THE WAIKATO FARMER

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19899, 30 May 1936, Page 27 (Supplement)

THE WAIKATO FARMER

.EDITED BV O. E. CUMING.

Critical Veer. . Undoubtedly this is a critical year far as our export trade with Bri—is concerned. There are no less an 10 trade agreements Britain has ads with foreign countries which e lapsing before the end of the year, it upon the terms of the new agreF‘ ants much will depend. It is the qreements with the Argentine (ternstins in November) and Denmark I(terminating in June) that are the Inost important. _ - The Argentine has been treated most Isnerousty by Britain. but the Argentine has not reciprocated as she might hove done. In the agreement with the Argentine Britain pledEEd‘ltseli not to Impose n tarifl on-meat, agreed that quantitivo restriction should only be applied it it were necessary to securei n remunerative price in the British‘ market, that mem‘ so reduced shouhl not be replaced by importations from other Sources (except experimental bhipmen'te o: chilled beef from the Dominions): and that any reduction in excess of 10 per cent should apply also to drilled and frozen meat from Empire countries. On its part. the Ar—gentine promised benevolent treatment of undertakings financed by British capital andiaoilitles for making the‘ trade balances available for paying debts to Britain. But British investorl he.” bitterly complained that some of these provisions have not been obierved, and that vast sums due to them have not been paid. And Argentine. not/Withstandlng Britain's generous trestment. has purchased less from Britain since the Agreement was’ made than she did before. In the three years before tl.e agreement Argentina's purchases from Britain averaged a little below “7.000.000. and in the three years or the agreement they have averaged less than in million. in the three years before the agreement came into force Britain‘s pur—chases from the Argentine were valued at over £SO millions each year; in the three years since the agreement was made they have averaged 245.237.21i0. The total trade balance against Britain during the three years of thc agreement amounted to £6l millions. Every year Britain buys more from the Arcentins than she does from any other country with the exception of the United States (from which she gets heavy supplies of raw cotton) but Mrgentine in ninth on the. List or Britain's best customers. Britain actually sells more to Germany and France than she does to the Argentine. ‘ ’0 e e e Denmark's Position. , Denmark has made nearly as pool' a response as has the .\rgvniine to British generosity. In the last full year before the agreement operated. from June. 1932, to June. 1933. lirj—nin's purchases from Denmark were wlued at 237,886,375 and her sales to Denmark “0.700.860. From June, 1933. until November, 1933. Britain‘s purchases were at the rate or £32,185.398 a year and her sales £13.Wt. 516 a year. From the beginning

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

of the agreement until the end of‘ i93§ .tlfiv’trade balance in; Denmark‘s! favour was 258,293,792. while Den-l mark‘s trade with Britain thus shows; a heavy balance in ‘her iavour, thoi contrary is the case in reéard to herl trade with Germany, the mined States, | Sweden and most other foreign coun—i tries. Recently Denmark arranged ad- i diiional trade with Germany on a titty-my basis. ' l o o o 3. . Industry Supporting Agriculture. It is satisfactory to know that industrial leaders in Britain are now supporting agricultural leaders in a demand that the existing trade agree—l ments -with foreign counkries shonldl not be renewed. Also that. .1 good iziriif he placed on foreign foodstuffs, “with Iconsiderable Empire prefer—‘cnref‘ But \\‘liy any duty on Empire. tproduce at all? , - n- e o o t Japanese Butter. Australian authorities refuse to be lieve that Japanese butth is likely to. be a menace. The Australian Minister in Charge of Trade Treaties. Sir Henry Gullett, says he has personal know—ledge of Japan, and the possibility of‘ that country seriously competingi against Australia and New Zealand: with butter is remote. A Japanesei .merchant in Brisbane said ‘he was} puzzled by the report. as he says Japan . ,does not produce enough butter forj home consumption. But: another Japanese. member of a Japanese firm in Melbourne who was recently in Japan. says Japan. by the aid of ‘ Danish experts, is developing tropidly the business of butter yproduction, also of margcrine. principally from the soya bean. Owing to the amount. or butter being made less butter is being imported. The main district, 'where butter is being made very much resembles Denmark as to climate. Production of butter in Japan in 193?. (the latest figures available) was $000,000“). An Australian dairy ex—port is reported to have made an ex—amination of the Japanese shipment. According to him the butter has a flav— I our like that of the Australian and New Zealand article; but he. too. believes that the Japanese output will not be a serious menace. ,The con—signees are said to have stated that it. is some of the finest butter they have handled. it o o o . Mineral Matter. The thoroughbred stock of Lord Astor is being given great prominence in English papers at the present. time. One of his horses is the favourite for the English Derby. and it is being pointed out that horses he has bred have on five occasions ran second in the great English rare. They are said to be remarkable for the quality of their bone. New it is interesting that when the great theory was discovered and proved that it was the mineral matter in grass (disclosed by an anaalyst of the ash of the grass) that determined its value as a food for animals it was the grass on Lord Astor‘s Estate that was found to contain in its . ash a high per centage of phosphate land iimm and probably potash and Isome other minerals had the analyst lbeen more keen. In the proper paeturrs. as opposed to Lord Astor‘s and on which stock 'would not fatten. the ash contained a very low per centage of minerals. This classic investigation. directed mainly by the Rowett Institue. was regarded as Inuite settling the matter or paSturc quality. but still in this country quantity in posture is re—lgnriicrl as of more importance than quniii)‘.

New or“. Gospel. That great Empire grassland author—ity. Professor R. G. Stapledon, of Wales. the man who was really the originator of' our certified rye-grass work, is preaching a new gospel of grassland procedure. This is the scrapping of permanent pasture on the better-class land and the use of tem—porary leys. _‘ Professor Stapledon 'refers to the pastures of Britain as “our immense and only partially tapped resources," and the production of the most. effective type of pasture all over the eouutryhe regards as the most important agricultural issue that faces the nation and the farmer to-day. \Vould thatnve had a Professor Stapledon in New Zealand, and it would lhnndsomeiyr pay the country, no mat—ter what the cost, to obtain the ser—ivit‘es of such an authority, if only for a few years. to establish the right type of grassland farming for this country. . Speaking of the need to Britain of improved grassland Professor Staple—don says: “In the production of fresh food, grass matters enormously. for meat. milk. and, nowadays, eggs as well. are predominantly grass. If it can be shown that permanent grass is lless effective than temporary grass in lihe production of the foodstuffs, the 'nation most requires in time of peace. lthen our huge acreage of permanent grass (a definite danger in time of {war} would bear witness to nationall ifolly of the first magnitude." i i Professor stapledon advises that i use of Italian rye mainly for the temIporary leys but advises for longer i leys perennial rye-grass and New Zeailand certified white clover. which he isays is large leeved and highly pro‘ductive for two years. Probably in New Zealand the white clover need i not be sown as white clover comes in Ewell enough as a volunteer, as when l sown it is apt to take possession. or lat least, occupy too much space in I the sward. i An important. view is enunciated by fi’rofessor Stapledon in the following ‘statement:—-“ It is a mistake to try and get early and late grass on the same field by mixing the early com—mercial strains and the latter persistent strains in the same mixture; the former will tend to choke out the latterl The leafy persistent rye-grass ‘ would be chiefly relied upon, but on in proportion of the fields the leafy persistent cockfoot should be made to predominate in order to provide abundant autumn grass, and as a safeguard against dnou'gthty years.“ I This is confirmation of a view express—- ] ed by other grassland authorities that lspecial grasses should be grown on leertain fields. For instance, instead :of using the paspaium with the rye rand clover the paspaium should be cultivated in a special field, together with some rye and clover. As a broad generalisation Professor iStepledon says that nearly all grass 3 is too permanent after it is seven years old. A complete re-aeration of the soil and breaking up of the pot—bound condition is then indicated. while swards which are excessively knit and I dense are not the most productive. i liere are the final words of advice ’to Britain by the great grassland authority: “Speed the plough and i keep the maximum posible acreage of ’Great. Britain in a clean. fertile. l healthy and ploughable condition‘ That is what. a wise nation would demand of i its statesmen and 'what its statesmen in turn would make conditional on every form of State aid to the farmer.“ . O t 0 Applying Fertilisers. Time and again one sees ~ sheer nvaste of fertiliser by wrongful method of application. To apply the manure to long or matted grass, especially in a wet. time. means that they can never reach the soil in their original fine state of division, and consequently to a large extent. their value is lost. The fertiliser should come in close con—tact with the soil and be evenly spread over it. An application of .3ch of fertiliser per acre is about 102. to the square yard, and many a time this 102. of fertiliser sprinkled over a square yard of turf is expected to: work its way down through about. 1: inches of solid matted turf before it‘ can reach the soil, and then the ter—tiliser is blamed for not. giving a rip—cent result, Before any fertiliser is‘ applied the grass simuhi he short. l either by grazing or mowing. not that ‘it should be absolutely punished and: eaten to the roots. and then the field‘ should be harronved. preferably with a clean-cutting penetrating il.‘l|‘l‘n\\‘.i 'l'he harrowing is specially necessary where the grass is mailed. Here [he I ordinary spiked harrovv may he used, even if it does tear out some press. a e t a Special Hay Value. lu an excellent mhlrcss he rm‘t‘uil)‘ gave over the air )ii' Hen, ilnii‘m'i u-mplmsisml the grow value «if :1 :_mmli tiny supply especially in .\l‘.‘i§v|ll> Hi'i I‘uuit Ki'nmlh of pus-lure. and this iui imiil slump null vuitlv. iiu Dilillit‘il villi lunt ilit' {l‘l‘llillg‘ or ;:n1l(l i'nnA-ns of hay in lmga'eis this autumn Would have helped to rounlcrart the hostel mortality that appears likely to be ex»

perienced in some districts this year,! due to the sheep being compelled to! feed solely on lush autumn pasturage.| lie contended also that it would yet? be shown that the greater use of hey. 'i‘ and in some cases of ensilage, would} be found to be 'of considerable value 1. in minimising losses from bloat ing; cattle and taint in lcream. l. n t c o 'l - l Grassland Management. l It may be safely said that 75 per! cent of the improvement which mayl he brought about ln'a poor pasture: can be attributed to management and the remaining '25. per cent to those things which may sometimes be used as excuses for bad management—tertllisers. Of course the correct use on balanced fertilisers is a most import—l ant part of good farming but with the ‘ more extended use of fertilisers grassland management has been received ‘the attention it should, too much reliance being placed on the fertiliser. The full result from fertiliser will only be obtained where it is combined with good management. One or the best statements .'we have read on grassland management was that or A. W'. Ling, 11.50., N.D.A.. of the University of Bristol. Here are some of the valuable points he makes:—

Any intensive system of grassland management tends to reduce the number of weeds, and the value of some rough grazing to be used, in conjunc—tion with the intensive grass, has been proved by experiments carried out in the Pristol Province.

Generally speaking, it is desirable to use the same fields 'for mowing each year. It a grazing fleld becomes‘ \\‘eedy it may be saved for hay to be out early. and the aftermath grazed hard. It is a bad practice to mow the same field every year without manuring. The occasional grazing oi: a mowing field will encourage the development of the finer grasses. The mowing machine should be used on all rough patches. Hard grazing in the spring and moderate grazing during the rest of the season will result in a olovery award. Light grazing in the spring and moderates razing during the rest of the season will result in a grassy swat-cl. Uniform rotational grazing will result in a mixed sward. Hard 'winter graz—ing and 'under grazing in summer encourages the growth of weeds. Short, leafy grass is highly nutriv tlous (the more frequently grazed the more leafy it becomes), the more leafy, the more nutritious. Hard grazing improves the feeding value of poor pastures, such as Yorkshire fog. Do not graze hard in summer or time of drought. _Graze fields in rotation, and do not allow cattle to wander over them haphazardly. The sub—division of certain large fields will often improve the award. Gut hay earlier than usual, the less the weight the better the value. A week‘s delay in cutting hay means a great increase in fibre. Aftermath grazed hard after hay is off means less material but better feeding \‘alue. Appropriate and balanced manuring is essential. The ideal herbage plant is one that will produce large hay crops and leafy grazing pasture. So far this dual plant has not been produced.

There are many points in the above advice that New Zealand farmers have proved to be absolutely sound. There is, for instance. the value of some rough grazing, or better still. the provision of some good hay for all sea—sons of lueious growth, or where this is not available rationing the reows on the good grass and then giving them a run on rougher grass. In this connection the Hewett Research Institute carried out an interesting experiment. It. divided a herd in two. One half or the herd was allowed to remain on the good grass all the time. The other half were grazed on the good grass for an hour and a—holf in the morning and for the same time in the afternoon. The rest of the time they had grazing on some rough fields. And the. year's result was greatly in favour of the cows that had the rough—age as well as the good grass, and, of course. in their case the good grass i went very much further. It was true ‘ economy combined with a much ‘ higher return. ‘ New Zealand 'cxpcrience is defl—nitely proving the value of the short grass, as well as the great importance or cutting the hay earlier, not only to give a better quality hay but to en—sure a much better aftermath. The ideal pasture plant Mr Ling refers to has not yet come, but probably no country has a better -roml)ination oft pasture plants than the greater area of the North lslan-d posseSSrs in rye,t [inspalum and clover. And it is in the} effective management of this that pre- 1 scnts one of our major pasture prob-i toms. a: a: I: :- Tho Clydesdale World. , Clydesdale lu‘nmlors throughout. New Zrulanr‘l will regret, to hear ofi the death or the famous ]u‘ccdrr, .\ir \\‘illium ltunlnp. whose place at Dun—urr' .\iains, :\yr. was famous for some; of the thirst lilyllosdales ever tired} .\ir llunlnii sturtml his sllui with :15 .\irn and (lam that cost. him the host} part of 2000 puinrns, ant] (luring the. llrst. .'lO years of the prrsrni centiir)" lm lirwl (‘lmnunun after rluunpinu. } ln Iln- same issue of Ilu- ilonm paprr that I'Hllllllllx’ iln‘ nlmvr- unnuunu'mnv‘ni ': ii is .\tulmi Ilmt iln‘rt' is :1 mild ]Iuolll: in IZHllvsnlaln-s in .\‘rutlnnll. Mun)"; hrnwrs haw given up tiu‘ brooding‘ or llnrmm‘ ”\\illg In tliv‘ Ilium) human :1! ! inulinn «Ir lulur on farm the xlisvaw‘l

known as “grass sin'liucs‘s." .\s :1 r - sulL lllv host class 01' weighty gold—-ing-s lll'l‘ svlling at. £53 10 £3O. Quill: :1 number of Belgium horses have lumn sulxl in Sl'ullunvl uml llll‘y lmvv" luwn making; from £3?) ln £7O. 'l‘lu‘ lil‘lKllllllS zu'v munl \\‘m'lwrs 11111. Ilu'y hmn not [he Mayinx lumm' of NW ChllurllulOß 11, ls Pxpl‘L'lvd llml l-hls )‘(‘Xll"s mm» M tllydosdilll- l‘uuls in sl-nlland will be the heaviest fur sc‘roral years.