In Search Of Maximum Returns

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31107, 9 July 1966, Page 10

In Search Of Maximum Returns

The opinion that the publication of a handbook of technical information could be of value to farmers seeking to increase their production and their returns was expressed by Mr B. J. P. Ryde, senior lecturer in farm management at Lincoln College, at the Methven winter farm course last week. Mr Ryde was discussing the maximising of net returns on medium to heavy land.

Mr Ryde suggested that such a handbook should enable a farmer to work out the gross margins for particular crops at different prices, and prepare graphs showing the relative gross margins from crops as a guide to the best combination of crops to use in a rotation, and contain information about pest and weed control.

Mr Ryde’s address followed a visit earlier in the day to the 712-acres mixed cropping and sheep and cattle carrying property of Messrs I. W. and C. J. Wilson at Highbank. The choice of enterprises on a mixed cropping property would be influenced by such factors as soil and climate and the personal preferences of the owners and the risks and spread of work involved and the labour position, he said, but the gross margins for various crops or enterprises—the return after deducting the direct costs involved—was a guide in the preparation of a programme or rotation. The sort of gross margins that could be obtained on medium to heavy land similar to that of the Wilsons were: wheat £45 an acre, peas £2O, chou moellier seed £6O, potatoes for seed and table £55, barley £2O, cocksfoot seed £35, ryegrass seed £25, white clover from pasture £25, specialist white clover £35 and ewes £2l. With chou moellier, for instance, Mr Ryde said that there was a frost risk. The Wilsons, who grew 10 acres for seed last season, regarded it in the first place as winter feed but if it came through the winter they closed it for seed and in probably three out erf about five years they obtained a gross margin similar to that mentioned.

With ryegrass seed wind could be a problem in this area at harvesting and this was the reason why the Wilsons saved only a small area for seed. Cocksfoot was quite a sound crop to grow and the Wilsons were planning to have a paddock erf it.

White clover harvested from a pasture showed a gross margin of £25 an acre but here there was a case bearer moth problem. Specialist white clover, undersown with a wheat crop, where good yields were obtained, gave a return of £35. With stock on the other hand it was reasonable to expect this class of country to carry six to seven sheep to the acre and this would give a gross margin of £2l an acre.

Maximum returns, he said, would be achieved by obtaining the maximum total production from the farm. This involved maximum yields compatible with maintaining fertility from the maximum area of the property. High yields were extremely desirable as indicated by the fact that the gross margin for a

60-bushel crop of wheat was much more than double that for a 30-bushel crop. The key to high yields was fertility. With crops with a high return like wheat, chou moellier and ryegrass, which also placed a heavy demand on soil fertility, the higher the fertility the higher would be the yields and the sooner fertility was restored after they were grown the sooner more of these crops could be grown.

The object was thus to keep skimming the top off the “barrel of fertility.” The way to do this was to space restorative crops between the fertility demanding crops. Such restorative crops were grass and clovers. Peas more or less maintained the status quo. Drop The old type of rotation based on a succession of cereal crops inevitably resulted in a severe drop in yields after two wheat crops. This sort of rotation going from pasture into peas, to wheat, to wheat, to barley, to new grass and ryegrass for seed, and then to white clover for seed and then three years grazing showed a gross margin of £24 an acre a year over nine years.

By comparison a rotation involving going from pasture to wheat, to wheat undersown with white clover for a following seed crop, to wheat again, to peas, to new grass and to ryegrass for seed and then two years grazing gave a gross margin of £33 an acre over eight years, and on a 400 acres property this meant that returns were likely to go up by £3500 a year, the gross profit being about £4O an acre.

Mr Ryde said that before going into wheat it would be possible to grow a crop of turnips where a high level of fertility had been built up. The initial cultivation for turnips could be left until early November when stock pressure was reduced with early drafting and the turnips, apart from being an extremely good crop for starting the cultivation propramme out of pasture, would also be most valuable for flushing and early winter feeding and would enable more pasture to be shut up in the autumn for feeding later in the winter. It would also be possible to Include a crop of lupins between the two wheat crops. This would definitely help to maintain the yield of the second wheat crop. In the gross margins for the various crops an allowance was made for a 10 bushel decline in yield for the second wheat crop, but if a successful crop of lupins could be grown this decline could be minimised. But for a reasonable crop of lupins to be grown they had to be sown early and the crop had to have a reasonable autumn rainfall. A feature of this rotation in

the Methven area was that although this was mediumheavy land it was still possible to be working and sowing this country into June because of its free draining characteristics, whereas on the heavier class of land down country late sown wheat was invarriably drowned out. Mr Ryde noted that the Wilsons were growing both turnips and swedes before wheat and also greenfeed oats between crops of wheat or between wheat and peas. The growing of these crops tended to interfere with sowing times, and while he recognised that particularly heavy crops of swedes could be grown in this district he felt that if they were going to concentrate on cropping it would be desirable to drop out or at least reduce the area under swedes. Other factors involved In obtaining maximum yields were associated with the correct timing of cultivation and sowing and fertilising. The pH of the soil was critical and a level of about 6.3 to 6.5 was most important for high yields of white clover and peas.

cattle had under a mximum cropping programme. Under such a system there was usually an excess of winter feed available and where cattle were bought in it was desirable that they should be quitted again by October. The Wilsons were, however, doing this with only about 20 or 30 of the 100 odd calves that they were buying in. The balance were being carried through until June, but they were making a net profit of about £l5 a head a year on these cattle which was a return of about £3 a stock unit, but stock unit assessments varied with the effect of climate and in the harsher winter areas the assessment of stock units for cattle could be much higher. The major problem with cattle, however, was the fluctuation in buying price—there was every indication of stability at the selling end. As compared with ewes the buying price per stock unit of cattle had been particularly high this year, the Wilsons having paid about £2B a head for weaner calves.

Mr Ryde suggested that there was a possibility of adopting a policy of calving breeding cows in February and March and with a good milking breed the cows would be able to carry the calves through the winter so that the calves could be sold in October and the cows then confined to the minimum area of the farm.

Pest control was also important and a most important aspect of this was recognition of an infestation in the very early stages. D.D.T. had a useful role for control of grass grub, but it was not so effective against porina. With porina it was most important to detect the infestation early in March before the closing of autumn-saved pasture. A spade should be used to find them and it should be realised that they might be present under not only the longer pastures and small seeds paddocks but also under the shorter pastures. Weed control was also important, Mr Ryde added. For maximum returns there must also be a minimum of non-productive land—land in spring-summer fallows and tied up in buildings, fences, water races, etc., but farm lay-out and adequate access tracks and ready access with most paddocks opening out on to a road or having access to the road were necessary to ease labour requirements, particularly where grain was handled in bulk, and such facilities as access tracks, roads, lanes and wide gateways were of assistance where inexperienced labour was being employed.

Where stock were run on such a farm, Mr Ryde said, in the interests of maximum returns stocking policies, whether involving buying or breeding replacements or running cattle, had to be associated with the growth pattern and availability of feed on the farm and with the feed requirements of the different classes of stock. On the Wilson property, Mr Ryde said, a bad outbreak of footrot a few years ago had influenced the brothers in breeding their own replacements and this raised the inevitable problem of ensuring that the hoggets were well done before going to the ram, which might not necessarily be in the interests of maximum crop production. There were some 500 hoggets on the Wilson farm. Noting that there were also cattle on the Wilson property, Mr Ryde said there was also the question of what place

Mr Ryde pointed out that American research brought to light by Mr R. A. Barton, of Massey University of Manawatu, had shown that where cows were kept in lean condition they gave a higher calving percentage and also had a longer life. Summarising the salient points of farming for maximum net returns, Mr Ryde said that it might not be strictly compatible with farming as a way of life—the farmer had to be a jack of all trades and if it was to be done properly he had to have a high degree of knowledge and skill, labour must be efficient and to that end there had to be good housing and incentives given to labour, farm lay-out had to be satisfactory and there had to be a minimum of waste areas. The' fanner has also to keep on top of pests. Where taxation was unduly burdensome a certain amount of ownership organisation had to be entered into to offset the tax.

More Labour

But where such a programme was undertaken, Mr Ryde suggested, there could be an opportunity to afford more labour which could ease the amount of work that the owner would be engaged in. Where a man was farming at this level of efficiency, Mr Ryde said, there could be many occasions when advisory officers could be of extreme importance to him. Many farmers would be able to farm on such a basis without close advisory assistance, but some access to assistance through a farm improvement club or the Department of Agriculture was very desirable and it was then that Mr Ryde proposed that a handbook might have a useful place among the farmer’s tools.