THE FARM.

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 28, 24 April 1924, Page 4

THE FARM.

A GREAT. AUTUMN. “ A great autumn,” is the expression farmers are using to describe the present period. Everywhere the pastures present a pleasing' green appearance and contain a wonderful growth of grass, providing an abundance of feed for the winter; in fact it is stated that there is as much feed in the pastures at the present time as there was last spring. The humidity of the weather before the last heavy rain and the bright sunshine afterwards have made ideal conditions to promote growth and to sustain the milk supply for a few weeks longer. In most cases the cows are “ hanging on ” remarkably well but it is noticed in other instances that after each rain recently a drop was noticed in the yield, though for some time after that little difference was noticed. It is considered that possibly there has been too much water in the grass after the last deluge and that that has caused the sudden drop immediately after the rain fell. DRAINAGE ON FARMS. The Morrinsville district is well served with a fine system of natural drainage, there being an abundance of small streams to carry away any surplus water. Also during the few winters previous to the past one not overmuch rain had fallen. Consequently the Morrinsville farmers had neglected to attend to the necessity of providing artificial drainage leading to the natural outlets. The result was that last winter more than one farmer, especially those on the flats, had more water on their land than the drainage could cope with. Throughout the dry summer the wet winter was forgotten and the necessity for better drainage was only called to mind when the storm of a little over a week ago swamped a few of the paddocks. Fortunately the ground, after the particularly dry summer, was able to absorb a great quantity of moisture, or the results might have been more serious. The farmers have now been awakened to the fact that more drains are necessary on the farms to provide for the time when the rain comes in exceptionally large quantities. The men on .the land are therefore busy digging new drains or cleaning out and deepening old drains in readiness for the coming winter.