HILL-FARMING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 122, 9 June 1937, Page 15

HILL-FARMING

Production of High Quality Ewes ADDRESS T0 FARMERS "For any man holding land, it k hie duty not only for his own prosperity, but for that of the State, to leava the •fertility of hk land not lower when he deaves it than when he took it over." ,This was the opinion of Mr. A. C. ■Moriori, aheep-farm mauager at Massey •College, when addressing the annuai igathering of sheep farmers ' • " The key to the sbeep-farming industry was held by the hill-country farmer who had to raise sheep not only for his own purposes hut for the requirements of the flat-land farmers. Mr. Morton confined his address largely to the. Taihape-Mangaweka dis- > trict, the altitude of which was generally high. Across the whole area, which was generally papa country, was a | ceutre ridge running across it. ' The | whole of it had been sown in cocksfoot i and rye-grass, but above a strata of | ■sandstone where the soil was of much ■lower fertility, these had gope out, Tetting danthoria aud brown top iii to be domiuant within a short time. The climate was rigorous and the rainfall was well spread, the average for 24 years being 45 inches aimually. This area could be classified as first-class hill country, the holdings ranging from 700 to 1000 acres. Blazing the Trail. Speaking of breaking in this country the speaker paid tribute to the work carried out by the pioneers. It was covered with heavy bush which involved high felling costsi. For several years the early settlers had to slog for very little returns. It had to be remember ed that the pioneers had no preeedent. Breaking in country to-day settlers would have the experience of others to work upon. Methods of stoeking and the use of seed would undoubtedly be carried out on quite different lines. The early settlers were given very . little inducement to run cattle owing to there bding no market available. The speaker said he could remember three-year steers selling fc« 22s 6d & head. The early clearings were wonderfully fertile, giving remarkable growth of grass, but, stock was difficult to obtain, Califbrnian thistle came and also took charge, it being a heavy draiu on the settlers to keep it cut. To-day this thistle had to & great extent disappeared. Tha "take" of grass was, affected by the thistle with the result that bidi bidi got in on all bare patches. In the main sheep and cattle farming were carried on, the country being Very suitable for the Romney. Mr. Morton anticipated that in the near future some of the finest Romney wool produced in New Zealand would be raised from this district, ' The Lamb Problem. One of the problems confronting the farmers in htis distriet as in other areas in New Zealand was the lamb problem. There was an average of 95 to 100 per cent. of lambing but as in other districts there were too many not up to a staudard, The problem now was how to raise tfie standard of the 5.0 per cent. which did not reach the requirements. It was obvious that care in xaising ewe lambs from infancy was of paramount importance. For the raising of hoggets the best paddocks only should be used. Gontrol should he by xneans of dry cattle and they allow it to sweeten up, The adoption of this method would go a long way toward the successful rearing of the hoggets, Keeping the stalk off the pasture until after the new year waa desirable. If the farmer had a lot of rough growth for the winter he would have a lot of unpalatable feed- to deal.with. Ewe lambs should be maintained in a coudition so that they could be frozen. They would then come .through ' the winter in good order au-d grow into splendid two-tooths withput having their constitutiop underminecL An important feature was to keep pastures evenly grazed so that ewes would not be left with dry old growth which was less nutritious and unpalatable. The short feed was more frost proof with the result that it was of much greater feed value than feed that had been left uncontrolled. Olover was all through the district and it had beeu brought on by top-dressing. If carried on, Mr. Morton said it Would be very profitable. It was necessary that the pastures should be controlled by cattle, the best sorts for the purpose being young bullocks. These, however, were difficult to ohtain and the control would fall, to a great extent, upon the breeding herds. which were not so advantageous for this purpose. Much depended upon the hill-couiiti'y farmer for the carrying on of the fat lamb trade. It was neoessary that he should raise ewes of such a standard that would stand tho fat lamb farmer in good stead for at least two seasons.; The speaker concluded by stating that the whole of the sheep raising industry depended largely upon tho hill country and the arresting of the deterioration that was taking place in the soil was of vital importance. Work should be undertaken to show how hill country could be held and brought back to production. It was necessary to. be able to farm at such a profit that the farmer would he able to put back a considerable portion of it into his farm a-jain — a praeliee whicli had rarcly been carried out Mtherto. ,