FARM AND STATION

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21418, 9 March 1935, Page 21

FARM AND STATION

KFUAL HIDES INTENSIVE PRODUCTION | I'KIM'II'LES OF "Din " IWKMIXG I ' (I'.y IT.A.M.) Nobody is looking for production records this season. The_ average farmer, indeed, would be relieved to know, when he balances up, that he had reached two-thirds of his normal output. When so much dependence is placed on the rainfall, j production must necessarily fluctuate, and where the rainfall has been niggardly in the extreme, result's disappear accordingly. However, where the production of stock feed is a stern necessity results have to be secured somehow, and customary method.; varied considerably. What is known as "dry" farming is little practised in New Zealand. The rainfall in the average year makes it unnecessary—if no more than average results are required. But in a season like the present, when the moisture factor i practically disappeared, the case is ! entirely different, and until we get j 1 irrigation the farmer could usefully ; figure the extent to which he should } i intensify his tillage methods, i On the Devonvale farm of Messrs | J. and F. Johns, at Belfast, are to be 11 seen many evidences of the efficacy i of dry farming, for in effect that is : the Devonvale method. The farm is i divided into paddocks ranging from i four to seven acres each, an occa--1 sional one up to 10, the total num- ; ber oi paddocks exceeding 80. j Placed over them are no fewer than 13 hay stacks, each 11 full 20 tons —some of them ranging j up to 34 tons, according _ to the size of the field and the weight of the J crop—and five ensilage stacks, each Jof 90 tons. This represents more j than 700 tons of feed. At a conserj vative estimate of £3 a ton the value I can be realised. In addition, there ! are eight acres of mangels, the i present promise of which is for a ) crop approximately 80 to 90 tons to j the acre. At the'present time the i Messrs Johns are feeding six acres i of maize, which averages from Bft ; to lift in height, cutting it with a | mower and carting it out ._lo the j cows. When the maize is finished there is a stand of chou moellier to start on. In the meantime, the pasture paddocks are coming away well, and it will be some time yet j i before the huge reserves of feed in : j the stacks will have to be drawn upon. Intensive Tillage j Every paddock in which the abundant crops were produced was : ploughed no fewer than six times. S The result was the thorough aeration of the soil and a facility for : absorbing and conserving any mois- ; : tare. The land is mostly a silly | loam and the frequent ploughings i enabled it to be worked up into a ' splendid tilth. In all cases the crops ; ■ were rolled, to secure a solid seed ' bed, a benefit that is not sufficiently I appreciated in much ot our Canter- | burv farming. Naturally, in thc_ provision of so , j much hay and ensilage, Devonvale | has an extensive area—4B acres—in lucerne. The fifth cut of the season ! in some of the paddocks will be ready next week, and this cut will be in addition to the reserves already mentioned. Lucerne, like j other crops, flourishes with a good supply of moisture, and tne fact that | in the absence of the latter five good j i cuts have been produced establishes j j the value of the intensive tillag" : i the fields originally received. One : ■ field pointed out by Mr J. Johno 1 ' was sown on October 1, and the i third cut has been harvested tlie, i first week in January, February, and } March. This means that the first ; cut reached fruition in 13 weeks. I I The first two cuts of lucerne are j , devoted to ensilage, a practice fol- j ! lowed on account of the wetter I i weather usual in the spring im- j j peding its saving as hay. The I ensilage stacks are big affairs, which mean a reduction in the amount ol j waste. . The bulk of the hay is comprised of ryegrass and clover. The size and regularity of the hay stacks are impressive and they are all built in or adjoining the paddocks in which the hay will have to be fed to the cattle. This minimises the cost of carting out the feed. The hay is never baled at Devonvale. When it has to be used on the farm itself, baling is an unnecessary expense and any knocking about of the hay entailed in baling is avoided. Maize and Chou Moellier Maize and chou moellier provide a tremendous amount oi feeding, and at a time when autumn pasture is going off and before winter feeding is commenced. The dry season forced the maize into flower early, and it should be fed before that stage. The Devonvale crop is a great one—reminiscent of what is to be seen on the Rangitaiki swamp, in the.Bay of Plenty. The usual 1 practice is to sow with the lows fairly wide, but at Devonvale it was ! sown through every coulter of the j drill, three bushels to the acre. The thick sowing was to prevent the ! stems becoming rank and stalky, a j condition which necessitates pulpI ing or cutting. The same policy is followed witn the chou moellier. Two pounds of seed are sown to the acre in 14 inch rows. A heavy but fine stemmed crop is the result. An Irrigation Scheme j In the old southern bed of the I Waimakariri river is a supply of j water which the Messrs Johns in- ; tend to devote to the irrigation of | part of their farm. The main stream is now more than a mile away and the protection works have closed up the outlet into the old , branch. This branch actually was . the main stream of the river many : years ago, and the old groynes are ; to be seem where the river was prevented from cutting its way , through to Belfast. The supply is j a permanent artesian one, and em- . braces a body of water not subject j to flooding. The water will be } brought for about a mile by means t of a canal to the point where it will be distributed over the lower { part of the farm, where it is in- j

By " Straggler."

ADDINGTON • MARKET | EWE VALUES It was not expected that the high prices ruling at the Amberley failon Monday would be maintained at Addington on Wednesday. There is something unusual in the atmosphere of the first ewe fair of the season which tends to give an optimistic tinge to matters. Farmers attend the sale from all quarters, and the suggestion that they may all be wanting ewes gives' competition a fillip. In the less spectacular conditions prevailing at Addington this element is lacking. Even after making allowance for the difference in quality, Addington 'rates were no better than the week before. It appeared at Amberley that young ewes were dear, and it was suggested last week that the tendency would be for the older ewes to develop a hardening in preference to two-tooths. This turned out to be the case, at Hawarden. where the straight lines oi cast ewes maintained Amberley values, whilst the two-tooths cased. At Addington on Wednesday there was a sound sale for any decent one-year ewes. A line of good ewe lambs was eagerly competed for, and at 20s to 22s they appeared well sold, when twotooths arc available for another 8s or 9s. Lambs forward enough for rape feed were wanted, but the big number lof station lambs for carrying over I eased a little. This, of course, is largely attributable to the very indifferent feed prospects. When the rains were in progress the prospects in this respect looked much better, but with the decreasing sunshine the prospects of a pasture recovery beyond the needs of the ewes become progressively less. The following is a comparison of the values secured on Wednesday and at the corresponding sale last season:— M;i r.'li 7, Maivii ti. <;.».«! -J-tli. l.'.iinnrv to :tli' m no; Mel. 'ill, Komih-.- 1!<; lo Oml. -J-: li. -> !•. - s ' ()■-. i. 5.1,1. r nr-'-.s 11 1 ft I I. 11-1 l:; 1 . to l.v Kx. ~-<l,ll -Mil. j'iid to (;,„,<! -J-i;i. li;iii'i>n'<i i<> :ir. Oril. -M!i. hiilflirt'd -J7 tn 2:t.\ 1" -H\ S in;, [ ( -j-i h. Imtioiv.l IT In ±2 Ex. I s.m. t'on. - t<< Coorl s.m. loiil'liiv.l -M to »■! IS io 1:) 1 - (ll'.l. to I i"P" I '* ln 17 1 ; a( .i■! in 10 1- it «•> l<> < Imifl.r.'.l i".vo I' 1'; tn -I -i -- imifii'c<i rv.v - \r, to k; Fat Lambs The farthing drop in the schedule was not unexpected. Killing so far this season has been abnormally heavy,

and this is not conducive to confidence in the values likely to rule when the meat arrives at its destination. The absence from the sale of the partially "disfranchised" export 1 firm was unexpected. It is under--1 stood that it will secure its monthly allotment in the second half of this month, which will allow it to operate for a continuous month, instead of alternate fortnights. This policy perhaps assists in economy at the works. The sale on Wednesday was on the basis of the export schedule. i'Airii prime lioyvv to ■'!! to I'l-inio liraw .. 10 - > 1«» 20 I'rimi' Light 1"i to 20J JGI to 2o Fat Sheep 1 The sale of fat sheep was erratic. The belief that the yarding was smaller than usual, and the absence of good weighty sheep, made butchers raise their prices, and for a short period from Is 6d to 2s a head better prices were ruling for the big sheep. These rates declined as the sale progressed, and at the finish the advance had disappeared. However, on an average the sale of big sheep was - tended to irrigate. For a small part of the scheme the water will be j pumped from near the intake. In J all the Messrs Johns propose irrigating about 100 acres. They have had a number of workmen with teams, drays, and scoops employed for | some time' and good headway is ' being made with the continuation j of the canal. The water obviously | is at a favourable level for its I economical harnessing. The enterj prising Johns Brothers expect to have the scheme completed for use ' in the early autumn of 1936, In anticipation of this a deal of ploughing and levelling of paddocks is being carried out. Where water has run over some of the lower portions of the flats the growth shows a marked improvement on the unwatered parts, and this gives an indication of the results that may be confidently expected when regular "feeds" of water are possible. The scheme, when in operation, should give a great fillip to the cause of irrigation in Canterbury. '

slightly better than last week, and for light sorts unchanged. Wethers— ». s - 3 - >( s - Extra prime heavy to 2(;A to Prime heavy 22\ to -JUJ -j \ to 28 Prime mediuin-wgt. 21 to 23 22h to 24 i Ordinarv IR-i to 21 10i to '2liijrht, " .. 17 to 18 M t« is Ewes - Extra pri n 1 r heavy to 21V ' n ■ Prime heavy .. 20 to 21.' ; 20 lo 2-' Prime medium-w^l. 17 to 20 It.. I ,'to I- 1 Ordinary .. 11 to 17 12.M0M» Light ■■ to ,; t to 11... Fat Cattle It would appear that each week the proportion of really prime cattle becomes smaller. On Wednesday there were few really prime lines. Included, however, were some pens of young cattle which made within 20s of old sorts half as heavy again. If more .young beef came to the market there would be no need for an "eat more beef" campaign. Some of these pens sold at from 27s to 28s per 1001b. The ordinary to good cattle sold at 4s to 5s less. The grading was again slack. Of the total of 465 head forward, quite 150 should have been in the store pens. Half of the remainder of 300 would have been mediocre, but the smaller number would have caused a better sale. Mention should be made of the best pen of steers from the Te Kinga Land Company, on the West Coast. They were equal to National market offerings, Slopes £ I' A' ■!' E.\l ra |»ri me hrn v • i n 11 \ \<> ! - Prime heavy 7, s to !); to 1"! Prime niedium-u^i. to S 1 , v \ in !'■ j Ordinary lln <>', P to I Li»ht .. lo -I to l[ I iioifersi Extra ])i inu- ~ lo >. [ Prime 11,I 1 , to .V, i u 1 () rd ina vv .. •'* i" ' .i Ei.L'ht. .. '-i; | Cows— EN! ra |■ i i iuo . . f " 1 '' ? Prime .. , '«> ■» ' () {> - | Ordinarv P. :■> <" 1 ; | U-lit alio' WOOL SALES ! RKMAINDKK OF liO-TKK The following are the dates of ihe remainder of the current season's Dominion wool sales: - March 9 —Dunedm. March 13 —Timaru. March 20—Wellington. March 25—Napier. March 29 —Auckland. April .I—Wanganui. April s—Christchurch. April B—Duncdin. April 13—Wellington. ,

SHOW DATES The following dates have been fixed for autumn shows in the South Island: March 16 —Ma.yfield. March 21 and 22—Christchurch (ram fair). March 30—Cheviot. March 26—Amuri, at Waiau. March 28—Temuka and Geraldine, at Winchester. March 29—Hawarden. March 30 —Methven. April 4—Oxford. April 18—Sheffield. April 22—Fairlie.