PASTURE PROBLEMS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 900, 18 February 1930, Page 10

PASTURE PROBLEMS

HOW LAND IS FARMED IN SOUTH AFRICA DAIRYING POPULAR Farming '6,000 acres of dairying country, and as member of the Advisory Board to the Minister of Agriculture, president of the Natal Agricultural Union, and chairman and managing-director of a large co-operative dairy factory, Mr. A. V. Allan, leader of the party of South African farmers that arrived by the Uiimaroa this morning, is well qualified to talk on agricultural and pastoral conditions in Africa. Mr. Allan is engaged In dairying and mixed farming and on his 6,000 acres he runs 1,000 head of cattle and 1,000 sheep. He explained to a Sun representative that a beast to every four or five acres was considered good country. He, himself, was on good country, and also had an irrigation farm on which he grew a lot of lucerne to help him out. He mentioned that Natal was country that varied a good deal, and although on§ man might have good country, the adjoining farm might be poor. It was a temporate climate, with a maximum temperature of about 95 degrees, he said. Although it had a temperate climate winter feed had to be provided for, however, on account of the pastures drying during the winter months. As yet they had not gone in for artificial pastures, although they hoped to introduce new grasses shortly, and were now experimenting with several. Top-dressing, also, was carried out, their experience being that it was not effective on natural pastures. The pastures were generally sweet veldt which was the best, and sour veldt, and for winter feed, maize and oats were largely grown. Ensilage was also extensively used during the off months-. They were also experimenting with grass from Central Africa, and good results were also expected from the use of paspalum for permanent pastures. Twenty or thirty inches of rain a year would be considered a useful fall, he said. Farming in South Africa was not carried out on the same intensive scale as in New Zealand, he said. There were vast areas of land and a small population. Despite the size of the country the actual white population was not a great deal larger than that of New Zealand. butter trade growing The wool industry was developing rapidly, and at the present time there were about 35,000,000 wool sheep in the country, and about 5,000,000 mutton sheep. He was very interested in New Zealand’s mutton trade and, in view of the situation of the wool market at present, thought it would be a better trade for South Africa to participate in than wool. He also thought that dairying held out - better prospects for his country than beef raising. He was of the opinion that jn the near future South Africa would become a very large dairy exporter. Last year they exported about 21,000 cases, but the trade was only yet in its infancy. The principal dairying provinces were Natal Transvaal, the Orange Free State and the Eastern districts of Cape Province. These were the districts in which the best summer rainfalls were experienced. Like many other members of the party, Mr. Allan is an enthusiastic follower of Rugby football. Pie is president of the Rugby Union in his district, and naturally took a very keen interest in the All Black tour of South Africa. One of the few regrets that he has about the present tour is that it will conclude before the British team arrives.