HEAVY WASTAGE

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXXI, Issue 45, 24 February 1936, Page 7

HEAVY WASTAGE

s <g> Amongst Stock MINERAL, DEFICIENCIES PARASITE FACTORS “The results of recent research in nutrition have emphasised the importance of the mineral content of the diet. It is now realised that . serious losses may occur in stock farming through the use of rations - deficient in one or more of the essential mineral elements.’’ In these words Dr J. B. Orr, introduces an address on “The Nutritive value of Pastures,” delivered at the Agricultural Organisers’ Conference. The address from which the above quoted introductory remarks are taken, summarises in 1a convenient form the findings up to that time of research workers in various parts of the world. In the intervening eight years further research work has ■ served to confirm the statements made by Dr Orr in 1927. Stock Wastage To-day Judging by the amount of wastage taking place, amongst live stock today, it appears that the time is opportune to draw attention to the tremendous importance of quality in so far as the feed of sheep and cattle is concerned. During the past week our attention has been directed by four separate sheep farmers to the difficulties they are experiencing) in getting their lambs away fat. In two cases the weights of even the first draft were disappointing, and in the other two cases the chief trouble { was too large a proportion of weak,; unthrifty lambs. One man was'afraid his land was developing bush sickness, but an inspection of his stock quickly dispelled that idea. In each case a fairly exhaustive examination of the pastures took place and in each case the conditions were much the same, namely: too much feed for the stock being carried It was also quite obvious that this feed surplus had not just happened •overnight; it had been there for some weeks as the condition of the pastures clearly indicated. It was; explained that not only did a large number of lambs fail to put on condition, but a good many that were well forward a month ago had lost much weight and now could not be considered as anything but stores.

Parasitic Infection An examination of some of the poorer lambs found on these four farms, suggested worms as being a factor responsible for their unthrifty appearance. A certain amount of drenching had been done but this was not marked by any appreciable improvement |in 'condition. As a matter of fact a rapid improvement could not reasonably have been looked for, for the simple reason that all the pastures were in that condition that they must have been sheltering millions of worms in which case the lambs were taking in a fresh supply with almost every bite •they ate. ' Life Cycle of Sheep Worms •It is stated clearly by Dr D. A.

Gill, Superintendent Live-stock Division, Wellington, that worms do not multiply inside the animal. Every worm found inside a sheep has reached it from outside and represents a larval worm taken in by the sheep along with its feed. The female worms lay numerous eggs in the stomach of the sheep and these eggs are passed out on to the pasture. Under suitable conditions ol moisture and warmth, the • eggs hatch in two or three days and a larva emerges. The larva merely develops a little further and then ; moults or sheds its outer covering continues to develop and moults a second time. After the second moull the larva is ready to infect another sheep. If weather conditions are ideal for the parasite, each of the two moults will take two or three days and if the weather is adverse the moulting will take longer.

State of Pastures Further on in his article on sheej worms which, by the way, appearec in the August 1935 issue of the N.Z Journal of Agriculture, Mr Gil j states that if there is enough moist j ure—even a thin film of dew is suf ficient —and mild light, the infective larvae crawl up grass blades ano stay there waiting for a grazins sheep to pick them up. Strong light [ drives them back to the roots of the grass and to the soil again. What | practical advantage can we take ot I this knowledge of the life history ot ! these parasites? asks Mr Gill. In the ' first place, he says, in answering his I own question, it indicates the need for very careful sheep-pasture management. It is inadvisable to let ; sheep pastures become too long. If pastures become long, more especially in damp localities, they provide just the shelter from sunlight and . the drying effects of wind which helps the parasites to survive during their more delicate stages. Sound Advice Here then we'have a sound reason offered for keeping pastures down to a safe length during the summer months. Parasites that are responsible for severe losses amongst lambs are capable of being controlled, at least to a substantial extent, in that they re-act to the pasture —control measures adopted by the grazier. Reduce the amount of surplus feed, let the sunlight into the bottom of the pasture, carry a greater proportion of cattle perhaps, and you simultaneously reduce the risk of worm infection in the lambs.

Another Aspect What has sheep-worms to do with the mineral content of the diet? We started to write about mineral deficiencies in the food and became side-tracked on to sheep-worms. We followed that lead merely to point out the importance of pasture control from another aspect—we now come, back to mineral deficiencies. Land that has been farmed for many decades is very liable to be short of one or more mineral substances necessary for the complete sustenance of animals. In some cases of mineral deficiency the ill-effects are only too obvious, but in other cases they are not so' clearly defined and take longer to develop. FdF

instance it would require the most constant vigilance on the part of the owner or shepherd to detect the instant when la lamb ceased to thrive and started on the downward course. Actually the most reliable indication of this happening really concerns the: pasture; in fact the man who studies his pastures closely will receive warning of impending danger in time to avoid it. Close Grazing Dr Woodman, an English scientist of world-wide repute, states that: — “Closely grazed pasturage possesses a much higher feeding value than has hitherto been thought. Its dry matter possesses the character of a protein concentrate of high digestibility and nutritive value. Under a system of close grazing and where rainfall is adequate and well distributed, this high nutritive value may substantially be maintained , throughout the whole grazing sea- ' son.

That closely grazed pasturage is able to meet the demands of the farm animal for lime and phosphate is made apparent by considering the case of a dairy cow yielding four gallons of milk per day. Such an animal requires 3| ounces of lime and 3i ounces of phosphate in its daily ration. Assuming that the animal consumes 301bs of dry matter per day on young pasture, then such an amount of correctly manured herbage will contain about 6> ounces of lime and 5 ounces of phosphate.