MODEL DAIRY FARM

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 146, 15 March 1919, Page 10

MODEL DAIRY FARM

THE STRATFORD STATION. Tho Stratford Model Dairy- Farm, only i recently established, is doing good work 1 , and the experimental and development work being conducted is'-already proving of great interest and of material advantage to.dairy fanners in that district (says an excliangc). Tho land is not re|gardud as . good quality, but demonafcm- , tions with root crops and pasture develop, inent are convincing fanners of tho splendid results possible under ,tho.adoption of proper systems. Tho experiments at present in progress with tares and cereal crops to domonstrato tho : . growing of green fodder for dairy cows is of much more value to Taranaki than if tho same crops'were grown on ono of tho cxpori- ■ mental farms where the conditions are altogether different. For instance, it is very interesting to notice the effect of top dressings. On ono piece of worn-out pasture three strips were 'op-dressed in September of 1917, the two outside strips with 4cwt. of basic slag to the acre, and the centre with 4cwt. of ephos. The growth in each case came away well, and produced a good crop of lmy, but in the subsequent grazing the stock allowed the' grass and clovers to run up rank on tho ephosostrip, and kopt the basic slag sections closely cropped. On an unstamped 1 portion of the farm top-dressings, by hand, of '4cwt. of basic super and basio were made on September 25 last, and four months afterwards a . great improvement was noticeable, and. the cows-grazed almost entirely upon tho top-dressed sec. tions, especially the basic super, allowing s the adjacent pasture to grow rank. Tho • basic super, being quick-acting,' is tho most favoured section just noir, but probI ably the basic slag will come to tho front a little later. In both cases the development of clovers is remarkable, and in small plots where the manures have evidently missed their absence is almost as marked. Soft turnips' are looking splendid. a perfect take,and excellent development, From present appearances they should easily go 10 tons to the acre. Purple Top, Mammoth, Red Paragon, Lincolnshire, Eeil Globe, and. Hardy Green Cllobo are the main varieties, and llioy devolop ill the order named. Sorno experiments in the growing of Moninahaki tares amongst cereals are interesting. The crops were sown on December 16 with 3owt. of basic super on a very "couchy" pieco of ground, the object being to smother out the coucn. Amongst brown skinless barley • tho tares did no good, but in the next etrip of Huguenot

wheat they told splendidly. In tho Russian barloy the tai'C3 were not so much in evidence, but showod up fairly well again amongst the Algerian oals. Ruakura oats produced a splendid crop of oals, but the tares got very littlo chance. Tho result. seemed to indicate that if all these varieties, wero sown at tho same _ time with tares they could bo fed off in tho following order:—Brown skinless barley, Capo barley, Ruakura oats, Huguenot wheat, and Algerian oats. Weighings from these plois gave the following results:— Brown .skinless, 9 tons 2cwt. to the acre (barley heads were nearly ripe, and weighed heavily); Huguenot wheat, 10_tons 18 cwt. (heavy crop of tares); Russian barley, 11 tons Bcwt. (too far advanced for fodder crop; heads developed and weighed heavily); Algerian oats and tares, 11 tons llcwt. (very fow tares). A number of variety experiments are being carried out, as well as manurial and top-dressing ' oxperiments, and altogether the Stratford Model Dairy Farm is going to serve a very useful purpose so far as Tarauaki is concerned. WHEAT PRICES AND ESTIMATES. The Canterbury Agricultural College authorities have supplied the Christchurch "Press" with the following particulars:— The college grows each year about 150 acres of wheat on land varying from somewhat heavy to somewhat light, _ and is situated somewhere near the middle of the wheat-growing area of Canterbury. The variation in its yields, therefore, may be taken to some extent as an indication of the variation from year to year over the whole country, and so the following table is of value as showing how bad the last three seasons have been and how good the present one is likely to be :— Bushels , per acre. Average, 1907-1915 46.4 Average for 1916 .24.!,' Average for 1917 '29.2 ■ Average for 1918 28.0 Average for 1919 50,0 Our contemporary contends that it is useless and almost absurd to attempt to estimate the cost of growing a "bushel" of wheat and to fix a prico on that, estimate. IVith the trifling exceptions of stooking, thrashing, and carting, it has cost as much to produce 28 bushels last year as 50 bushrels this. In other -words, ' if Gs. Sd. pays for -wheat-growing this year, it would have taken 'lis. 7d. to pay last j'ear. The cost of producing wheat varies with the acreage sown, not with tho bushels thrashed,' and if it is considered desirable to fix the price of wheat at all, the . price to farmers should be bused on tHe acreage sown, with a sliding scale to allow for variations of yield.