THE WAIKATO FARMER

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19451, 15 December 1934, Page 23 (Supplement)

THE WAIKATO FARMER

EDITED BY C. E< CUMING.

Sound Advloe. Lord Bledlsloe lias issued much needed advice to those who are conducting experiments in connection with grassland. 'He draws attention to Workers in some particular phase of a subject, sucli as soil science, working in “separatist isolation" when they must inevitably realise, if they are honest with themselves, the narrow limits within which any single branch of scientific effort can serve to solve the problems of the soil. A' recent bulletin of the Imperial Bureau Of Soil Science points out, he says, that a highly specialised training is in some, ways a disadvantage as tending to over emphasise one particular scientific aspect with consequent narrowing of outlook on the composite problem. And, says Ills Excellency, if this applies to soil science it still niore emphatically applies to grassland philosophy. Cicassland fesenfch is especially suitable for co-operative work on a planned programme. We have instances In this country of the danger of specialists In one phase Of the grassland problem giving advice — and this in a very definite manner—on other phases of the problem which they have no knowledge. Assuredly one of our most urgent needs is, as the Government puts it, co-operative work on a planned programme. *** * ' . Soil Consolidation.

beneficial effect in encouraging the growth of the better grasses while through the concentrated animal manure (where harrowing is consistently carried out) the humus content of the soil is built up, and this means improved fertility and resistance to the effect of drought.

****! Forced Poultry Feeding. It is interesting to read of poultry cramming by machine being demonstrated at the Seddon Technical College, Auckland, by an English expert who is a member of the College staff. It is being hailed as something original—a new system of feeding poultry. Cockerels were crammed for the Dunedin market close on forty years ago at Seacliff 'Mental Hospital when Dr Truby King was the Medical Superintendent and Mr F. C. Brown, Chief Poultry Instructor, was In charge of the poultry plant. Those cockerels were like young turkeys, and they made big money. In the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture for January, 1931, Mr Brown described and illustrated .the

process of cramming. The wonder is that the production of high-class table poultry is being so much neglected in this country, especially in.view of the development of the tourist traffic. The priming of cockerels of the dual-purpose breeds, such as . the 'Black Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds, would be well repaid, for there are large numbers of cockerels on farms that could be readily collected for fattening depots in the main country centres, depots which could also act as egg collection stations. In these days when side lines mean so much the neglect of co-operative egg and poultry marketing is very difficult to understand. Assuredly this is work that could he organised by.branches of the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union or the Women’s Institute. Now that It has been shewn that curd can form the hulk of the poultry feed it, should be possible to produce eggs and table poullry in New Zealand much cheaper than in any other country, hut organisation is quired to protect the producer against speculative city middlemen.

Folding, or concentrating slock for brief periods on land, whereby the land gels heavy treading and manuring, is coming to he more generally realised as being highly beneficial to the lahd, especially to land Of a light nature, Folding stock is the best means of keeping such land in good ‘heart afid making It suitable for the best type of pasture plants. One lias only to see the effect of concentrating pigs on poor pasture and note how rapidly the land is made apparently an ideal habitat for .ryegrass to appreciate .the. consolidating effect of the pigs and Hie influence of their particularly well-balanced manure. Much 1 he same effect is being obtained in England by the adoption of the novel method of dairying on light 'foiling country, by having a run-through milking shed on wheels which is moved each; diiy to a hew site. The herd Is held lh a temporary corral by the shed,,and the consolidation of the soil ailayhe, manuring (for the harrows are well used when the shed is taken to anpther field) have worked a transformation in the pastures. An equally excellent effect in Improving pasture is being brought about by folding poultry In small moveable runs (without flooring even in the roosting compartment) which are moved, for their own width, every day. Several hundred of these are oised on the one farm. Apart from the benefit of consolidation the system is coming to he regarded as Lite cheapest means of fertilising a farm. And what is being found with the concentrating of ■pigs, cows in corrals, and Poultry on grass land will also he found In having grass fields of such a size that sixteen to twenty cows can be grazed on them at the one time, the consolidating effect having a remarkably

Young Farmers’ Oiubs. ‘ So rapid and oxpanslve has beon the growth of young farmers!- , club's In England .that now a Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs has been Inaugurated. The Federation, which is under the presidency of the Duke of Norfolk, has its headquarters Jn London and from there the movement is directed by a strong committee of thirty members. An outside staff of organisers Is maintained and their advice and practical help are always available. Bulletins on club work, propaganda literature, record hooks and the quarterly journal, “The Young Farmer,” are published and national and international judging competitions arranged. The clubs are open to hoys and birls between the ages of 10 and 21 years and are of various types, depending on the nature of the district and the wishes of the members. Calf rearing is the most popu-

A page devoted to assisting the Waikato farmer to make the fullest possible use of the great natural advantages of the Waikato and to. thereby develop the most prosperous farming community in the ivorld. .

Feed According To Yield.

lar club pursuit, the calves being supplied to members, the. capital for the purohase being advanced by a bank or a private perosn, this money being repaid when the calves are sold as,yeariings. Any profit goes to the mem(hers themselves who are solely responsible for the rearing of the animals. Members keep record hooks in which are entered details of rations, prices of foodstuffs purchased, cost per month, number of feeds each day and general remarks. TTe time is opportune in this country for the formation of a similar federation for the purpose of encouraging the Inauguration of young farmers’ clubs throughout the Dominion, Unfortunately, with so few clubs in existence, such a federation would necessarily have to have only a humble beginning, bill with dairying this country’s main industry there is no reason why It should not rapidly grow to the dimensions of the English Federation. There is a crying need for some way of better Intereating the young people of the farm in work on the lahd and clubs, su&h as calf, poultry and pig clubs, will be found the best way of doing this. *. * * 9

It Is not sufficiently realised that dairy cows in New Zealand cost less to feed than they do in any other country, Feed is seldom bought for them except in the case of pedigree stock. And one phase of this question that will have to be rectified in the near future, that is if the most valuable stock are to be preserved, is the feeding, especially in the winter, of cows according to their rate of production. At present the very highest producers, cows that Have “given perhaps twice as much as other cows in llie herd, arc treated just the same as the duds of the herd, no attempt being made to build up their vigour, -especially to make good the heavy drain on mineral matter to which, they have been subjected, and make lit for another heavy producing season. How often does one hear it said that it is the heavy producers that gives all the trouble. 'No wonder.

It Is Interesting to oontrast the heavy cost 5f feeding cows in England with the cost In this country. It Is now being realised In England, due to the keen propaganda woi’k ?of Bout'flour, that cows must be fed according to rate of production and that the increased food for heavy producers must be in the form of concentrated food rather than bulky food. Fartioulars of the feeding of a heavy producing Friesian herd were recently given. The herd comprised 60 head and they averaged 900 gallons of milk (about 3001 h of fat) and one-third of the herd were llrst-calvers and onethird second calvers. The, owner contends that the main essentials for high yields were milk-recording, ade-

quale preparation for calving, properly balanced rations and the restriction of bulky foods (such as hay and turnips). Now take the feeding of this man's cows when they are dry. For average cows, he says, from 4 to 71b of concentrates a day should be .fed during the early part of the dry period.

■lihs sHU'U.iu ue graauany increased until the week before calving when 10 to 121 b were allowed. He had fed up to 211 b a day before calving with excellent results. The cow, he | says, should gradually come on to a full ration of concentrates after calving; 3Alb of a complete balanoed | mixture should be allowed for each gallon of milk. 'Cows giving from 8 to 10 gallons of milk a day needed 28 to '36lb of concentrates and not more than 51b to 101 bof hay. As to cost, it may be taken that concentrates in England cost about Id a pound. Thus, taking the very heavy producer getting 351 b of concentrates

1 a day, this would be just on 3s a day or 21s a week, whereas the cow giving 2 gallons a day would only receive is worth of concentrates a week. In New Zealand all cows get the same amount of food, which, of course, means a liberal ration for the low producer and a starvation ration l for the high producer. It is, there- [ fore, easy to realise that when a herd

is considerably reduced, by culling out all the lower producers, the increased returns from the remaining good ones have astonished the owners. Of course the poor producers had been fusing food which was put to proper use by the good members of the herd.