FARMING NOTES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 196, 7 August 1940, Page 5

FARMING NOTES

THE WAR MAY MEAN A SHORTAGE OF FERTILISERS By C. R. Taylor, Fields Instructor, Whakatane. Under modern wartime conditions shortages inevitably occur in a country so dependent on imported necessities for full production from farms, and it becomes essential to adjust meth-i cds to secure the maximum results from available supplies. This is particularly necessary in tha case of fertilisers, which have become so important a factor in grassland farming* and one of the immediate adjustments required is to ensure maximum production from, supplies now in sight and possibly becoming less in the future. How is this to lie achieved? In the fnst place, refrain from topdressing pastures which do not pay a material dividend for this outlay. All farmers know that certain pastures, say, of the ryegrass-cocksfoot-white clover type, respond well t:> topdrcssing, but there arc others of a brown-top-vernal character lacking in a fair measure of clover growth which do not respond, sufficiently lo cover the most of the fertiliser used. In the latter circumstances it is clear]}' uneconomic to topdress such pastures at any time, but in time of war it amounts to nothing more or less than criminal waste. Far better Avould it be for the farmer and the colin try if such unresponsive pastures were cither renovated by severe harrowing and oversown with productive species or else ploughed and resown to permanent pasture or cropped, for a period. In no other way can real benefit result from the topdrcssing applied. Use of Harrow. Another method of effecting economy in topdrcssing is by the use of the grass harrow in the regular spreading of animal excreta. Both the urine and solid material contain significant amounts of available plant food, in the way of nitrogen, j phosphoric acid, and potash, to say nothing of the important trace elements,' and when these are evenly distributed at regular intervals over the entire paddock great assistance is rendered to the pasture plants in their efforts to produce growth. Eveiw farmer knows this to be perfectly true, for has lie not observed the phenomenal vigour of plants in the vicinity of dung patches and the areas on which stock have urinated? Surely such observation tells its own story in indicating the vast potentialities for achievements in a wholly costless product. Why not make more use of it, especially at a time like the present? Great Value of Animal Deposits If still a little more persuasion is required to make farmers generally realise the great value of the voided products of livestock it may be stated that scientists have estimated that in one ton of cow manure there is phosphoric acid equivalent to 281b of superxihosphate or slag, potassium equal to 251b of kainit (potash) and nitrogen to the value of 201b of sulphate of ammonia, Assuming, therefore, that a mature cattle beast voids 10 tons of material a year, which is a very fair average, and that the average carrying capacity, of a farm is, saj r , two acres to a cow, then the return to the soil per acre of costless plant food in the equivalents mentioned above is as "follows:—. Superphosphate l^cwt Kainit 1%-cwt Sulphate of ammonia . . lcwt Where, on the better class country, carrying capacity is higher than that referred to, the return of plant lood is, of course, also correspondingly greater. Maintenance of Fertility. In addition to the actual minerals supplied to a soil (superphosphate, potash and other plant foods) through the conscientious use of the harrow on grassland, it must also be remembered that a huge quantity of luimus-forming material is also made available for the mainter ance of the soil fertility in thii broadest sense. This is vitally im

portant, as humus encourages essential bactcria, retains soil moisture at an optimum level where drainage is satisfactory, and also makes possible the best utilisation of the artificial fertilisers used. To bring home to farmers m,oro fully the significance of this statement one might mention that the Sahara Desert is a soil from a geological point ol view and yet it Is sterile, that is, it will grow nothing. Why? Not merely because it is a waterless waste (although moisture is, of course, vital,) not merely because it lacks applications of artificial manures (for all the manure of this type in the world would not greatly alter the position), but because of the deficiency of humus and consequent lack of essential 'bacteria that breaks down humus and mineral matter into available plant food. In other words, a soil as the agriculturalist knows it is a live thing, whereas a soil such as that of a desert is dead, and will remain so until natural or man-created agencies give it life by making possible a sufficiency of moisture, humus, and living organisms. Essential Practice. Thus it will be seen that, all things considered, the efficient harrowing of pastures —not necessarily of the drastic, type—is really a most important and essential practice if farm fertility and productivity is to be maintained or increased . . But to secure the maximum benefit the work requires to be done thoroughly and at the proper time. This involves the regular use of the harrow at comparatively short intervals. If the job can bo done just before rain, or even during o shower, so much the better, as the pastures are not contaminated for long and the plant food contained in the excreta is made more readily available to the plant. On no account should dung pats be left for, weeks, as by tins time they arc not only far too hard to distribute evenly, but, worse still, most of their fertilising properties have already leached into the small surrounding area of the oOil. I his results in over-manuring of some parts of the field and under-manuv ing of the balance, the latter normally representing the larger portion. In such circumstances the farmer is definitely the ioser, for firstly his pastures suffer, then his •Stock, and lastly himself. Harrows Pay a Dividend. Therefore, resolve to rectify this position by adopting a different out ook towards the dairy co\v* Henceforth consider her not only as a butterfat producer, but give her ful! credit for what she really is—a producer of butterfat, plus 3 cwt. of more of a complete fertiliser, plus a great quantity of vital humus. And do not fail to remember that just as manure stacked up in a shed is of no use to pastures, so also are animal deposits left undistributed. Therefore, use your grass harrows., and use them regularly. They pay a definite dividend, as many a successful farmer knows