Dairying on Canterbury Light Land with Aid of Irrigation

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 84, Issue 3, 15 March 1952, Page 225

Dairying on Canterbury Light Land with Aid of Irrigation

THE carrying capacity of a great deal of the light land in Canterbury varies between ewe and IJ ewes per acre. It will readily be seen, therefore, that such land is totally unsuitable for dairying. At best it could perhaps carry about I cow to every 5 acres and even then there would probably be occasional feed shortages. Could the application of irrigation make this light sheep country suitable for dairying? To obtain information on this point a dairy farm was established by the Department of Agriculture on light land at the Winchmore Irrigation Research Station 5 years ago. This article by G. K. McPherson, Irrigation Research Officer, Department of Agriculture, Ashburton, describes the development of the farm and the results so far obtained.

CANTERBURY has never been regarded as a dairying province. The climate and the soil types generally are considered more suited to a combination of cropping and sheep farming. Some dairying is carried on, however, in localities more favourable to this type of farming. On Banks Peninsula and in the Temuka district, for example, there are 11 small cheese factories with a total output of approximately 2500 tons annually. There are also five butter factories in the province, with a combined annual output of about 3500 tons.

The cream for the butter factories comes mainly from mixed farmers who milk a few cows as a sideline. In fact most of the suppliers milk fewer than 10 cows each and a great many of them milk fewer than 4 cows. The few real dairy farmers supplying butter factories—those whose main source of income is derived from dairy products —are confined largely to the heavy land bordering the rivers or to the higher-rainfall belt along the foothills. With dairying in the province confined mainly to those areas where alternative types of farming would not prove successful, it is only natural that there would be doubts about the wisdom of establishing a dairy farm on light land even with irrigation available.

The idea that a dairy farm should be established at the Winchmore Irrigation Research Station came originally from the Ashburton Rehabilitation Committee. The committee’s view was that if the venture proved successful, it would indicate another means of settling returned soldiers on the land. To many at the time the thought of establishing a dairy farm on light land, even with the use of irrigation, seemed almost fantastic. Their view no doubt was that as dairying was not regarded as suitable for the heavy land in the province, it could not be a success on the light land.

However, a decision to establish a dairy farm of 150 acres was made toward the end of 1946. Naturally, if it was to serve the purpose intended, that is to prove a method of assisting the settlement of returned soldiers, the farm would have to be developed rapidly. How much butterfat per acre could it produce? Was it possible to grow sufficient winter feed for the

stock? Could replacement stock be reared on the farm? How much lime and superphosphate was necessary for topdressing? What stock diseases were likely to be encountered and what returns were likely to be expected from pigs? The policy on the farm has been one of rapid development to find an answer to these important questions, and many others, as quickly as possible. Development At the time the property was acquired approximately half the farm had been border diked and sown down in good permanent pasture by the Department of Lands and Survey. The remainder was in crop or old browntop pasture. There were no buildings on the block and very little subdivision fencing had been carried out. The water supply was in a stock water race of about 30 chains along one boundary fence. Land Preparation for Irrigation Of the 150 acres comprising the farm, about 120 acres have been prepared for irrigation by , the border-dike method. The remainder of the farm is not suitable for border diking, but it receives some water by the wildflooding method. The border diking was carried out by the Ministry of Works and the installation of head gates and junction blocks by the farm staff. Subdivision and Buildings Subdivision has been carried out to give paddocks of approximately 8 acres each. The ultimate aim is to milk a herd of 80 cows, and this subdivision will give a grazing rate of 10 cows per acre. A race approximately a. chain wide runs through the centre of the farm and most paddocks are connected to this control race.

One of the first jobs was the provision of essential buildings. Two houses, an internal-race cowshed with a 4-cow plant, a calf shed, and an implement, fertiliser, and tool shed were erected. Later a modern piggery was constructed with suitable outdoor pens and recently a Dutch barn capable of holding 3000 bales of hay was built. Water Supply From the 30 chains of stock water race which ran along one boundary fence when the property was acquired it was not possible to reticulate to every paddock on the farm, so an underground tank of 4000 gallons capacity and fed from the stock water race was constructed. A pressure pump was also installed by which water was pumped through fin. and jin. galvanised piping to concrete troughs in each paddock. Sewerage With the land almost flat the disposal of the. sewage from the cowshed was a problem. A concrete tank was installed from which the sewage is pumped by a sludge pump into an irrigation ditch from where it is eventually spread over the land. Freezer Installed Because of the high temperature of the water during summer, a water cooler was found unsatisfactory for cooling the cream. A freezer capable of holding eight 10-gallon cans of cream was therefore installed in the dairy. Cream is transferred to the cooler on completion of each milking. Establishment of Pastures By far the greater portion of the farm has been sown down; to permanent pasture with the following mixture:

lb. per acre Perennial ryegrass 30 Cocksfoot 5 Timothy 4 Dogstail 1 White clover 2 Montgomery red clover 2 Some 30 acres were sown in a semipermanent mixture as follows: 1 lb. per acre Short-rotation ryegrass 30 White clover 2 Montgomery red clover 2 The remainder of the farm, comprising mainly the area not suitable for border diking, was sown with 121 b. of cocksfoot and 21b. of subterranean clover per acre. The method of sowing was to broadcast all the seed on a rolled surface and cover it with light harrows. In most cases 2cwt. of superphosphate per acre was applied at the time of sowing. One ton of lime per acre was also applied either on the cultivated ground or on the established pasture.

Development of Pastures The manner and speed with which the pastures have developed under cattle grazing have exceeded all expectations. For the first 18 months or so the application of water tended to produce a clover-dominant sward. From then on, however, the grasses asserted themselves and a good, balanced, high - producing pasture resulted. The inclusion of cocksfoot, timothy, and crested dogstail in the mixture appears to have been justified. Recently the production from one of the permanent swards was measured over a 12-month period and a total of 93101 b. of dry matter per acre was recorded. This compares very favourably with the production of a good Waikato pasture. The essential difference between a North Island dairying Sire and an irrigated pasture on Canterbury land lies in the lower winter and early-spring production of the latter. Under the cold conditions prevailing in Canterbury grass growth

from the middle of May till the middle o f September is practically negligible. On the other hand, with irrigation available a drop in production, such as occurs in drought periods in the North Island, can be avoided, and this is reflected in the butterfat returns. - The semi-permanent pastures of short-rotation ryegrass and clovers have proved very valuable, not only f or grazing but also for the production o f out-of-season grass, which will be discussed more fully later, ™ , . Topdressing Superphosphate has been the only fertiliser used for topdressing. Half the farm has been topdressed in autumn with 2cwt. of superphosphate per acre and the remainder in spring with a similar quantity. Apart from the initial application, scwt. per acre of lime has also been applied over half the farm annually and lOcwt. per acre over a quarter of the farm annually, The total quantity of lime applied over the last 4 years now varies between

2 tons and 2| tons per acre. These applications have raised the pH of the soil to about 6.1, and it is not intended to apply any further lime in the meantime, as this figure is considered ideal for pasture growth. Irrigation Water is available for irrigation from the beginning of September until the end of April, and to give some indication of the quantity of water required to maintain sufficient growth on the pastures for dairying . the quantities applied by irrigation and the rainfall during the 1949-50 and the 1950-51 seasons are given in the table on this page. These two seasons have been selected because in one the rainfall approximated the average for Canterbury and in the other it was abnormally high. The number of hours required to apply the water and the cost of the water are also given. The equivalent of approximately 50in. of rainfall seems necessary during the September-March period to maintain pasture growth for the stock and also to enable sufficient hay to be saved for winter feed. The amount of water applied .at each irrigation has varied between 3in. and 7in., depending on the rankness of . the growth. The average applied at each irrigation would be about sin. The labour required to apply the water averages about 40 days of work each season. Stock Composition of Herd The present herd contains several breeds, including Friesians, Ayrshire, Shorthorns, and Jerseys. Jersey bulls, however, are being used, and the ultimate aim is a herd consisting wholly of Jerseys. . In the past .it has been necessary to buy in replacements, but the herd has now been built up to the stage where heifer calves from the better cows can be retained, and these should be sufficient for replacement and maintenance. ' Pigs Construction of a modern piggery with suitable outside pens has been completed and the intention is to concentrate on the production of pig meat

as much as possible. Seven sows—to every 10 cows— now being carried and it is expected that it will be possible to produce 80 to 100 porkers annually. In the 1950-51 season 64 porkers were sold. To produce the number of porkers aimed at it will be necessary to carry a number of store pigs through the winter.. This can be done economically with grain and meat meal plus roots grown on the farm. The sows are Tamworth-Berkshire cross and the boar is a Large White. Stock Health No serious stock diseases have occurred on the farm. There have been cases of . cows slipping their calves and also cases of mastitis, but nothing unusual. The worst disease, if it can be called a disease, to contend with is bloat. Irrigation tends to encourage clover growth and during wet weather a careful watch has to be kept on the stock. It has not been necessary to cover the stock during winter. Even with the cold conditions experienced and the lack of shelter the stock have always come through the winter in splendid condition. Rearing of young stock for herd replacements has presented no problems. Two-year-old heifers coming into the herd this season are well grown. Butterfat Production Four seasons have now been completed and the butterfat returns (factory figures) are as follows: Number of Butterfat Season cows milked lb. 1947- 27 4,828 1948- 45 7,860 1949- 60 15,594 1950- 66 18,538 Substantial increases in butterfat produced have taken place from season to season as a result of both pasture improvement and herd improvement. Both the pastures and the herd are capable of still further improvement, and expectation of a production of 22,5001 b. of butterfat, or 1501 b. per acre, does not appear unduly optimistic. This figure would compare very favourably with the findings of a survey conducted in Waipa County in 1946-47 by W. M. Hamilton and K. J. Mitchell of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The survey covered 850 dairy farms and the butterfat production per acre averaged 1381 b.

The effect of irrigation in evening out monthly butterfat production is well illustrated in the following table. Butterfat (lb.) 1949-50 1950-51 August 335 832 September 1,530 1,816 October 2,091 2,706 November 2,090 2,494 December 2,081 2,455 January 1,918 2,354 February 1,684 2,008 March 1,569 1,842 April 1,053 1,268 May 724 678 June 186 85 July 233 The relatively high butterfat production maintained during December, January, February, and March is entirely due to the maintenance of grass growth brought about by the application of water. Winter Feed With grass growth almost negligible from May until September the provision of ample winter feed becomes an important aspect of dairying on light land with irrigation. Stock have always wintered particularly well on this farm, however, and a possible explanation is that they always go into the winter in very good condition owing to the fact that grass growth can be maintained well into April by the use of irrigation.

Hay is the main winter supplementary feed. It is the practice to provide 1 ton of hay for each head of stock carried. This hay is obtained mainly from pasture growth, but lucerne is being grown and the area ft it expanded as opportunity offers. jo rom the pasture growth 60 to 90 bales per acre are obtained; the lucerne provides about 120 bales per acre in four cuts. As a means of pasture renewal swedes have been grown during the past 2 years, and success with them has varied from good to indifferent. It has been shown, however, that provided sufficient hay is available, root crops are not essential. They are necessary, however, for the wintering of pigs. Provision of Early-spring Feed The spring flush of grass growth does not take place until about the middle of September. With calving arranged to start about the beginning of August, there are 6 weeks when feed must be provided for the newly calved cows. It is usual to close several paddocks about the middle of March, and the feed produced in the autumn is carried through the winter for the cows in the spring. Rationed on this winter-saved grass and lucerne hay, the cows milk very well. The paddocks sown with shortrotation ryegrass have proved the most suitable for the production of wintersaved grass. Dairying Has Possibilities After 5 years the carrying capacity of the farm has been built up to 80 milking cows plus replacements. In the 1950-51 season 18,5001 b. of butterfat were produced and with further improvements both in the quality of the herd and the pastures this figure could no doubt be increased to 22,5001 b. Experience has shown that the winters are not too severe for dairy stock and that sufficient winter feed can be grown. It has been shown further that the major portion of the work on the unit can be carried out by two men. Dairying on light land with the aid of irrigation has possibilities, but while the returns from sheep products remain so high dairying is unlikely to be undertaken on this class of country.