TOURING FARMERS

Hokitika Guardian, 6 March 1930, Page 7

TOURING FARMERS

IAI PR ESS JONS OF N.Z

AIOR.RINSYTT.LE, March 1

“I have been very interested in elm butter lactones we have visited,” said Mr S. R. Whitley, leader of tlie party ol overseas farmers, in the course of

a. clmt with the correspondent of the

Auckland “Star.” “They are much larger than any we have in England of course. We do not make much butter in England. Our milk is too valuable for that, and is used for supplying the cities, except in a. few country districts.” Mr Whitley said one of his chief interests as a member of farmers’ organisations was to improve the quality of the English milk and produce a uniform grade A tubercular test milk.

Referring to foot and mouth disease, Air Whitley said it upset A. and E. shows and cattle fairs. When they got cases of the disease in their district they wore not allowed to move cattle within a radius of 15 miles of the outbreak. This caused no end of trouble to fanners, and New Zealand farmers were very fortunate in ’not having this dread disease to contend with. He inquired from Mr J. E. Beeson about compensation paid in New Zealand for stock destroyed by order of tlie Government inspectors, and was interested to bear that there was a grant of £3 a head for cattle condemned. He had taken a keen interest in the co-operative- dairy factories he had visited. The very wonderful pastures he had seen on the way to Morrinsville had taken his eye. At one time he had owned a Jersey herd of GO cows.

Air Whitley took copious notes during his conversation with Mr Leeson and Air J, Parian©, general manager of the N.Z.C. Dairy Company.

PROLIFIC GROWTH OF GRASS

“You have a wonderful country here,” remarked Air Frank Batho., who comes from the dairying district of North Shropshire. “I have been impressed by the pastures I have seen this morning. We have not such pastures and such prolific growth of grass at Home. I am interested in tlie wide use of milking machines. They appear to work well here, but sometimes they don’t work at all well in our country. I don’t suppose one English farmer in 130 has machines.” He had been surprised at tlie enormous quantity of cattle carried on a Morrinsville farm lie bad just visited. One man bad told him he was carrying 58 bullocks on 88 acres and he had hardly believed this possible. In his part of Shropshire fanners went in for dairying, and he had a herd of Friesians. In South Shropshire they went in for sheep, and bred tlie famous Shropshire sheep.

Another visitor remarked that after seeing the advantages New Zealand possessed as a pastoral country they wondered why sliei wanted to start secondary industries. “We can make manufactured goods of a better quality and cheaper than you, and New Zealand farmers can s.ell their butter iu England for less than we can make it.’’ they said. “All we have to do then is to swap them, and stick to our own natural industries.” They were interested to hear that a big section of New Zealand fanners were opposed to the fostering of too many secondary industries and the existence of tariffs which increased fanning costs.

Several farmers remarked that they were n.ot anxious to see the dairy factories. They had Friesian herds that supplied milk for the cities. Figures of yields in butter fat meant nothing to them as they had to reduce these figures to gallons' of milk to get a comparison with English fanning. They asked if there were any Morrinsville Friesian breeders present, but most of the escorting farmers appeared to have Jersey herds. i\lr Thistleton Smith, of Norfolk, said ho sent the milk from his Friesian herd to London. He had a herd of sixty or seven tv cows and they average 1060 gallons a year. He raised his bull calves and sold them at 20 months as baby beef, when they'' weighed about nine cwt. “There is an increased demand for a smaller joint among English consumers,” lie said, “and we are specialising in selling off our steers as baby beef.” He understood there was not a great deal of beef raising in Ne.w Zealand.