AWAKERI YOUNG FARMERS’ DAY ON MODERN FARM

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 93, 10 September 1948, Page 5

AWAKERI YOUNG FARMERS’ DAY ON MODERN FARM

Labour-Savers All Well Planned Last week, the Awakeri Young Farmers’ Club held its monthly field day on Mr W. A. B. Topp’s property at Awakaponga, and all were - impressed - with its streamlined efficiency. First, Mr Topp showect members his manure shed. This is 20ft. by 15ft. and holds up to 40 tons of manure. The floor is level with the tray of a truck. Manure can be handled with a trolley and so saves much back-breaking 1 ' labour. Below the door is a set of moveable steps which can be shifted when a lorry pulls alongside. The cowshed is well laid out between two ridges. The ceiling is painted blue, as that colour is said to keep flies away. Painted pink and light green, the bails are a striking contrast to those seen on some farms. One outstanding feature is the novel meal boxes. Working on hinges, they are placed in front of the cow and pulled into the dummy by a rope before the animal goes out of the door. All washings from the cowshed flow into a sump 27ft. long and 27 inches deep by 2ft. wide. After being cleaned each week all the manure is spread on the paddocks. The separator room is very spacious with ample space for benches, which are very useful at the time of testing. A special woodburning fieater is installed as well as an electric one. This supplies hot water for a shower in an adjoining room, as well as other purposes. Fastened to the ceiling is a long steel drum, which protrudes several feet outside above the doorway. On this slides a steel hook and a set of scales is hung on that for weighing the cream. After weighing, the cans slide through the door on to a handcart,' which is kept upright and in place by a catch with a long pin. The cream is then conveyed to the roadside and lifted on to the stand by a long pole and pulley which work on a swivel.

Water for the farm is supplied by a dozen artesian bores, some as little as 50ft. below the ground. The water is crystal clear and can be used for any household purpose. Nearly all the water troughs are inhabited by carp of several colours. The piggeries on Mr Topp’s farm are very old, but he hopes to build new ones in the near future. A novel invention for feeding pigs is that four drums on a stand have plugs in the bottom and at feeding time the plugs are screwed out and the milk runs down a chute into the troughs. After being heavily grazed by sheep in April the paddocks on the hill are harrowed and shut up. for feeding off in the spring. In August the grass is as long as ■ three feet and the new and old grass helps to lessen the bloat menace. These fields are grazed from August onwards at the rate of one to one and a half hours morning and night. All hay for the farm is baled and stored in a Dutch barn in the middle of the farm. Mr Topp makes his farm roads by ploughing into the centre and then shovelling the outside soil into the centre. This makes it very high and so turns the water very well.