From Christmas to the end of April of this year the farm will be carrying 2250 ewes, 70 rams, S 4 head of cattle and 12 horses. Tho fertilising programme should be noted. In 1934 the greater part of the farm received 3cwt of super and scwt of lime, while some fields received 2501bs of potash and scwt of lime per acre. In 1936 the greater part of the farm received 3cwt of super and scwt of lime, several paddocks getting 2501bs of potash and scwt of lime. In future Mr Farrell intends to apply to half the farm super and lime, in the quantities quoted above, and to the other half potash and lime, again in the quantities quoted above. The following year the half that has received super and lime will get the potash and lime and the half that has had potash and lime will get super and lime. A feature of Mr Fan-ell's management is important. At the present time he employs a competent shepherd to do nothing else but look after the sheep. Outside labour is employed for crutching, shearing, harrowing, fencing, etc. At four o'clock every day at the present time the ewes are shut up with the rams in quarter-acro pens and are left there till 9.30 or even later, the following morning. The ewes being on good ryegrass fields thus get the rest they need and greatly benefit from, it, in fact there are several advantages in this com-mon-sense method of management.

THINGS WORTH KNOWING A fact that is not sufficiently appreciated is that a flock of sheep, properly used, are invaluable on a dairy farm. Such a flock would pay even if money had to be lost on them that is if they had to be sold at less than was given for them. Used to follow after cows they do away with the necessity of topping pastures, while they have an important influence in controlling weeds. And even more important than these advantages, they built up pastures as nothing else will do. and this at a minimum of cost, die thing about riwcp on the dairy farm is that the m-lamb ewes want little feed in the winter months, and so they work in well with dairy farm practice | At the present time a very careful I a *e shoula be kept on stock, as bloating is very likely to occur with the heavy dews and the rush of clover. And probably a lot of the trouble £ ns experienced with young stock at he present time is due to the strong ln section with Jew and strong clover growths it Is ot S r Wnu to Q^ call a « observation ?„ft - a, r tol ' Scott iu hi s novel "The ■o th "» i. V hlß a char acter refers' o the ev.i effect of wet clover on the, cow's stomach. " "