FARM NOTES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 225, 14 October 1940, Page 3

FARM NOTES

Finance for farmers ETAOIN DAIRY COMPANY LOANS MONEY FOR STATE ADVANCES Copies of the Dairy Companies' Loans Emergency Regulations are now being circulated. They contain details of the authority for dairy companies to borrow money from the State Advances Corporation and lend it to any of their suppliers* The regulations are regarded as supplementally to . the recent Fanners' Loans Emergency Regulations, which empower the State Advances' Corporation to make special advan ees to any farmer for the purpose of increasing or promoting the production of any primary product. The Dairy Companies' Loans Emergency Regulations empower dairy companies to use the loans they receive from the State Advances Corporation, or any other money belonging to them, to enable any of their suppliers to increase or promote their primary production. They, therefore provide those farmers who supply dairy companies with an alternative means of fin ano ing production expansion by obtaining money from the daily companies instead of directly from the State Advances Corporation. Low Interest Interest on the loans made to company suppliers is not to exceed £2 2s 6d per cent per annum. A company is empowered to take such security as it thinks lit for any loan made. The money borrowed by the companies from the State Advances Cor- | poration will be from funds made available for the purpose bj- "the Minister of Finance upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the corporation and the company, including a term that the corporation will not be responsible for the application of the money borrowed. Repayment of any money borrowed and tllb interest on it will be secured by agreement between the corporation and company ; in particular by the giving of debentures., mortgages or other charges over all or any of the company's jjresent or future property, including uncalled capital.

SHEEP AND COWS COMPARATIVE RETURNS TRIALS AT STRATFORD In the annual report of the Stratford Demonstration Farm which was presented to tlic chairman, Mr G. A. Blake, at the annual meeting recently, a comparative view is given of sheep and possible profits from cows on the same area. The report says-: The development of intensive fat lamb production between 1935 and 1910 lias shown that the 64 acres used for this purpose can carry 400 ewes, with a prospect of fattening round 90 per cent of the lambs, A continuance of the trial is not likely to alter materially this conclusion. The change in butterlat prices during this live years from 8d per lb in 1935 to Is 5d at present has, however, altered altogether the question as to whether it pays the Demonstration Farm to run ewes in place of cows on a portion ol the farm. Willi butterfat at Bd-9d per lb and a carrying capacity which has been demonstrated on the farm of 400 ewes in place of 40 cows (that is 10 ewes to one cow), the replacement of cows can be made without loss of gross revenue and a possible saving of labour and running expenses. Ten ewes with 100 per cent lambs averaging £1 a head, avouUl return £10, and one cow, with butterfat production of 3001b, at 8d per lb. also returns £10; in addition on tlic one side is the wool, which has averaged 5s per ewe, or £2 10s for our ten ewes, and on the other pigs could be expected to average £2 10s per cow. It 'will be found, that the running costs of the shed in the case of the dairy herd will be genoffset by I he. replacement cost of the ewes and shearing, etc. It should be noted that the herd replacement cost is accounted for by loss of canning capacity in cow? due to tlie keeping of .yearlings and heifers on the farm. Returns from Butterfat When, however, as at present., butterfat is Is 5d per lb, the cow producing 3001b of butterfat gives n gross return of £21 ss, as against only £10 for the 10 ewes which can replace her.

It seems to me that no matter how the ewes are run on the farm, each 10 ewes mean either the replacement of one cow or a reduction in production equal to that of one cow; in fact, at present relative prices of butterfat and of fat lambs cows can return just double the money that the ewes can on dairying land. It is for this reason that I think it necessary for the farm committee to consider concentration of effort on dairy farming. CULLING NECESSARY BREEDING OF STOCK "Breed, feed and cull" is a slogan the soundness of which is becoming more and more appreciated as intensified competition, restricted mar kets and higher costs yearly make the occupation of livestock farming more difficult from a profit-making point of view. On high-.priccd land, with costly labour and rising taxation, there is no margin of profit to be Avon from the ill-bred beast, which requires similar outlay in attention and feeding as the well bred producer, but makes a poor return in products, progeny and price. But if well bred animals—and that means high producing and not necessarily show animals—are kept, it pays not only to feed them all they eat, but to make certain that their food, is "balanced." That is, that it lacks nothing the stock may require, yet contains no excess which will be wasted or devoted to other purposes than maintenance of production or reproduction. Even in the most carefully bred and efficiently fed herds and flocks, there are invariably individuals which are below the average, although they may be generally classed as good stock. It pays to cull these "tail-tenders" out whenever it is possible to replace them with better. I Culls can be detected in the dairy herd by testing and progeny record- . ing; in the piggery by litter recording; in the flock by keeping a detailed record of the individual performance in fleece weight and quality, proligcacy, carcase qualities and rate of growth" of lambs toi maturity of every ewe; and iii the poultry flock by trap nesting. The day when selection by eye was a "near-enough" method of picking out the culls has gone, and there should be no regrets for, at best, it was only a "guessing" method. In its place we must have recorjds of performance, for it is only performance which counts."with the man who must farm for profit.

PEDIGREE LIVESTOCK BRITISH SHIPMENTS TO FOUR CONTINENTS Four Continents have been making purchases of British pedigree livestock since Germany's invasions cut breeders off from several important sources of supply. Within the British Commonwealth three Border Leicester rams, three Cheviot rams and three Wensleydale ramS have, gone to India. Kenya has taken a Large White sow and/the Federated Malay States have purchased a boar and gilt of the Middle White breed. Large White and Middle White sows have also gone to Palestine. Two Large White boars have been bought by Sweden; a Berkshire and a Middle White boar by Japan. A stallion, as well as bulls, pigs and sheep have all been recentlj r shipped to South America. The stallion, a thoroughbred sired by the historic Blandford, has been shipped to the Republic of Colombia a country which has always been well disposed towards English stock; the Colombians have also taken a bull ol the South Devon breed, which won the championship at the South Devon Cattle " show in Apirl this year, and a bull of the Red Pol breed. Both of these are fine big beasts admirably adapted to the production of good quality beef cattle. Another famous English beef breed, the Hereford, is represented by two bulls which JiaA r e been shipped to Uruguay. Chile has taken a Large White boar, a rani and three ewes of the Hampshire Down breed. The latter, which have just arrived,- have already delighted the buyers, who declare that there are no better animals ol" their type in all Chile. Breeders in both hemispheres, it is felt, are fortunate in the maintenance irom Great Britain, the "world's principal source of pedigree livestock, of the supply required for "he infusion of new blood into their herds.