FARMING NOTES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 268, 7 February 1941, Page 3

FARMING NOTES

STOCK WORK

VIGILANCE ESSENTIAL DISEASE PRECAUTIONS 111 the rush ol" harvesting operations and general stock work al this time oi' the j r ear, frequently other important worn for the improvement of pastures and stock feeding is overlooked. .For instance, some oj" the pa?:x tures on the lann will have "got away" from the stock and will require topping with the mower toi eliminate rough growth and to bring on fresh green growth. As a general rule on dairy farms it is ncccssary to top all those paddocks which have not been cut for hay or silage. Uneven growth is thus dealt with and certain weeds such as buttercup, rushes ruid thistles, may be temporarily checked by this means. Facial Eczema.

It is important in districts which are liable to attack of facial eczema, i.e., districts where droughts may occur in late summer or autumn followed by a rapid Hush of grass, to make provsiion both for the period of drought and also for the period of Hush growth which follows. The measures advocated by the Facial Eczema Management Committee, which supervised investigations of the disease in the Waikato, arc that farmers should provide adequate supplies of hay and silage, or of annual crops, that use should be made of paspaium or cocksfoot-Montgom-ery red clover pastures* and that special areas of pasture grass should be saved. These precautions should be taken so that the pastures Avill not be allowed to become 100 bare or too closely grazed and so that there will be ample feed to maintain stock safely until the autumn flush of grass is safe for stocking purpsoes. Farm Enclosures. The saving of hay and silage is one of the best possible precautions against drought; J)ut supplementally, feeding alone will not prevent facial eczema if stock are grazing immature herbage.. For both sheep and dairy farms it is a wise and safe policy to shut up in late December as much as one-quarter of the farm to provide mature herbage for grazing the dangerous autumn "flush. By commencing supplementary feeding early i'h the summer, the closing of this area is made possible. Summer Topdressing. In those districts where ample rain may be expected in, December and January it is frequently profitable to topdress at least some part of the farm at this time of the year. In particular, paddocks cut for hay and silage may benefit. Owing to the heavy demand on fertiliser works for deliveries from January to March it Is often not possible for some farmers to receive their orders on time. Accordingly, if those farmers who can profitably topdress in spring or summer should do so, it will help to relieve the demand in the autumn.

SEED FOR PASTURE THE STATE SMALL FARMS TESTIXG STATIONS WORK In connection with pasture seed for small Sink' IV.rms, it is announced 1 rom Palmerslon North as follows:— Pasture seed aggregating 180 tons is now being mixed under the supervision of the seed testing station at Pa'.merston North for tise by the Lands Department in sowing about (5000 acres at Te Kuiti. As the sole purchasing medium of the Government, the seed testing station buys about £120.(!()!) wo'th of seed each year for use by State departments, and the concentration of .91 lines from various parts of the Dominion and overseas for (be present mix is but a small part of" Iv'V station's aetivn (Continued at foot of r\:xt r

WHAT EXPERIENCE PROVED

UNSATISFACTORY SEED In view of the number of small farm schemes around the Te Awamutu district, the above announcement is one of great importance, and all those who wish success achieved in these projects will sincerely hope that the Land Development officials at Te Kniti have communicated to the proper authorities concerned the highly unsatisfactor3 r seed supplied last year. The experience at the Kairangi Settlement, just beyond Roto-o-should have been conveyed to l the testing station as a reliable guide to the future. On the Maori block at Kairangi last year a considerable area, probably 120 acres, was sown in grass, the seed being a special mixture supplied through the Stores Branch of the Lands Department at Te Kuiti. The result was highly unsatisfactory, and the failure should certainly demand that the State—which always urges the private farmer to buy the best

—itself supply a better quality of seed. On the Maori block the "take" was exceedingly poor, yet two adjacent farmers—Mr Charles Warren and Mr Stanley Dillon —who put in seed at the same time had the satisfaction of creating splenMid pastures simply because they used a better but more expensive seed. Other instances of the failure of this seed could be quoted.

MEAT EXPORT SEASON KILLINGS TO 18TH JANUARY Killings for export at New Zealand freezing works this season from October Ist, 1940 to 18th January, 1941, according to the returns issued by the New Zealand Meat Producers Board, total 3,072,826 freight carcases. The figures for the 193940 season (to lotlv January, 1940, the nearest comparable date) were 2,340,644 freight carcases. Lamb killings now total 3,562,103 carcases (North Island 1 2,502,951, South Island 1,059, 152) compared with 2,751,644 carcases for the comparable period last season (North Tsland 2,120,219, South Island 631,425). Wether mutton killings this season have been 4.9.363 carcases compared with 146,399 in the corresponding period of last year; and ewe mutton 70,024 carcases compared with 86,929. Frozen beef production has reached 58,711 quarters, compared with 16,064 in the corresponding period of last season. The figures of pork production are as follows, last season's figures being shown in parentheses:— Porkers (C'/cs) 11,342 ( 10,000) j Baconers (C'/cs) 153,708 (110,930) Choppers (C'/cs) 6,280 ( 2,597) Killings in other classes of meat (expressed in 601b freight carcases) from Ist October, 1940, till 18th January, 1941 (with figures for lite previous season in parentheses) are as follows:— Boneless beef 78,867 (101,903) Boneless veal 82,812 ( 64,895) Sundries 109,936 ( 79,859)