FIELD DAY FOR MAORI FARMERS

Te Ao Hou, Summer 1953, Page 58

FIELD DAY FOR MAORI FARMERS The annual field day for Maori farmers and their wives, which is held under the auspices of the Department of Maori Affairs, was this year held at Ruakura Animal Research Station. The party was conducted over all sections of the station. At No. 1 Dairy the importance of shutting up paddocks for autumn-saved pasture was stressed. This section of 125 acres, which has an annual dressing of 2 cwt. of serpentine super an acre, is carrying 110 dairy cows and 34 replacement stock. The production figures were in the vicinity of 350 lbs. of butterfat an acre. At No. 2 Dairy the party was shown the newly completed cowshed, and also a pit of ensilage. This unit is divided into two sections of equal merit. One section is run in what the Director, Dr McMeekin, described as typical ‘cow-cocky’ style, where the farm is run under the set stock system of eight paddocks, day paddock, hay paddock and a calf paddock. The other section is divided into small paddocks, and is rotationally grazed, with calves preceding the cows. The difference between the two sets of calves was very striking, the rotationally-grazed calves being well ahead of the setstocked males in health, vigour and body weight. The difference between the two lots of butterfat returns was also very marked, the rotationally-grazed cows showing an average difference of 40 lb a head above the set-stock cows. In the afternoon, the party moved on to the animal nutrition section—No. 4 Dairy, where the experimental work on identical twin calves is conducted. Next, to the piggeries—where the importance of feeding meal from very early in the pig's life was stressed. Thence on to the AI Centre, and finally a tour through the stock and cattle section, where the party was told of the experimental work being carried out on the many problems of the sheep farm. Mr Jones, on behalf of the party, thanked Dr McMeekin for the very informative and instructive day, and said he hoped it would be the forerunner to many more such occasions.