Farmers' Conference Week at Ruakura

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 95, Issue 2, 15 August 1957, Page 107

Farmers' Conference Week at Ruakura

By

G. J. NEALE

IN its ninth year the annual Ruakura Farmers' Conference Week, held this year at Hamilton in June, attained a scope of interest, a maturity of skill in display and organisation, and a measure of solid support by the farming industry that indicated its general acceptance as a permanent and valuable part of agricultural development in New Zealand. Those who attended must have shared the disappointment of the organisers at the failure to have the new conference hall at the Ruakura Animal Research Station finished in time. Accommodation for rapidly increasing attendances has been the only major limiting factor in the development and success of this occasion in the past few years.

DURING the 9 years’ evolution of this now somewhat famous attempt by the Department of Agriculture’s research station at Ruakura, in cooperation with the Waikato Farmers’ Education Committee, to provide a week of practical extension work to farmers, a programme has been developed comprising one day of papers and discussions for sheep farmers, a field day for all farmers at the Station and at the Hill Country Station at Whatawhata, a day of papers and discussions for all farmers, and a day of papers and discussions for dairy farmers, with evening sessions of the panel discussion type. At the field day 4 years ago a number of demonstrations was set up at several points about the Station and a continuous service round them was provided by a fleet of buses. This

method proved so successful that it has been adopted every year since.

Demonstrations at the field day comprised: 1. Further Studies on Hogget Rearing: E. A. Clarke. 2. Cattle Yards: Increased Profit from Beef: R. M. Gallagher. Sheep Yards: Foot-rot Eradication: C. R. Ensor. Woolshed: Preparation of Second-shear Wool. Woolshed Paddock: New Fences. 3. Fertility of the Breeding Ewe: Management: J. D. Scott. Selection: I. J. Inkster. 4. Stocking Factors Affecting Lamb and Beef Production: C. P. McMeekan. 5. Selection and Management of Rams for High Fertility: D. G. Edgar and T. J. McClure. 6. The Basis of Fast and Efficient Milking: Dairy Shed Design: W. G. Whittlestone, R. Parkinson, and M. J. McFetridge. 7. Let Pigs Increase Your Payout: D. M. Smith. 8. New Zealand Dairy Board’s Artificial Breeding Centre: J. P. James and staff.

This year there were 14 demonstration points on the bus route and all visitors were provided. with a map of the route and stopping points and a programme of the demonstrations. Buses circulated continuously past all points throughout the day, so that passengers could get on and off where they wished and spend as long as they liked at any particular points. Facial Eczema Research High light of the conference, both at the formal sessions and at the field

Field Day

9. The Effect of Grazing Management on the Lifetime Performance of Dairy Stock: J. D. Cowan and J. W. Keir. 10. Crossbred Beef and Hybrid Pigs: R. P. Newbold. 11. Tile Drainage: H. G. Hopewell and D. F. Scott. 12. Silage Investigations: R. J. Lancaster; Calf Rearing: O. F. Parker. Feeding the Dairy Herd Before and After Calving: L. R. Wallace. 13. Dairy Cattle Selection Experiment: A. H. Carter and T. C. Hickmott. 14. Staff Centre: The Ruakura Diagnostic Section: D. C. Dodd, N. R. MacDonald, W. H. Bishop, and M. R. Coup. Swede and Turnip Varieties: H. McM. Bull. Grass Drying Shed: Facial Eczema Research and Control: N. T. Clare, E. P. White, J. C. Percival, and D. D. Perrin.

- Opening Address, E. G. Griffiths, Agriculture and Food Adviser to the United Kingdom High Commissioner. “Brucellosis in Sheep —A New Vaccine”, M. B. Buddle, Senior Veterinary Research Officer, Wallaceville Animal Research Station. “The Lambing Beat on Hill Country”, C. Mossman, Waerenga-o-kuri, Poverty Bay. , “Practical Experience in the Control of Foot-rot on a District Basis”, C. R. Ensor, Veterinarian, Department of Agriculture, Whangarei. “Whither Crossbreeding in Sheep?”, A. L. Rae, Professor of Sheep Husbandry, Massey Agricultural College. “The Maintenance of Health in the Ewe Flock”, J. C. Gerring, Animal Research Extension Officer, Ruakura Animal Research Station. “Meat per Acre with Special Reference to Beef. Production”, C. P. McMeekan, Superintendent, Ruakura, and D. E. K. Walker, Meat Research Officer, Ruakura. “Crops for Facial Eczema Control”, H. McM. Bull, Instructor in Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Auckland. “Feeding of Sheep on Hay”, C. P. McMeekan. “Disease Risks and their Control During Shutting Up”, J. C. Gerring. “Recent Progress in Facial Eczema Research”, N. T. Clare, Senior Biochemist, Ruakura. “Trace Elements for Plants and Animals”, E. B. Davies, Senior Chemist, Rukuhia Soil Research Station, and I. J. Cunningham, Superintendent, Wallaceville Animal Research Station.

Papers and Speakers

“The Control of Fly Strike and Lice in Sheep and Flies on Cows and in the Dairy Shed”, P. L. Thomas, Scientific Officer, Wallaceville Animal Research Station. “Swede and Turnip Varieties for Different Times and Different Uses”, H. McM. Bull. “Have New Pasture Species Increased the Hazards of Grazing Stock?”, P. D. Sears, Director, Grasslands Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Palmerston North. “New Facts on Topdressing”, I. L. Elliott, Assistant Superintendent, and J. Karlovsky, Research Officer, Rukuhia Soil Research Station. “Grazing Management in Relation to Pasture Production”, R. W. Brougham, Ecologist, Grasslands Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Palmerston North. “Weed Control, in Pastures and Crops”, F. B. Thompson, Agricultural Chemist, Rukuhia Soil Research Station. “Concentrate Feeding of Dairy Cattle”, L. R. Wallace, Chief Nutrition Officer, Ruakura. . “Silage Investigations”, R. J. Lancaster, Biochemist, Ruakura. “Meal Feeding of Pigs”, D. M. Smith, Pig Research Officer, Ruakura. “New Developments in Herd Improvement”, J. W. Stichbury, Director of Herd Improvement, N.Z. Dairy Board. “Milking Technique and the Herringbone Shed”, W. G. Whittlestone, Senior Research Officer, Ruakura. “The Advantages of Controlled Grazing”, C. P. McMeekan.

day, was the evidence of appreciable advances in research into facial eczema. In introducing a symposium of four papers on the disease and its control, Dr. J. F. Filmer, Director of the Animal Research Division of the Department of Agriculture, said that it was 16 years since the Department had first shown that liver damage could be produced by feeding toxic grass. Methods had been devised at Ruakura to prevent sheep from eating toxic pastures. and the symposium was designed to assist farmers in taking those measures. It would deal with some of those measures taken at Ruakura and some of the difficulties associated with them. For a number of years, said Dr. Filmer, papers on facial eczema had appeared on conference programmes, most of them by himself or by Dr. C. P. McMeekan, Superintendent of the Ruakura Animal Research Station. All the time, in the background, were men who were doing very active research but who had not appeared on the platform. Among these was Mr. N. T. Clare, Senior Biochemist at Ruakura, who had been doing work on the disease for 18 years, first at Wallaceville Animal Research Station after the serious outbreak of eczema in 1938, and subsequently at Ruakura. His work on the disease had been recognised throughout the world. Four major advances in research into the disease in the past year were mentioned by Mr. Clare in his paper. 1. Nearly If tons of toxic dried grass has been collected this season and for the first time in the history of research into the problem the chemists have enough grass for all the experiments they can think up. -■

2. Almost at one bound the concentration of the toxin has been carried from the 1/3000 stage, at which a bad hold-up occurred last year, to 1/20,000 this year. Until the substance causing the liver damage is isolated in a state pure enough for it to be measured accurately there is little hope of carrying out much of the work that needs to be done. Isolation of the poison is considered of primary importance in the research. 3. A possible rapid test for toxicity of pasture has been developed from an observation made during the work of isolating the toxin. A white deposit that forms on the side of the beaker during evaporation of samples from toxic pasture does not form from nontoxic samples. The so-called beaker test opens up great possibilities for field studies of the disease. It will be possible with this method to test a number of areas and to know within 2 days if any are

Lice, Ked, and Fly Control How to Use Insecticides 1. If you have occasional louse trouble, never see keels, never have blowfly trouble, have always used an arsenical dip successfully, and do not like “new-fangled” things, use an arsenical dip. You will probably have to pay more than for more modern preparations, but you will not get troubles due to . stripping or exhaustion of insecticide that occur with other dips. 2. If you have lice and keds, use a BHC dip or a low-strength aldrin or dieldrin dip and follow the instructions carefully, paying particular attention to the manufacturers’ recommendations about reinforcement. 3. If you have lice and keds and a hole in the boundary fence, or a little bit of fly trouble, use a fly dip ensuring 1 month’s protection against strike and much longer protection against lice and keds; that is, 0.5 per cent. DDT or BHC; 0.025 per cent, aldrin or dieldrin. 4. For longer blowfly strike protection use the higher-strength dips ; 0.05 per cent, aldrin or dieldrin or 0.02 per cent, diazinon meet most requirements. 5. For jetting lambs at marking time use 0.1 per cent, aldrin or dieldrin or 0.04 per cent, diazinon if there are more than 10 weeks between docking and the next preventive operation, or half that strength if a shorter time intervenes. Relative efficiency of aldrin and dieldrin At equal concentrations dieldrin is slightly superior to aldrin under what are considered in New Zealand to be severe conditions and the superiority is likely to be measurable in weeks, but not in months. However, under moderate conditions dieldrin will continue to give a better degree of partial protection after the break in absolute protection. There are certain price advantages in favour of aldrin.

—P. L. THOMAS,

Scientific Officer, Department of Agriculture’s Wallace-

ville Animal Research Station, in a paper to the Ruakura Farmers’ Conference Week, June 1957

likely to contain toxic grass. On such areas it will be worth while to carry out trials of management methods to control the disease and to run experiments to find which pastures ■ contain the poison. 4. With adequate supplies of grass now available and with chemical studies at a stage where future work holds much more promise of results, both young graduates and specialists in other institutions will be much more attracted to facial eczema research. Arrangements have been made recently for chemists elsewhere to collaborate in certain aspects of the work at Ruakura for which special equipment and training are required. The discussion that followed the presentation of the four-paper symposium on facial eczema indicated general satisfaction with the progress of research and realisation of the complexities of the chemistry of the work.

Demonstrations at Ruakura Station during the field day showed the scope of the research. With greater quantities of toxic grass available new driers have been built and installed, and buildings, cages, grinders, and all the accessory gear for breeding much greater numbers of guinea pigs and using them for testing the grass have been assembled. These facilities, which were the centre of great interest on the field day, enabled the handling of much larger quantities of pasture samples during the past autumn. From 12 areas within 25 miles of Ruakura 8 tons of dried grass was collected from mowings of 2-acre areas at each point every second day. When conditions looked dangerous these areas were cut daily and larger amounts mown. Unfortunately little of the grass proved toxic. At Manutuke Station near Gisborne and from nearby areas the same procedure yielded nearly 5| tons of dried grass, If tons of which is toxic. Vaccines for Ram Infertility Lively interest was shown in a paper by M. B. Buddle, Senior Veterinary Research Officer, Wallaceville Animal Research Station, in which results of field work with a new vaccine developed at Wallaceville for control of infertility in rams were announced. The new vaccine, used in conjunction with Strain 19 vaccine, has given very effective control of the disease causing infertility. The vaccines are being made commercially and will be available for use by veterinary surgeons on rams for sale this season. During discussion of his paper Dr. Buddle answered many questions on the transmissibility of the disease from infected rams to other rams and ewes, and on the possibility of eventually attaining a completely clean flock by use of the vaccine on rams. A very hearty vote of thanks to all those who had worked toward the development of the new vaccine to combat a very serious disease of sheep was requested of the meeting by Mr. F. C. Johnstone, deputy chairman of the New Zealand Meat Producers Board. In expressing the gratitude of farmers for research done at Wallaceville, Mr. Johnstone asked that they should not overlook the early work on infertility in rams done by Mr. R. Crawford and the Gisborne Veterinary Club. "Proceedings" of Conference Those who paid conference fees will receive a copy of the printed “Proceedings”, which include all papers and principal discussions. Orders for other copies (10s. each) must be placed early with Publications Section, Department of Agriculture, Box 2298, Wellington, or with the Ruakura Animal Research Station, P. 8., Hamilton. All photographs by Niederer.