NEXTSEASON

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3261, 10 May 1943, Page 4

NEXTSEASON

PROSPECTS FOR DAIRYING

SEASONAL HERD SALES NO UNUSUAL TREND SHOWN “I do not think there is any appreciable increase in the number of clearing sales of dairy herds this season in the Thames Valley compared with the number of sales at this time last year,” said a prominent man in the livestock industry when asked whether many farmers were abandoning dairying because of labour conditions. He added that sales of farms all over the South Auckland districts occurred year after year in the autumn, and this year was no exception. A good proportion of the buyers were from other provinces, but by no means all. Much the samd replies were received from other quarters. Some of the auctioneering firms have more clearing sales fixed for the next three months, and others report approximately the same number as last year.

There was a tendency, said one man, for sharemilking agreements to be made effective from June 1, whereas in former years it was more common to have agreements made effective from July 1, and even later. The reason for this was explained by a farmer, who said that an owner wanted to have his sharemilkers settled down on the farm as soon as posisble, to “get' the run .of the ropes,” so that when the cows came to profit he would be» familiar with the situation and be able to cope with it. When a sharemilker from one farm accepted a position on another farm as from June 1, the first man was anxious to have a successor installed as soon after June 1 as possible. “Farmers Are Optimists” Labour troubles were stated by some farmers to be their chief reason for going out of dairying, but a stock auctioneer said that though there was a good deal of truth in the claim he held the view that the shortage was not abnormal, if some allowances were made for the departure on military duties of former farm workers. “Some farmers simply got scared,” he added. The position was summed up by one man in these words: “There is no greater optimist than the average farmer. He resolves to reduce his herd from, say, 80 to 65, but a few weeks later comes a flush of grass. He can’t bear the thought of having good .pasture going to waste, so he buys 10 or a dozen more cows, restoring the herd to its original size. Of course if» there is no

flush of grass he doesn’t.buy.” To a query as to wheher many farmers were changing over from cows to sheep' came various replies, but in general there was agreement that this change-over was relatively small.

The fact that buyers of farms were owning their own herds, instead of employing seasonal labour, was admitted, it being explained that farmers shrewdly regarded the war situation and concluded that a man employed by the week or the month was more likely to be called for armed service than- was an adult member of a family of sharemilkers. The farmer employing a sharemilking family was thus more likely to have his herd in good hands throughout the season. Going Back to the Farms Information was desired whether there were many owners of farms not working on them, and leaving the management to employees, while the owners, more or less fit to take a fairly active part in the farm management, contented themselves with doing th/ least possible there and occupying their time in less important recreations or occupations. This was replied to by one executive, who said the tendency was in the other direction. Many farmers who had, prior to the war, felt that they had reached an age when they were justly entitled to a little more leisure ‘than had been their lot for so many years, were going back to the farms to take a more active share in the manifold tasks. They were “doing their bit,” as an obligation due to the war, willingly or unwillingly, but doing it. Lime, Surpentine And Super The drop in butterfat production during the past three mon.hs of dry weather was used as a basis for comparison of past seasons and prospects for the coming season. Replies to inquiries indicated that the’ restrictions on the use of phospha ‘ic fertilisers were more likely adversely to affect production than the present shortage of manpower. One farmer said his country needed more rather than less fertilisers to keep it in reasonably good heart.

But he waxed indignant when serpentine was mentioned as a, substitute for superphosphate. His opinion of the serpentine rock that was being marketed at present was definitely contrary .to the claims that' serpentine was beneficial. He said that, in any case, the rock was not crushed finely enough to dissolve into the ground, and offered to point out paddocks that had been topdressed where lumps of serpentine as big as a pullet’s egg had been lying exposed to the weather for over two months, and was just the same as when it was applied. His opinion was that if lime could not be supplied to mix with the little phosphate available it was better not to bother with anything else, for quality was being sacrificed 4 for 4 bulk. Lime was beneficial to most lands, in the Thames Valley at any rate, and the Government would be doing a greater service to the country if it concentrated on the production oflime and distribution at low eoeta than would result from distributing serpentine rock to farmers who had no faith in it