N.Z. Dairy Industry Standards Impress

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31081, 9 June 1966, Page 11

N.Z. Dairy Industry Standards Impress

The standard of New Zealand’s dairy industry has greatly impressed Mr W. Churchward, a 25-year-old farmer from Queensland at present visiting New Zealand on a threemonth Young Farmers’ exchange tour sponsored by the Australia and New Zealand Bank.

During his visit he has been given the opportunity of seeing varied types of farming throughout the country.

“Your climate here is perfectly suited for dairying,” he said, “and the farmers are making the most of it. The pastures give fantastic production, and the industry is much more advanced than in Australia. It will take some competing with.” Mr Churchward said that New Zealand farmers had realised that the most important factor in dairying was pasture.

“New Zealand farmers have got away from the idea of production from each animal,” he said. "This is most important. Here production is considered in terms of acreage. Queensland, and for that matter, Australia, has not reached that stage yet.” Potential Limited Mr Churchward said the tropical climate of Queensland limited severely production potential. He considered that it was more suited to beef cattle. “Australia’s natural pastures are very poor,” he said. “Generally they barely keep stock alive. The southern States of Australia could adapt American and European pastures to their conditions, but there was no part of the world with sufficiently improved pastures which were suitable for tropical areas. “Research had to start right from the beginning, and in the last 10 years a good deal of improvement has been achieved. In this time more than 20,000 different plants have been tried on our research station. Four or five legumes and about half a dozen grasses are proving to be very promising. One of the grasses comes from Mexico, and another from Central Africa.” Mr Churchward said the complete lack of a reliable climate in Queensland was the biggest difficulty in producing satisfactory pastures. “Our rainfall can be up to 40in one year and no more than 10 the next,” he said. “As well as this, we are

never sure at what time of the year to expect our greatest fall.” Good Record

Mr Churchward has an impressive record of service to the Queensland Young Farmers’ organisation. He has held the posts of chairman of his home club at Wowan, has been a district treasurer a State councillor, and last year was on the Australian Council of the Young Farmers. He assists with the management of his father’s mixed crop and dairy farm at Wowan, about 60 miles southwest of Rockhampton. While in New Zealand he has also been impressed by the high standard of sheep farming during his visit, but thinks that this will create difficulties in selling.

•‘New Zealand has achieved a phenomenal increase in the number of sheep in the last few years,” he said. “The difficulty is to offset this increased production by increased selling. New markets are needed before production outstrips the available markets."