THE WAIKATO FARMER

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19457, 22 December 1934, Page 21 (Supplement)

THE WAIKATO FARMER

EDITED BY C. E. CUMING

The poyal Show.

, New Zealand has had another Royal . Show, and the experience has again emphasised the weakness of the Royal Shows as at present conducted. It is not too much to say that many of the -Royal honours —Royal Championships —do not hy any means indicate that the particular animals are the best of their type in the Dominion. There should be a South Island Royal and a North Island Royal; or there should be two Royals, one in which sheep and beef cattle would be the dominant ' types of live stock and the other one in which dairy cattle and pigs would be the principal stock catered for. The dairying industry is the principal industry of the Dominion. In the Auckland, North Auckland and Taranaki provinces there are 1,731,565 head of dairy cattle against 1,005,580 for the rest of the Dominion. Again, 1 the principal breed of cattle in the Dominion, dairy or beef, is the Jersey, there 'being 39,379 head of pedigree Jerseys against 23,305 head of other breeds, and the great majority of these are in the Auckland, North Auckland and Taranaki provinces. Over 90 per cent of the Jerseys of the Dominion are in the North Island. It is therefore hardly strange that not a a single representative of the Jersey breed from the North Island was at the Invercargill Royal Show. Again in pigs Auckland, North Auckland Taranaki and Wellington provinces have 500,910 pigs out of a Dominion total of* 660,375. With Cook Strait separating the two islands a Royal show held in the south cannot be national in character so far as cer- j tain breeds are concerned. And it i should definitely not offer "champion- j ships where the breeds concerned cannot be adequately represented. Otherwise great injury to the interests of certain breeds may’ easily result. * * * • The Late Mr. Fulton. The late Mr. Dynes Fulton will be best remembered for the splendid service he rendered the herd-testing movement. Taking charge of this great work at a time when it was difficult to find a director of a co-operative dairy company with sufficient vision to appreciate its possibilities, Mr. Fulton put remarkable energy into the pioneering Qf group .herd-testing as a national movement. Its great,success, for iUis tlie' most successful thing accomplished by the dairy farmers of the Dominion, was mainly due to his great tenacity and capable leadership. The remarkably line system of group herd-testing developed under his leadership will stand as a fitting monument to perpetuate his memory. * * o # High Production. A farmer in the Hautapu district, Mr. W. Stokes, produced last year from his 50-acre grassland farm over 17,0001 b of butter-fat (or 3441 b of fat per acre) and in addition lo grass his 47 cows were fed only hay made on thev farin'. Particulars of this case of high production from grass alone reached Western Australia, and a request, has come for confirmation of the figures. The facts are just as formerly stated. Mr. Stokes has' a good grade herd. Half of the herd was bred by the owner. He has an eye for a good cow but he never buys anything but tested stock. It Is more In the management of the farm and the herd to which his success is due. He was one of the first men In the country to adopt rotational grazing, his farm being subdivided Into 17 fields. And he was always a firm believer in good and balanced fertilisation. He limes his land at the rale of scwt. of lime lo the acre every year, applying iOcwt. to half the farm one year and lOcwt. to the other half the following year. He varies his manurial practice and wisely believes in balanced manuring. Last year ho applied to every acre of the farm lewt. of bonadust, 3cwt. of superphosphate and lewt. of potash. In the autumn two of the. fields received sulphate of ammonia at the rate of j 2cwt. per acre. Mr. Stokes believes i In the thorough and consistent harrowing of Ills pastures and has long practised rotational grazing. He makes his hay early, always In November, and the good resulting hay is the only food his cows gel in the winter in addition io the grass on the two nitrogen treated fields. There is ~little - doubt but that the good liming, generous use of phosphate and the allowance of potash has enabled Mr. Stokes to get maximum production from his grass. It must be mentioned that the personal factor is largely responsible for Mr. Stokes' success. Mrs. Stokes takes a particularly keen interest in the herd and is almost as good a judge of a cow as her husband. A constant watch is kept on the herd and if a oow i is not looking at her best she Is , brought in and given a drench and Is covered, her udder being examined to sec if it Is quite normal. Troubles are thus caught in their very first, : stages, and. in consequence, are easily checked. j On the 50-aere farm four year- 1 lings, a bull, two horses and some pigs are carried as well as the 47 cows. Lust season Mr. Stokes received j Old per lb. for the 17.2fi0.51h. of hulfer-fal supplied to his cheese fae- j lory. He netted t'fifi from pigs. His j total receipts were thus £Bl2 10s. lie |

lias a Government mortgage of £ISOO, for which he pays 5 per cent but half per cent goes in reduction of the capital, and his lime' and fertilisers cost him just on £2 an acre, or £IOO. Thus after his interest and his manure bills he has just on £640 left. ■Mr. and Mrs. Stokes have made a splendid success of dairy farming through their own unaided efforts. By share-milking they were able to save £SOO and they paid this sum down for the purchase of their present farm at £75 an acre, or a capital value of £3750. It was a boom price. But this energetic couple set out to really make the farm their own -while the going was Particularly good. In 10 years they had reduced their mortgages lo a safe Advances lo Settlers loan of £ISOO.

The West Australian enquirers should not take tills case of very successful work as a common experience in New Zealand. It is exceptional, for the great majority of New Zealand dairy farmers cannot make ends meet at present prices. The work of Mr. Stokes, proves, however, the great possibilities of dairying in New Zealand, when the necessary reform takes place at the producing end of the business. ■ ■ * <• * * Where Reform is Needed. In pointing out that the big reform needed in the .dairying industry is at the farm end of the business we have stressed the remarkable fact that the leaders in the Industry, the men { loud in their destructive criticism' of the report of the Dairy Commission, are quite ignoring this fact. The editor of the Live Stock Bulletin, of Sydney, takes exactly the same view. The production of dairy herds, he says, and his remarks apply equally well to New Zealand, runs all the

way from 1201 b. of fat a cow on thousands of farms and 4001 b. (or perhaps 3001 b.) on hundreds of farms. Again, he shows, that the feed cost of producing butter varies all the way from, say, 5d a pound to 2s a pound. This is due, he contends, to a lack of knowledge, whichever way one looks at it. It is ho use blaming England, it is no use blaming the local Government. The trouble lies at the lack of knowledge of the great majority of farmers —not wilful, but a limk all th° same. The Tl „S^ney then goes on lo sayThe""Objective of all boards and councils or commjttees ever put in charge of any part of the industry has always been to raise prices. A worthy objective, no doubt, but an approach to Che'problem from the wrong end. A hopeless approach, in my view, and largely responsible, for our present position. If a manufacturer devoted his attention to producing his goods at the lowest possible cost, his competitors would run him off the market in a very short time. That is what our competitors will do to us if we don’t look'out. They are awake to the fact that world prices are going to remain at a low figure for a long time, and they are determined that they shall be in a position to meet the market without leaning on their fellow taxpayers any further.” * * * * A Good Friend. The Dominion has a rather good friend in Mr. J. Gillard Stapleton, of the British Dairy Farmers’ Association. , Writing to the Scottish Fanner in regard lo dumped foreign butter lie points out that the Ottawa agreements were drafted with the object of encouraging Empire as against foreign trade. Yet, he says, the total imports of Coiitinental butter inlo Britain increased by the colossal figure of 423,000 cwt:, or 23 per cent, In the first six months of this year. He goes on to say that the 15s a cwt. protective duty which Britain Imposes Is useless against the economic devioes to which foreign producers resort in order to flood British markets. Practically all the European dairying countries now assist their producers to export butter at uneconomic prices—most of them by subsidising or by stabilising domestic prices. The situation is ag-

gravated by the imposition of rigid quotas by countries that were formerly considerable importers of butter—e.g., hy Germany, which lias virtually closed her market to the Baltic Stales. Consequently, exporting countries had lo find a way of overcoming the British tariff barrier, and “stabilisation” of domestic prices was found to be the most effectual weapon. Why all Ibis talk about. Empire quotas? Surely, lie says, the first step towards preventing the saturation of liie British market should be a clear warning to foreign countries against persisting in llieir uneconomic Dt’actires. Much has been said about the economic power wielded by buying countries, he concluded, hut when, lie asks, are we going lo learn to apply it? * * * * Moat Export Position. The meal export trade, faced with possible restriction, lias been Hie subject of discussion between leaders of the Governments of New Zealand and Australia. It would bo a relief lo know the trend of the deliberations, and if our politicians are to allow the interests of British investors in the Argentine to be placed

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 world.

before the interests of Empire producers. It is the Argentine or the Empire. One phase of the position that is being overlooked is that Britain is looking to the Empire to absorb 'her surplus population. If the primary industries of the Empire are to be restricted and their development consequently retarded there will be little opportunity for settling British people in Empire countries. Apparently vested interests are more powerful than Imperial sentiment. It is lime, however, lo take a stand and remind the Home 'Government of its duty to countries which have loaded themselves with debt for Imperial safely. The tendency in Australia is to view the matter in this-light. It is to be hoped our leaders may he influenced by the Australian attitude. * * * * Now Poland! The British Government has made another trade agreement with continental producers. This time with Poland, probably exchanging coal for

should be adopted as at Home and making around these huge cocks, q'licse tripods could he made ot heavy manuka slicks. This, of course, means work. In the making of simple cocks the cocks can be easily taken in hy a sweep hut in using tripods the hay has to he taken off these before it can be swept in. It is satisfactory to note that many have taken the precaution with early saved 'hay to cure it well by cocking before carting in. * If we are to have drought conditions this summer those who have plenty of silage will be in a more secure position than those who are depending entirely upon root crops. It pays handsomely to top fields that are getting away before rains are expected. Sufficient use is not made of the mower in the control of pasture and the securing of even growth of grass. * * * * Carotene. The rich colour in milk is due to carotene, a substance first identified In carrots. It is most pronounced when contain carotene but in m'uch smaller amounts. A property of carotene much more important than its coloui has emerged in recent years. - It lias been established beyond doubt that it is capable of being converted in the body into vitamin A and stored in the liver. Vitamin A is a potent factor in growth, and is also known to confer on the body j a certain measure of resistance lo disease. From the point

pork.. Poland promises to be a formidable opponent In the bacon trade. It is spending large sums in establishing pig production on a good basis, and is. now using British and 'Swedish strains of the Large White. And it is prepared to land pig carcases in Britain at any price., 'Poland may also be sending more butter as butter and pigs are about the only things it lias to exchange with Britain for coal and manufactured goods. * * * * Whey'for Silage. It would appear as though the use of whey may be the most economical method of making an improved type of silage, and thereby retaining the food value of the original grass, under 'New Zealand conditions, than either the Finnish system or the use of molasses. According to the annual report of the National Institute for Research in Dairying, Reading, England, experiments with the Finnish system at that Institute in the making of silage from lucerne have been disappointing In their results. But experiments with whey for silage making have been successful. It is well-known that the desirable fermentation in the silage-making process is that*of laclic acid, indeed in the Finnish process lactic acid fermentation is said to be dominant in the final stage. The use of molasses enables lactic acid fermentation to take possession, hut cane sugar is not such a highly efficient producer of lactic acid as is milk sugar, of which the natural fermentation is lactic acid. In the case of cane sugar a certain change has to take place before lactic acid fermentation is set up but with milk sugar the fermentation is direct and natural. While molasses is very effective and given an 'undoubtedly high quality and wellbalanced silage the use of whey would, of course, be much cheaper. * # >:< * Improving Methods. Fortunate are those who cut their grass for silage earlier than usual and got some rain on the aftermath. Bulk appeals lo one but the taller the growth the weaker the condition at the base of the plants and recovery is delayed. With harvesting when the grass is not more than six inches high the bottom growth is more vigorous, thereby ensuring a belter aftermath, while the sward does not suffer any deterioration. Generally speaking more silage was made in October than is usual. A belter quality silage was thereby assured and much *ot‘ the aftermath was stimulated by rainfall, and made good growth before the urn--reasonably hoi weather of November. Haymaking has also been general at a much earlier dale. While a better quality hay has been secured there is a resulting danger'.which lias been overlooked. This is that though the grass looks dry enough there is more sap in it than if the hay were made later on. Greater ran therefore requires lo be taken lo provide against •healing in the slacks. The slacks should lie made on the narrow side. A hotloni. through which the air can circulate, should he provided, such as j a good layer uf manuka. A wise pro- | caution is lo provide for a tunnel [ through the stack hy the use. say, of j hurdles fixed ldp roof fashion. II j has been suggested that to make sure I of curing the hay well and getting ;t I in in u safe condition that tripods

of view of the health of the community, the vitamin A Potency of the milk supply is of paramount importance. Colour and vitamin potency are associated with the butter-fat. When butter is made they acoompany the cream. 'Hence the resultant butter is a concentrated source of the growthpromoting factor. One reason why silage if made well from grass in the leaf stage is so much more valuable than hay for cows in milk is that it retains the oarotene whereas hay does not. Experiments have completely proved that grass, especially if made into silage with molasses, is rich in carotene if made from a crop whose carotene content was originally high. • w * * Soli Surveys. The subject of soil survey is one of great national importance, particularly to a country, such as New Zealand, where agriculture is the chief source of wealth. A proper understanding of the soils must he the basis of all endeavour to ascertain tire phase of agriculture for which the soils are most suited and the methods that should be adopted to enable maximum production to be brought about.

To have the whole of the farms of tile country properly mapped o.ut hy trained men would provide a guide as to the most successful farm management not only to the farmer himself, but to the farm adviser, the experimentalist, and even to the land valuer. There would be no guess work in adopting progressive measures, especially for instance, in carrying out fertiliser experiments. Each of these would be laid out on a single soil type and the results would therefore be applicable to all other areas having that particular soil type. An experimental plot would never be laid out over an area where two or more entirely diflerent soil types adjoined. Nor would the farmer who obtained a good result from fertiliser and management methods on one soil type apply these Lo different soil types on his farm. He would have a soil survey map of his farm and know how to go about the managing of his different soil types, each of which he would study in the light of experiences of others having similar soil types and of his own experience. 'Many people arc attracted by the claim that an analysis of a sample oi soil'will, tell them just what fertiliser Hie soil needs. This claim is discounted by reputed authorities, except, of course, in the case of glaring deficiencies, hut where (here is a soil survey and the exact nature of Hie soil is known, together with tanning experience on soils of that type, then (he soil analysis can he intelligently interpreted. The soil survey is the foundation of all soil knowledge and without, it I lie work of the agricultural scientist and the farmer is •seriously handicapped. Only of quite recent years has soil survey work been placed on a thoroughly sound basis. Indeed, Ihe study of soils has never attained Ihe dignity uf a new branch of science-pedology (from the. Greek pedos, soil). One of the earliest examples ol soil survey was as late as 1872. when Topley described Hie weald of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The soils were, classified according to their geological origin. The Americans, under Whitney, map-

! ped out large areas on a soil texture basis, grouping ; lieli soils as loams, sands, clays etc., (I’o the Russians I belongs the credit of basing Ihe study j of soils in the method now generally | accepted—ttie study of the complete | soi. profile. That is excavating a pit [ and noting the colour, texture and J structure of the various layers com- | prising ttie soil and the sub-soils. The I soil profile ds developed from the parent rocks over which it lays, modified, however, by the influence of climate, drainage and vegetation; these influences increasing with age. Soils vary enormously from the influence of climate, etc. In some heavy soils marked changes only come'in perhaps millions of years but some other soils, such as those of pumice origin, may be altered in a few centuries. Soils are now systematically classified according to the soil profile. A small pit or shaft is dug and the profile studied, the various layers being noted together with any variations or peculiarities of these. Soils with similar sub-soil conditions are grouped into series, these being named from the locality where they are , generally found. Thus the., soils of a “series” (series meaning orderly arrangement) have generally the same range of colour, the same character of sub-soil, the same type of drainage, have a common origin and occur over country of a similar contour. Such a “series” may be named the Taupo series, or the Egmont series. These series are further subdivided according to the texture of the top soil, so we get such types as the Taupo sandy soils and the Taupo saf\ds or the Egmont loams. **• ’ • Work Already Done. The most important work so far done by the officers of the Soil Survey branch of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, who are carrying out'this essential national service, was mapping out on a general scale the volcanic soil series of tlie central North Island. A feature of this work w’as the discovery that bush sickness was liable to occur on any two of the series already mapped. A unique case was that of the soils in the Wairoa district. Where the old pumice shower had fallen on a porous sand tlie soil that developed was much less healthy for sheep than where it had fallen on a more solid base, such as limestone. A detailed farm survey of the Waipa County in the South Auckland district marked the initiation of-what is hoped will he a complete detailed survey of all the farm lands of the Dominion. Then it would be possible . for every farmer to have a soil survey map of his property, a fundamental guide to sound farming practice. . , * * * * Australian Position. Although the New Zealand dairy farmer has to accept a price on his own local market for butter far below the cost of production'the Australian dairy farmer, through an Equalisation Scheme, is getting 142 s a cwt. for butter on the big Australian markets though he is getting only 65s a cwt. for it in England.