YOUNG FARMERS’ CLUBS

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 70, Issue 5, 15 May 1945, Page 542

YOUNG FARMERS’ CLUBS

Improvement of Rural Life

Provocative Report by Young Farmers* Club Committee

The following report on “The Development of Moral, Cultural, and Aesthetic Values of Rural Life” has been made by a special committee set up by the Otago-Southland Y.F.C. Council at the request of the Dominion Executive Committee. This report, which is of extreme interest and importance, is published in the hope that it will give rise to comment and criticism, from both within and outside of the Y.F.C. organisation. Correspondence on this matter will be welcomed.

AFTER going fairly exhaustively into this subject of many aspects, the committee has been forced to the conclusion that any movement for the betterment of rural life must, to be successful, come largely from the farming community itself. For instance, any extension of country library services must be preceded by an evident desire, expressed through farming organisations, for more facilities because of the local demand for reading matter. The continued patronage of those facilities should remain as an obligation on the rural community.

Much public-spirited work in an endeavour to improve the lot of the country dweller has in the past been carried out by semi-urban organisations, as well as Governments, but many of these schemes have not met with the success they might have deserved, largely because of the average countryman’s studied disbelief in the soundness of anything which has not emanated from his own brain or farm. As one of many examples which could be quoted, it will be remembered that the introduction of the rural mail system met with obstinate opposition over a long period, whereas motor cars, the buying of which was a question for the individual and not the community, sold like the proverbial hot cakes.

This individualistic outlook, ' whatever its disadvantages both to the individual and to the community, must be taken into account until it has largely disappeared through education, experience and the force of economic and social circumstances. Any district community which cannot combine to better those material

Aim on Unit Farm

amenities which have a definite moral, cultural and aesthetic value scarcely deserves to enjoy them. Indeed, it could almost be said that in such cases the residents possessed no inherent capacity nor ambition to enjoy them —that the peasant-like individualistic inlook was more powerful than the enlightened community outlook.

Responsibility for improving the conditions of rural life should rest, therefore, upon the rural communities themselves. In the purely farming districts, as distinct from those in and around townships where a town board or borough council is operating, the spearheads for any community cultural movement should be such bodies as the local branch of the Farmers’ Union and Young Farmers’ Clubs, and/or the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union and the Women’s Institute. Town boards and county councils can give valuable aid over wider communities where their statutory powers permit.

Greater interest in improving the local conditions of human life, as apart from the strictly economic, should be taken by all farmers’ organisations for on such improvement depends the happiness of families already established, the checking of the drift to the towns, and the provision of adequate farm staffing for the future.

It is felt that the whole question of improving country life should be tackled from its base, which is that of the individual family in possession of a farm. Farms, and the economic circumstances of families and families themselves, differ so widely that only those points more or less common to all can be treated in this general report.

The aim on the unit farm should be to bring about a higher appreciation of farm life by—(a) making work more interesting by robbing it of worry, drudgery, monotony, and physical and mental weariness, (b) reducing the hours of work and making any leisure time attractive, (c) improving the scope for human contacts on and between farms, and

Suggestions

(d), by a combination of the first three objects, leaving the family mind at the end of the working day in a condition fresh enough to desire and appreciate further cultural contacts of a domestic or community nature. If this last-mentioned condition is obtained (and it is fairly obvious that it is often lacking on farms) it will lead to community planning by the people themselves.

The direction which that community planning should take would be a matter for the residents themselves to decide. So many schemes have been propounded that it would serve no purpose to repeat them here. This report concerns itself mainly with suggestions calculated to improve life on the farm and to create a greater demand for such community planning.

To what extent a life of comparative solitude and monotonous work' makes for a negative type of mind is a matter for conjecture by psychologists, but an individualistic and negative state of mind is undoubtedly a feature of the older section of the farming community. A psychologist might even claim that the frequent complaints about the drudgery and long hours of farming issuing from Farmers’ Union meetings and other gatherings is an inevitable result of solitude and monotony on the farm. However that may be, the most important step in bringing about more happiness on the farm is for farmers to guard against a closed mind and to concentrate on positive and even imaginative thinking.

The state of mind, concerning which a whole volume could be written, is of first importance. It should be above the urgent necessity to get rich quick or the fear of bankruptcy, both of which are negative and tend to cause the farm to own the farmer, instead of vice versa. A philosopher might with some justice claim that it were better to go bankrupt gloriously than become the -cringing, fearful servant of that of which the soul of man should be master.

Following are a few self-explanatory suggestions . which may tend to make life on the farm, in and out of working time, more endurable for the whole family and the hired man: — (1) The right "approach to farming as an interesting adventure for the observant. (2) Have the courage to experiment. Dare to be a Daniel, though the lions may rage! (3) The necessity to strip cows after machine-milking can be obviated without loss of yield if due care is taken. (4) Where a hired hand is employed, milking on the shift system has possibilities for a less tiring day.

(5) Semaphore signalling can be learned in one interesting eveningFlags are unnecessary. Its use may save tempers and many working hours annually in travelon small farms for forgotten tools, etc., and on stations during mustering. (6) Home Guardsmen have used the wires of fences for telephonic communication over many miles. There are possibilities here for peacetime adaptation. (7) Radio sets and headphones on tractors keep monotony from the mind. In factories radio programmes have been proved to increase output. (8) A fish-tail silencer on an extension pipe from the tractor makes for better tempers and the keeping of poisonous fumes away from the driver. (A silencer does not decrease the drawing power of a tractor, though it makes for more carbon formation). (9) Equipping of a tractor with a self-starter is the answer to the prayer of the man who wishes to start the day (and the tractor) in a good temper. (10) A hood, preferably of the folding type, round the tractor-driver’s seat keeps tempers equable in bitter weather, and may considerably increase the number of hours which the tractor-driver works on the machine annually. (11) Arranging for contractors or machinery pools with modern equipment to carry out such seasonal jobs as baling hay, heading grain, lifting potatoes, and shearing and binning of wool, instead of the individual farmer tackling them by laborious old-time methods lessens labour worries, increases the amount of crop which can be grown, and in cases may cheapen production. (12) Hard cash is no more important or powerful than the potential cash represented by stock on the farm. Payment of regular wages to working sons and daughters is essential for the development of their personality and independence, and in some cases for their retention on the • farm. Other encouragements to youth are personal ownership of such livestock as calves, pigs, or a horse, and membership of a Young Farmers’ Club. Purchase of a second-hand typewriter by the farmer may lead to all his correspondence being gladly done for him by the rest of the family (it is considered that farmers lose, or stand to lose, much money and many opportunities through delays in writing). (13) Much of the physical (and mental) tiredness after a day’s work is due to the continual use of one set of physical (and mental) muscles. Expert advice as to methods of counteracting this by such exercises as stretching and the temporary use of

other sets of muscles in the evenings is always available. (14) The happiest farmer is he who allows his sense of humour to become increasingly developed and who perhaps accomplishes more by not taking his work too seriously and mixing it as far as possible with pleasure. For instance, he or his family or hired man may not aspire to golf.championship status, but they will derive much physical relaxation and mental concentration through an old golf club and a ball while going round the sheep or out to the day’s work on the tractor. It is quite as interesting as

Welcome Bay Club's Field Bay By A. G. TALBOT, Hon. Secretary, Welcome Bay Y.F.C. A PLEASANT and instructive field ** day was recently staged by the Welcome Eay Young Farmers’ Club on Mr. K. Bennett’s farm at Papamoa, there being a very good attendance. During the morning the party inspected a very even line of yearling Jersey bulls, several sires of the herd, and a good line of heifers. Following this, an enjoyable half-hour was spent on the verandah of the homestead, where lunch was served by Mrs. Bennett and several friends. In the afternoon the visitors inspected Mr. Bennett’s fine herd of 70 Jersey cows. Later, four cows from the herd were tethered to a fence, and the club members were given the opportunity to judge them. The judging was carried out in two classes, junior and senior, a small prize to be awarded to the winners of each class. After 40 minutes all cards were handed in and Mr. Bennett judged the cows and placed them, pointing out the good points and faults. Mr. Bennett has since judged the cards, and the results are as —Juniors: R. Evans, 1; L. Aitken, 2; G. Phillips, 3. Seniors: A. B. Mossop, 1; J. R. Wright, 2; A. G. Talbot, 3. After the judging competition was concluded a line of very fine calves was inspected, the evenness of the stock being again demonstrated by these animals. Of further interest was a demonstration with a post-hole auger given by Mr. J. C. Hammond. During afternoon tea a vote of thanks was moved by the club chairman, J. R. Wright, to the ladies who had so willingly supplied lunch and afternoon tea, and a vote of thanks to Mr. Bennett for the very capable manner in which the field day had been conducted and also for the use of his

carrying a gun in. rabbit country, and even if by the end of the year half the livestock have lost one eye the farmer may still feel that he and his hired man have had a great golfing season! (15) Well laid-out surroundings of a home, along with a vegetable garden, pay big dividends in contentment and health, and may constitute a major argument in the price at which the property may be sold, especially in cases where a woman’s voice carries weight with her purchasing husband.

farm and stock. Mr. Bennett suitably replied, and expressed the hope that a further field day would be conducted on his property. next season. Whirinaki Y.F.C. By GEO. WYNYABD, Hon. Secretary, Whirinaki Y.F.C. THE Whirinaki Club was formed about a year ago among the Maori youths in the Hokianga district, North Auckland, and has had a most successful year. The Whirinaki Y.F.C. tree nursery, sown last October, is coming away splendidly, 'arid the trees should be ready to transplant during the coming winter. The club, combined with the Women’s Institute, held a fruit, flower and vegetable show on February 27. This show was a great success, there being quite a number of exhibits entered by both pakeha and Maori competitors. A merry-go-round was engaged for .the benefit of the children. The club catered for the crowd by providing a tea-room, a “hangi” and an ice cream stall, and everyone thoroughly , enjoyed the day. From a financial point of view the show was also a great success, netting a profit of £33 16s. 6d., to be divided between the Whirinaki Women’s Institute and the Young Farmers’ Club. A fishing trip on the Hokianga Harbour has been arranged, and all members are looking forward to a good day’s sport with the well-known Hokianga schnapper. The annual meeting of the club will be held shortly, when a review of the year’s activities will be . discussed. Gestation Table Mares . . 340 days from date of service Cows .. 283 ” ” ” ” ” Ewes .. 150 ” ” ” ” ” Sows .. 116 ” , Bitches . 63 ” Rabbits 28-30

Wanganui Inter-club Sports Meeting By MALCOLM F. GRAY, Hon. Secretary, Marton Y.F.C.

THE first inter-club sports meeting in the Wanganui district was held at Rata Sports recently. Unfortunately, only two clubs participated, Hunterville and Marton, and consequently the competition lacked some of the interest it might otherwise have had. Nevertheless, some very keen races were run and though Marton had an easy win, Hunterville were by no means downhearted. On the contrary, they have challenged Marton to a football match and have good prospects of a - win.

It is hoped that in future this sports meeting will be an annual fixture, especially as Mr. E. Pickford, Rata, has generously donated a challenge cup, which, it has been suggested, should be . a memorial to young farmers from the Wanganui district who have lost their lives in the war. The sponsors of the sports meeting are greatly indebted to Mr. .A. H. Rhodes for the use of his property and also to the Rata Sports Committee, for their co-operation. Thanks are also due to those who supplied equipment and acted as officials. A donation by Mr. W. H. Coles, Marton, of specially printed cards to be issued to the winners of the various events is also, gratefully acknowledged.

All the events, with the exception of the high jump, took place in a paddock adjacent to that where the main sports were held. The grass was rather long, which made the track slow. The day was fine, but with a strong and at times chilly wind blowing straight across the field. For these and other reasons, no records were broken. However, the meeting proved most enjoyable and augured well for future ■ occasions. Members of the two clubs are thanked for coming early to mark out the course.

The officials were: —Starter, Mr. H. A. Moss; timekeeper, Mr. W. H. Coles; judges (track events), Messrs. H. G. Stewart and J. Bartlett; (jumps), Messrs. W. H. Coles, H. G. Stewart, G. R. Gower, ! J. Bartlett, . and M. Hen wood.

• The following events were run: — Track, 100yds., 220yds., 880yds., and 1 mile; field events, long jump, high jump, and hop, step and jump. In future it .is intended to start earlier and include putting the shot, a tug-o-war and a mile relay race consisting of a 440, two 220’s and an 880. It has also been suggested that no member may enter for more than two track events, but may enter any number of field events. Clubs will also be limited to the number of competitors

they may enter for each' event, but this will largely depend upon how many are present. The following are the results, (M) signifying Marton and (H) * Hunterville:— 100yds.—V. Stantiall (M), 1; M. Whale, (M), T. Goldsmith (M), 3. Time, 11 sec. 880yds.—K. Coles (M), 1; M. Gray (M), 2; J. Taylor (H), 3. Time, 2 min. 27 sec.

Reports on Club Activities

WESTERN SOUTHLAND Orepuki.— Annual meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. H. J. Townshend; chairman, D. McPherson; secretary and treasurer, J. D. Young. Twenty-seven members present at the meeting. MID -CANTERBURY Ashburton.— Discussion on visit to Canterbury Frozen Meat Co.’s works. Short talks by members, as follows: L. Langdon (“Making of Concrete Posts”) and F. Greenslade (“Irrigation”). An instructive lecture on “Irrigation” was given by Mr. G. G. Calder, Department of Agriculture. The full club membership of 22 present. Methven Annual meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. R. J. Low; chairman, G. Limbrick; vice-chairman, W. Hart; secretary, S. Callaghan; assistant secretary, A. Grigg; treasurer, S. Mangin. One new member elected. S. McKay, delegate to the local Farmers’ Union, gave a report on a recent meeting of that body; W. Hart reported on the last A. and P. Association meeting in connection with the stock-judging competition to be held at the Methven Show. Attendance of 25 members. NORTH CANTERBURY Scargill-Omihi -Annual meeting. ..Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. J. Sloss; advisory members, Messrs. .W. H. Brown and A. E. Hunt; chairman, H. N. Munro; secretary and treasurer,. H. F. Symonds. Sixteen members present out of 29. MARLBOROUGH Flaxbourne. Annual meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. W. S. Morrin; chairman, J. J. Forsyth; secretary and treasurer, E. F. Rudd. Fourteen members present. WAIRARAPA Alf red ton Annual meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. A. A. Napier; chairman, A. Heckler; secretary and treasurer, R. W. Seymour. . Carterton Annual meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr.' E. T. Bliss; advisory members, Messrs. 11. McKenzie and W. B. Campin; chairman, J. Rose; secretary, F. Playle; treasurer, D. Basset. Teams selected for club debate at next meeting, (a) D. Basset, F. Playle, and T. Fell; (b) B. Card, R. Riley, and J. Jones. Two new members enrolled. Decided to donate 10/- to the A. and P. Society. Seventeen members in attendance. • '

220yds.— Stantiall (M), 1; M. Whale (M), 2; T. Goldsmith (M), 3. Time, 24 sec. One mile. Coles (M), 1; H. England (H), 2; A. Dickey (M), 3. Time, 5 min. 57 sec. - Long jump.M. Whale (M), 1; V. Stantiall (M), 2; A. Bostock (M), 3. Distance, 17ft. lin. • Hop, step, and jump. —V. Stantiall (M), 1; K. Coles (M), 2; T. Goldsmith (M), 3. Distance, 39ft. 4in. - High jump. H. England (H), 1; V. Stantiall - (M), 2; K. Coles (M), 3. Height, sft. 2in. Marton won the competition with a total of 54 points.

MANAWATU Apiti.—Annual meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. H. 0. Mclntyre; chairman, P. R. McKay; secretary and treasurer, R. L. Nicholson. Nineteen members present. Bunnythorpe.— meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. .J. Linklater; advisory members, Messrs. A. I'. McKenzie, A. J. Galpin, H. J. E. Gunn, H. Robson, and R. Stewart; chairman, Trevor Hyde; vice-chair-man, S. C. Anderson; secretary, Macgregor Donald; assistant secretary, John O’Brien; club reporter, R. E. Clevely. Five new members enrolled. Decided to place an order with the Wellington Council for a Roll of Honour plaque. Discussion on the subject matter for a proposed radio talk by club members from 2ZA, Palmerston North. Mr. S. G. Avery, chairman of the Wellington Council, and vice-president of the federation, was present, and gave an address on the “Activities of the Y.F.C. Movement in New Zealand.” There was an attendance of 18 members. < Kairanga.— club has recently resumed activities, after having been in recess for over three years. Twenty-four members were enrolled at the “revival” meeting, and officers were elected as. follows: Advisory president, Mr. N. P. Neilsen;,chairman, N. Wilson; secretary, B. Neill; treasurer, T. Zurcher. This club was one of the most active in the Manawatu before the war, and we are pleased to welcome it back to the fold. With any luck at all its membership should be doubled before the year is over. Orona Downs.— Annual meeting. Officers elected Advisory president, Mr. R. Craig; chairman, R. Shailer; secretary and treasurer, W.' Christensen. Lecture by Mr. Johnson, Department of Agriculture, on “Beekeeping.” Eighteen members present but of 21. At the following meeting arrangements were finalised for a club dance, and a lecture on “Poultrykeeping” was given by Mr. F. W. Marchant. Five new members enrolled; 25 present out of 26. Hongotea Annual meeting. Officers elected: Advisory president, Mr. R. 0. Gloyn,; chairman, R. W. T. Hill; secretary and treasurer, C. A. Hall. A series of . interesting movie films on Jersey cattle, and also travel scenes, were exhibited by Mr. G. Dawick, secretary of the N.Z. Jersey Cattle Breeders’ Association. There was a full muster of 32 members. WANGANUI Mangaweka. Annual meeting. Officers elected Advisory . president, Mr. C. W. Dickson; chairman, N. D. Weston; secretary and treasurer, J. R. Dalrymple. There were 10 members present.