WOMEN FARMERS

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4423, 6 March 1930, Page 4

WOMEN FARMERS

OWNER OF LARGE RANCH

EAGER FOR KNOWLEDGE

Two successful women fawners, who are members of the Empire farmers’ party visiting- New Zealand, recently spoke of their experiences of agriculture. Mrs. Llewellyn Lloyd, who has been managing the family estate in Southern Rhodesia since the death of her husband, has 20,000 acres of mixed farm land to look after and devotes her time to its management when she is not visiting England to supervise her children’s education. “I cannot say I am very fond of farming,” Mrs. Lloyd admitted, “but I simply cannot avoid the responsibility. We go in for practically everything-—cattle, horses, a few sheep, pigs and various 'kinds of agriculture, including tobacco, maize and potato-growing. The cattle are sent to the Johannesburg market and the cream from the dairy herds had at one time to be sent 400 miles to a factory. Happily, all that has been changednow.”

IMrs. Lloyd’s ranch is situated at an altitude of 4000 ft. to 5000 ft., at Borubi Springs, on the Inyazura River, between Salisbury and Umtali, and it is noted for a plateau of extremely rich soil. “You can dig 15ft. and not strike sub-soil,” she said. “There we grow our maize and potatoes in truly marvellous quantities. Sheep-grazing is not so successful owing to the amazing growth of the grass; it was up anything from 3ft. to 12ft. in height when I saw it last.

“Southern Rhodesia is a wonderful country,” Mrs. Lloyd added enthusiastically. “The only trouble is the long, dry season. It is no exaggeration to say that we get a different climate every few hundred miles.”

The other woiilan farmer, Mrs. H. Russell-Bergusson, owns a model dairy farm of 180 acres at Apjpin, in Argyllshire, Scotland, and she is a member of the British Dairy Fanners’ Association, besides several other organisations, including the council of the Scottish National Association of Pig Breeders.

“I have been farming for about ten years,” said Mrs. Russell-Fer-gusson. “We only have albout 25 cows and I do my own retailing and selling of milk, supplying the town of Ballyehulish. 1 was very keen on pig breeding- at one time, but lately I have given it up and merged everything- into retail dairying. The farm also grows all kinds of agricultural produce.”,-

Both evince keen interest in farming methods in New Zealand. “We have come to find out all wo can, not merely to satisfy our curiosity, but with the idea of applying anything we learn to our own farms,” said Mrs. Llewellyn Lloyd.