Farm & Station

Gisborne Times, Volume LXX, Issue 11126, 8 February 1930, Page 12

Farm & Station

"RUBTICUB’

EARLY MATURITY. SMALL PROFITS AND QUICK RETURNS. All our modern methods of improving pastures and growing catch 1 crops by intensive cultivation are directed towards the same end, and that is to increase our farm output, writes “Headway," in the Southland Daily News. We do not expect grass or roots hut we must strive to make the utmost possible profit out cf them. A very worthy citizen of Invercargill adopted as Its motto ill business, “small profits and quick returns." and it is an excellent one for the man on the land. The whole success of dairying is founded on it and the grazier can do much on the same principle in his operations of breeding and fattening. At our Royal Show we had fat hnUoeks exhibited which were triumphs of the art of feeding and breeding, yet, from a commercial standpoint, tliev are utter failures and it is altogether opposed to modem ideas ef proiitah’e farming to encourage the production of these huge lumps of rough meat and coarse tallow. These remarks are induced through reading the reports of several fat stock shows at Home, whore the live-weights of the exhibits show us what can accomplished with well bred animn’s well attended from their birth. The supreme champion at Norwich wars an Aberdeen Angus steer, two years and eight months old. live weight lbs: the reserve champion a crovs- [ bred hein-r. one year and eleven | months nhl. 14001ns. At the Edin- | burgh show a Shorthorn bullock. eighteen months and twenty-two I davs oi l weights! 1.476 lbs ; a blue, i grey heifer two and a ha 1 f years old. j l SOB IJ's-i a bullock just six days nvjer a year old weighed 1 ,02S ]hs. The | latter was in the “bal y beef" class j and .was sired by an Angus bid] out of a Shorthorn cow. This beast would kill out about 70 per cent of live weight, which would be a 721 1 lb carcase at a year old. but he will be earned en to another year. The | others will dress about 69 per cent | or over of live weight which means I that the Norwich lmllock at just over two and a half years old will dress Soft lies. The two and a half | year-old blue-grey heifer will go we! 1 °ver 10(-> lbs, and the Shorthorn Eu’h'ck at eighteen months and twentytwo days will dress a 930 lb carcase. The weights are remarkable and arc j a striking tesf'niony to the ability of | British farmers. W e cannot hope to {approach these figures nor would it i "a.' to attempt ;t nd m*->v are merej!v quoted as examples of wliat can ' “ b“ s'cVetion in breeding and | intensive feeding. Tim main argument in favor or early maturity is that as the animal grows older the cost of adding weight becomes higher. In extended experiments both with sheep and cattle it has 1 eer, proved that the ratio of food confined compared to the increase in weight was from 21 to 49 ]x i r cent, greater in the older animals. This leads us to consider the question < f feeding grain or chaff to our young annuals in addition to turnips. That is instead of selling oats to merchants, would it not pay better to convert them into mutton or beef? Tim British stock feeder does this. and. in addition, spends huge sums an-

nual'y on cake and meals. Our pri-

ce's would not afford the latter, but it is quite within the limits of profitable feeding to consume on the farm everything grown on it. In any case, oven under our conditions the dnv is past when there is any chance ■ f profit ill keeping six-tooth wethers or four and five years old bullock-. It is letter to make an annual six per cent, than a. biennial eight per cent on your turnover, therefore “small profits and quick returns” is a good motto to take and work on

THE LAMB TRADE, I | DIG 1 XC'REASE. NOTED. | Tliu outstanding feature G tlie JJ> ij tisli market’s capacity fur absorntiun ut lamb, ami the rates of increase of supplies from New Zealand ami South America. Australian supplies are more variable, mainly on act mint of climate, and have shown httlo increase. Since 1912-1-1 South American supplies have increased by mure than 400 per cent., while New Zealand supplies have increased by 71 per cent. From 1921-23 the South American increase is 102 per cent, and the New Zealand increase 27 per cent. These figures give some indication of the growth of competition on the lamb market. The demand for lam It has expanded partly at the expense of mutton. The pork export trade is encouraging. New Zealand exports have grown from 23.CKJ9 ewt. valued at £BO,OOO in 1923-24 to 150lOOcwt.. valued at £4SS ; ,OCO, for nine months of 1928-29. Most of the trade is with Great Britain, where an enormous market is available, hut a little goes to l Australia and the Pacific Islands as well. OUR MEAT SALES AT HOME. The opinion was expressed by Lord ( raigavon, Prime Minister, of Northern.lreland. at a civic reception, at Timaru that if each.carcass of frozen meat exported from New ■ Zealand 1 took with- it a specific instruction for receiving stores, - butchers. - -and. even. -for cooks, -the sales• of tile product would go up in. leaps'. pml bounds. Toliim.it seemed as though the difficulty .was-in the. thawing cut or defreezing at the ports of reccp-

t,ion. There was a big difference between the Canterbury lamb lie ate here in New Zealand and that which ho consumed at Home. He knew that those in New Zealand did all in their power to ensure that the quality of the lamb was the fittest when it left New Zealand but the difficulty seemed to be at the other end. He thought the solution would be the issuing of definite instructions to those who hand'ed the meat in its various stages at Home, and he would make inquiries there in that direction. Lord Craigavon said be would like the see the millions at present being paid to Argentina and other foreign countries paid to New Zealand. The. only reason that the Old Country absorbed so much of New Zealand products was that thev were excellent.

FARMING IN NEW ZEALAND. TWO YEAR- RESEARCH Y7OEK PLANNED. PROBLEMS FOR STUDV. Two years' research into land utilisation in New Zealand ,is to lie undertaken by the Auck'and University College Council on behalf of the Institute of Pacific Relations, whose council has voted £4l X> a year for this purpose. The plan, which was advanced by Professor Belsliaw. of Auckland, was one of the eight schemes accepted for performance at the institute’s last convention In Tokyo. The fund will rt> administered by tlm Univers'ty College Council winch took the initial steps by appointing Air F. R. Stephens, at present tutororganiser for the TY.E.A. m the Waikato, to undertake tlm field investigation at a salary of £ 460 a veni. Tim Conned also arranged to budget to the extent of £o>o it year toward expenses, expecting either a subsidy or a grant from the Government. The scheme, as outlined by Professor Belshaw. is to make a two years' investigation of factors mfl”encing bind utilisation in Ibis Dnpiinion. The initial steps will include an examination of the influence < f national conditions on forms of tenure. supiffv of labour, transport and similar facts. Tt 's hoped at a Inter stage to extend the scope of study tn an investigation of the reactions of methods of processing and marketing on production ofm-mucy together with n study of problems of land deterioration and settlement- and of the interrelation of fanning and afforestation. A number of studies have Ivon made into certain prol-'erns relatng directly and indirectly to land utilisation. Professor Belsliaw says, but no attempt Ins I-een made to relate these studies to each other. Purvovs of existnig methods of laud util’sat'on are claimed to he almost entirely non-existent and the tropicindicated have been only cursorily examined. The ultunate purpose of the proposed investigation is to present as far as possible a composite pirtuie of New Zealand farming, and to relate the various problems of crgani.sat.on and technique to tile specific piobiem of land utilisation. New Zealand lias attempted experiments in land taxation, - settlement and compulsory economic conuol, Professor Eeisliaw says, but the results have not been adequately studied and farmers have developed methods of farming practice in some cases unique while import experiments in organising companies for afforestation, tobacco growing and

eultivation cl New Zealand flax arc being attempted. r lhe points on which the professor considers the research work will he valuable are these: (1) (.'larifying problems of New Zealand farming: (‘2j indicating the probable surplus producing capacity in the future; (3) indicating the manner in which problems of land utilisation have been tackled up to the present, with the probability that some' of the methods attempted may be suggestive to other Pacific countries, which, so far, have little knowledge of New Zealand conditions, having- given little attention to them; (I) in linking the university with a research project of fundamental importance and thereby encouraging continuance of research in the future. CARE OF YOUNP STOCK. SEPARATION OF THE SEXES. According to an Australian paper, young bulls should he removed from the heifer calves- at- hot later than five mcntiis and then kept separated from them. Under no conditions should a herd hull be permitted to run wiith the dairy herd while on pasture, or' with growing heifers. This practice makes-it impossible to keep air accurate record of breeding dates. Young bulls will usually bo ready for Lreeclig purposes at nine or ten months, although,- as a ru’e. ip would be best-not to-breed many 1 cows to them until they, are- at least 12 months old. From-this tiuncy until they are two years: old; if-they are carefully handled, and the. cows are not bred too-near each.other, it is possible to .breed from- 20 to 25 . cows. .Under no conditions shop Id. more than this number lx) bred with bull under two years old. A ■ two-year-old. bulL that is ' strong : and. vigorous can safely, be bred to from three, to lire cows a week, during tko breeding season. Unless it be |

absolutely necessary, not more than two or three cows should be bred to the bull before lie is eighteen mouthy old, and no heavy service should be expected until he is past two years old. Most breeders consider a bull at bis best for breeding purposes at around three years of age.

A bull properly cared for should be a satisfactory breeder until - lie is six to eight years of age, under ordinary conditions. A mature bull can. if carefully handled, he used during the breeding season for from forty to fifty cows, although in high-produc-ing herds, where valuable bulls are used, it is not often that the herd bulls are used on such large numbers.

The opinion prevails, and it has been supported by experiments, that many dairy heifers are bred to freshen at too young an age. with a consequent tendency to chock the growth of the individual. For one experiment. 70 Jersey and 26 Friesian heifers were used. Jerseys, calving under twenty months of age, averaged -2071 b. of butter-fat durjing tile tii'st three lactations, while animals of similar breeding, lint- freshening between 24 and .TO months old, had an average of 2601 b. for the first three years. This represents a difference ef 63! b of fat per cow each year. When only the first three Icaetntions are considered it means a goodly income for tile extra months the heifers were dry. That is not all: when mature, the heifers, which were bred later, had large capacity and could consume larger amounts of roughages. This assumes a lower cost of production, as digestible nutrient:-' can be supplied molt* eoononncaOy in dough ness than in com entratest Similar results were obt lined with the Friesian-.

... A SMITHFIELD puzzle. A CONTRAST IN PRICKS. A rather curious position, and one that surely constitutes a striking anomaly. is revealed in contrasting the juices cf beef at Smithfield Market now and at the corresponding date of 191 T. the year prior to the war. The* pick of the London market is, of course, tin* short sides from Scotland, largely the carcases of the AN erdeen-Angus typo cattle. A midtile prices for the short sides in 1913 was -1 9. and now the price is G'3 per stone of Mbs. This represents an increase of slightly over To per cent in the price during the periods mentioned. As, however, there are no quotations for English short sides, it may be noted that Scotch long sides rose from 4'6 to 6 1. or fullv 37 per cent., while the pine of English long sides rose from 4 01 to 64. a rise of close on 32 per

cent. The curious point in the contrast is. however, when we examine the prices of imported beef. Argentine dulled hindquarters, which may betaken to mean the same parts as Scotch short sides, have risen from 3 1 to A 4. or exactly the same as English long sides. Thus we have the position of Argentine chilled beef selling at the same price as the or.'y English meat that is placed on the London market. This is a state of matters that is hard to explain, but surely it calls for enquiry. Evict! the best that -Scotland can send is only some three lialfjiennies a pound more in price than the chilled beef from Argentina. It is little wonder that there is a drag in the fat catt'o markets of this country. Rut the very curious point is that since 1913 Argentine chilled hindquarters have risen in value by close on 73 per cent., and the Argentine chilled forequarters by 62. V per cent., which are far greater peccutage rises than in the case of any other class of meat on the London market. The next rise is 4-1 per cent, in the case of Australian frozen hindquarters! Can anyone in the trade explain how there have been such large increases in our imported meats as compared with what we produce at home? These figures, too. canstdute

objections from a financial point of a telling commentary on political view to use British beef for the Forces during part of the war. If. as these figures indicate, tho lest English beef can be got at the same price as Argentine chilled beef, one fails to see why the home product should not get first consideration. THE RUBBISH HEAP. The rubbish heap must not be considered to consist entirely of waste matter. Some of it .can he put to good use, . as, for example, the sweepings of leaves. Allow these to accumulate in a corner and after a lew months they can be ting into the soil to enrich it. Rubbish proper, of course. will make a. fine bonfire. To do this, dig a,, hole about 3ft. square and lit. deep and edge it . with large stones or. bricks to make a. .foundation, so that the wood ash .will accumulate at the bottom. This can be removed at intervals aud used as a fertiliser. Allow rubbish to. become thoroughly.dry if the weather is dry enough to make this possible, build up your pile and then set .light.to it. .If the rain has unkindly damped the waste matter, put a little paper , soaked in paraffin cm.it, and yotjr bonfire \yill then burn, rapidly..