Farm Practice and Management

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 60, Issue 4, 15 April 1940, Page 297

Farm Practice and Management

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By

SEE FOR YOURSELF—

A. S. NASH,

Instructor in Agriculture

Rangiora

PUBLICATIONS such as the “Jour--1 nal of Agriculture,” field days conducted' by officers of the Department, shows, crop competitions, and many other activities in rural life have as a motive the advancement of the primary producer. In dairying great improvement in the returns per cow has been achieved with herd testing, but the actual testing would be of little value without the calf-marking schemes to ■ aid the dispersal of the progeny of good strains. Articles written by officers of the Fields Division often appear in these pages describing high-producing farms under systems of topdressing, irrigation, or some other special management. Some readers are capable of profiting from the experiences of others, but, to many lay minds, reading is not sufficient; only by seeing can they believe. Now, more than ever, if production is to be increased, it is essential that only the most efficient methods of farming be employed, and any dissemination of knowledge which will help to bring this about is of great national value. Field Days Field days held on outstanding farms are ■an excellent means of showing to groups of farmers just what can be done by topdressing and the use of good strains of seeds, etc. However, these gatherings contact only small sections of the rural population, and with petrol restrictions and labour problems it may become increasingly difficult to arrange them in the future. Foreseeing this, I have elicited the help of various farmers .in different

parts of my territory. . Photographs and a short description of some special feature on the farm should stimulate the interest of others in the district. For their part, the farmers have agreed to co-operate by showing and giving further details to those who care to call and SEE FOR THEMSELVES. . The opportunity is there. It rests with the individual then to brush aside 1 any feeling of conservatism and to avail himself of the facilities offered. Cheviot About five miles south of Cheviot on the main road the railway line is crossed by an overhead bridge at Nonoti, and some fine pastoral land lies in a basin on the left. At the bottom of the hill on Mr. T. Jackman’s Waipuna estate are three paddocks .worth inspecting. Alongside the road is a

pasture sown in. 1931 with It bushels of. mother seed certified ryegrass. It yielded 50 bushels of seed in the first harvest, now has a good mixture of clovers, and is still a dense sward. Palatability has never been any trouble here. . ' Behind this are 14 acres of Montgomery red clover sown in the spring of 1937 and grazed last year until the first week in November. It was then shut for seed, and yielded 2J bags of certified seed per acre. The nett return from. the 14 acres was more . than £4OO. In addition, grazing was obtained in the previous six months. Alongside the ryegrass is a good field of ten acres of lucerne. Mr. Jackman says: “This is a very profitable corner of my farm.”

Loburn In ' the foothills ‘behind Loburn at Whiterock, Mr. G. Gudex is farming on clay downs, and he is a keen advocate of liming '.together with good strains of pasture plants. He started a

few years ago with three acres . of Montgomery red clover, and he has had several harvests of seed from it. This seed has been used in his pasture mixtures, and some surplus has been sold as certified. His comments on it are

that it is the best type of clover he has come across for his type of : soil, and he is willing to show anybody around. (To be continued.')

—A. S. NASH,

Instructor in

Agriculture, Rangiora.