NOTES BY THE WAY

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22518, 28 September 1938, Page 17

NOTES BY THE WAY

NUMBER OF WHEATGROWERS One of the stock in trade arguments of North Island opponents of the wheat industry to the protection afforded is that every other class of the community is penalised for the benefit of a “handful” of South Island wheatgrowers. The current issue of the “Wheatgrower” gives in detail the number of farmers actually engaged In wheatgrowing, and it reaches a fairly capacious handful. The total is 8331. This number does not grow wheat every year, but all have grown wheat in the last three years, and approximately 7000 to 7500 grow it every year. An ample wheat crop for the Dominion’s needs is. at to-day’s prices, annually worth about £3,000,000, a big proportion of which is represented either directly or indirectly in wages—directly in the wages paid out for the preparation and sowing of the crop and for harvesting, and indirectly for the implements and machinery and the sacks and other equipment before the. wheat is sent on to the miller. Then more wages—direct and indirect—accrue, so that it can be claimed that few industries compare with that of wheat in the amount of money distributed in wages an acre. Geographically the growers are distributed as follows: No. of Growers. North Island 319 Marlborough and Nelson .. 362 North Canterbury (between Rakaia and Conway rivers) 2799 Mid-Canterbury (between Rakaia and Rangitata rivers) 1192 South Canterbury (between Rangitata and Waitaki rivers) .. .. 1959 North Otago (between Waitaki river and Kartigi) .. 647 Otago (that country for which Dunedin is the nearest port) 656 Southland (that country for which Bluff is the nearest port) .. ' .. 397 8331 TARANAKI SHEEP FLOCKS A Canterbury farmer who has returned from a trip to Taranaki, where he resided most of, the winter, had some rather interesting observations to make on the sheep flocks of that province. In spite of the abundance of feed, for which the dairy province is noted .the flocks were unimpressive. He considered that the sheep were far too coarse and open in the wool for such a wet climate. The openness allowed the frequent rains to get right on to the skin, and the fleece was rarely thoroughly dry in such conditions. A closer wool, within reason, would allow some of this rain to be shed. Possibly as a result of this extreme openness of wool the flocks did not look in good shape. Another point that ..this visitor observed was that many lambs were got on to their feet with difficulty and went down very easily. His explanation of this was the very small amount of lime used. Though top-dressing was generous—to the extent of an annual cost of up to 25s an acre in cases—lime was given very little notice, and the tremendous flush ot grass the top-dressing was responsible for was not-nearly so helpful to sheep as to dairy cows. DAIRYING DECLINE There are many evidences that dairying is going out of favour in some districts In the South Island. In Canterbury the proportion of cows used for the production of expprt butter and cheese has shown a downward trend in the last few years, and similar developments are taking-place in Southland. A local paper states that the death knell of dairying in the Waimea Plains has been sounded with the news that the Balfour and Switters factories will not. open this season and that the companies will go into liquidation. These factories have experienced several lean periods owing to dry summers and competition from creamery companies. Dairy farming has never been very popular in Northern Southland, where the dry climate has not encouraged production. The Waikaka factory closed down last season, and it is understood that the Merrivale factory will not open this term. These factories have given long and valuable service to the dairy farmers, but in the face of falling intakes and the serious difficulties caused small factories by rising costs they have found it impossible to continue. The number of factories In the province has shown a steady decline in recent years. Dairying has become unpopular, this being indicated by the number of clearing sales or dairy herds and the number of cows offered at district, sales in recent years. CROP PROSPECTS \ —; — It is to be feared that the heavy and frequent rains of the winter and early spring will have a prejudicial effect on next season’s wheat yield. Where the water could not get away for days on account of outlets and water courses being kept running full there are big patches on many fields

where the wheat has been completely drowned out, or at best where it is growing it is showing very weakly, and with a bad colour. In the latter case many farmers are increasing their top-dressing. Which seems to be the only escape from a complete failure. _ A retired farmer, who has had an extensive cropping experience in a part of the Dominion where the rainfall ■ is much heavier than in Canterbury, in discussing the condition of these crops, expressed the opinion to “Straggler” that the damage could be minimised if several points were observed. The first was to sow a month earlier in the autumn or early winter than is the custom, which would enable the growth to withstand heavier inundations of water. The second was to plough with the fall of the land. Much cropping was done without any regard to this, and when water lodged in the furrows it did not get away so freely as if it had a fall. The third was to keep a deep trench open at the head of the lands to assist water to get away speedily. In his own case the single furrow plough was used to plough as deep a trench as possible, and frequently one of his jobs, even in his father’s time, was to go along these trenches periodically with a shovel to keep them open. Their value was demonstrated on occasions of heavy rain; when they continuously helped the water to get away. There was a lot of cost in growing a crop of wheat, and any means that could be adopted to prevent it being damaged was only ordinary jeconomy.,