BY THE WAYSIDE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 25, 13 February 1937, Page 19

BY THE WAYSIDE

News of Interest to H.B. Farmers [ 1 SHORTHORN'S HIGH YIELD Allandale Lady Clfire, a five-year-old purebfed" milklng Shorthorn cow, bred by and owned by Mr. J. Allen, Hatuma, is bringing renown . to Hawke's Bay. Mr. Allen informed the writer recently that Lady .Ciare topped New Zealand for the five-year-olds in the milking Shorthorn- C.O.R. testing for the past seasou with 7291bs. fat., In the previous Season this same coW topped the senior three-year-olds with 710 Ibs' fat, and in the current aeason Mr. Allen again anticipates a gobd performanco Lady ciare calved just a fortnight ugo, and dropped twins. She is by Dominion Castlebar (a Riiakura-bred bull) out of Allandale Honour III, Removafl, of Embargo. The Takapau branch of the Fatmers ' Union agfeed to support the nplifting of embargo on stock from the Old Countfy under the conditions drawn up by veterinary surgeons, when the matter was discuBsed .at the, last meeting of the bfanch. Takapau Farmers. The monthiy meetings of the Takapau branch of the Farmers' tJliion and the Young Farmers' Club were held this week, when there was a gciod attendance at both meetings. The usual business was eondueted and tho Young Farmers' Club agreed to join in with the Farmers * tlhion to pay a visit to the Smedley Esta'te on March 24. They requested the Norsewood Young Farmers' Club to postpone the visit to Massey College till April, wixen it is hoped to join in with them under the supervision of Mr. J. W. Palmer, the district Agrieultural Instructor. Wairoa Pig Recording, Development in tho pig iitdu'Stry is being keCnly attended to by the Wairoa Pig Eecoicding Club, which wftS formed last year. Recording work is proceeding on one farm, but the club has seen the desirability of improving the class . of pig in the district before settling down seridusly tb its work of actuai recording among meinbcrs generally. With this ehd in view, a consignment of sOws in pig was secured from the Waikato to the order of some of the members, and these are designed to assist in building up quaiity. Milk Flow Falls. A few 0Gisborne dairy farmers hre puzzled over a mysterious falling oif in the milk flow of a number of their cows, and the Government veterinary officer, Mr. P. Haugh, is equally perplexed. It is not unusual for a cow to fiuctuate in her yield, but when numbers in the same herd do So to auck a degree that the milk flow almost stops it is a cause for some concern by the dairy farmer and is most unusual. Two or three cases of this happening in the Gisborne district fiav© been re* ported. • Maoris and Testing. Maori dairy farmers in the Wairoa district seem to be more alive to the benefits of herd testing than the pakehas. The VvTairoa County Herd Testing Association has a membership of about 60, aud a large proportion of these are Maoris. Twenty-two aru from the Mohaka development biock, these having come in this year for thn first time. • This total of 22 herdo under test comprises nearly half of the 50 dairy factory suppliers on the block. Goates and Blackberry. Large areas of blackberry-covered country have been cleared in the Wairoa district during the past few years by the use of goat herds. Many propertiea along the Wairoa coastline between Mohaka and Nuhaka were badly infested with blackberry a few years ago, but the position is greatly eased now, and farmers who have grazed their goat ^ herds effectively are convinced that, if the goat is not the ideal eradicator, it is the most effeetive known to. them at present. WAiroa Dairy Supplies. The Wairoa Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, is preparing to manufacture an additional 50 or 60 tons of butter next season as a direct rasult of the Dairy Commission 's decision to give Wairoa all Nuhaka butter factory supplies. There is a possibility of this total reaehing 100 to 120 tons extra if a suggested merger with the Nuhaka eheese factory occurs. It is understood that a proposal to that eifeet has been discussed in certain quarters, but it is not known yet how far these discussions havef proceeded. FarmLabour. New Zealand is not the only place with a fann labour problem. The Britifih Government 's re-armament poiicy is having many repercussions, the iatest of which is to cause a shortage of casual agrieultural labour, says a correspondent. The casual workers are leaving the land in favour of a year or two's permanent work in building aerodfomes at 50 per cent. more wages. This season many East. Anglican farmers have found great difficulty in getting men to lift the beet. and the same i, difficulty is likely to b« experienced

when the time comes for f ruit-picking, casual Work on the market garden' holdings,; and in the harvest fields; Loss From Mammitis. The loss of the dairy industry of New Zealand from mammitis could. in his opinion, be approXimated at from £1,500,000 to £2,000,000 per annum While temporary sterility might f©3ult in a loss np to £l,00b,000 per. annum, stated Dr. C. S. M. Hopkirk, D.V.Sc., •in an- address to the New Zealand Dairy Board. Twenty per cent. of the cows in the Dominion herds shoWed mammitis in one quarter • or more, r 25 to 30 per cent. showed mild inflammatiOn but were in profit, and the remaining 50 to 55 per cent. were norffial cows. Wairoa Freezing Season. Like most other districts, Wairoa is suffering from poor fattening Conditions, and freezing works tallies are not as good as expected from a normal summer. However, a spell of fine, dry weather now Would see large killings. The freezing works are equipped to kill about 2000 sheep and lambs a day, but have not been taxed to capacity yet.