FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 October 1921, Page 10

FARM AND DAIRY.

HERD TESTING. T. L. JOLL ASSOCIATION. The following are the results for the period ending Sept. 30, 1921 : HIGHEST HERDS.

The average Association eow gave SSOlbs milk, 3.9 test, 34.221bs fat. ’J’he lowest herd. 24 cows, gave 5281bs milk, 3.9 test, 20.621bs fat. The lowest cow gave 2401bs milk, 4.0 test, O.GOlbs fat. SHEEP OWNERS’ BALANCE SHEET. To enforce his point that sheep farmers resented the attitude of shearers in not going to work. Air. Glenn (member for Rangitikei) gave the House his own balance sheet the other day. This, he said, he wished to do so that he could let Labor men realise how sheep farmers wore down to bedrock. The year before last, said Mr. Glenn, he secured £5,300 for his wool clip, but last year it would have cost him £640 ;1o send his elip to England, £4OO for [ shearing, £5O to transport it to Wanganui for .shipment, a total outlay of £1.057. And he would probably get £1 n. bale and have his year's work for nothing. Mr. Burnett: There are thousands like it. Mr. Gleen eorwurred, assuring the House that he was not exaggerating. He had told his men he would not reduce wages unless forced to, and they were loyal chaps who worked well without need of union*. They were taking a gamble, by sticking to him. When the greatest industry in the country was in such straits they found an official of the Shearers’ Union stopping four shearers who arrived by steamer, and telling them not to work, though the employer would pay award rate, which, in the speaker’s opinion, was too high. The Shearers’ Union had its pickets out, but they were leading men to sure defeat at the hands of hill country men, who would help each other if necessary to shear their own sheep. Comment of the official Laborite, Mr. Sullivan, who followed, was that, in view of several years’ extraordinary returns from Imperial wool purchase, it was remarkable with what dispatcli those profits went up in smoke. Sheep owners in the present circumstances ought to be able to sympathise with the workers, who had to face unemployment without the advantage of accumulated surpluses of past years. THE M T AIR ARAP A FARMERS. In the 30th annual report and balancesheet of the Wairarapa Farmers’ Co-op-erative Association, the directors express their regret, “that owing to the slump seriously affecting the financial position of this country, coupled with the large amount of income tax to be paid, they do not feel justified in recommending that a dividend be declared at present, especially as the immediate outlook is not bright. The net profit for the year —after making ample provision for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation of plant, auditors’ fee*=, and writing stocks down to replacement value—is £15,202 7s Id. to which has to be added £5694 9a 'ld. carried forward from last year’s profit and loss account, making a total of £20,896 l(te 2d. The balance of this amount is to be carried forward after paying income tax and G per cent, dividend on preference shares.

The balance-sheet shows £350,417 capital in ordinary and preference shares, £34.650 reserve, £60,000 debentures. £73,459 fixed deposit, £7012 at call, sundry liabilities. £48,657; bills payable, £18,750; to Bank of New Zealand, £156,651. On the -assets side there are freehold and leasehold properties £146,368; plant and live stock, £20,608; stocks on hand, £232,769; book debts, cash advances and Government loans, £379,305. Profits on sales, commissions, and sundry were £58,095; salaries, rents, taxes, bad debts, etc., £36,404, rebate commissions, £7395. leaving a balance of £15,202 to profit and loss account.

Our Wai-toi-toi correspondent writes: Ideal farming weather has prevailed during the past week, and the rain on Friday night and Saturday will substantially help the pasture and crops. Those who favor the growing of soft turnips, mangolds, carrots and cabbage arc busy getting the soil prepared for sowing, and it is probable that the former will have a big run this season as an autumn fodder. Great diversity of opinion prevails as to the better kind to sow, some pinning their faith on the Imperial Green Globe, others on the Red Paragon, while not a few go nap on the Yellow Romney variety. In any case, whichever kind are grown, it would be as well for those using them to use every precaution in feeding them out, and to avoid as far as possible giving the milk any unpleasant flavor, as in view of the uncertin state of the butter end cheese market it will doubtless be a case of the better article obtaining the higher price, and every assistance should he given to managers to produce nothing but first quality of either. The generally accepted idea as to minimising the effect of turnip feeding on the flavor of milk is to pull them the day before feeding out to the cows. Recently, at Ladbrooks, in Canterbury, a well-known farmer, Mr. Robert Brown, lost four young cows, valued at about £lOO. as a result of their eating certain hay, all within half-an-hour. When he saw the first animal fall, he thought there was nothing serious the matter with it. but when the others stag gered about for a while and then lay down and died, he realised that the animate must have been poisoned. As his herd of about forty cows hau all been feeding off the same hay, he began to tear that, others might also die, but fortunately none of them showed any illeffects. Mr. Brown is convinced that the animals died as tbe result of eating a weed known as the “deadly nightshade,” a plant which grows about the height of a potato plant, and has loaves

similar to those of a tomato plant. It bears a white flower, which changes into black berries about the size of a currant. A summer plant, it grows in the open fields, and would naturally be mown with grass for hay-making. This night-shade also grows in this district, and it would be advisable, in view of the foregoing experience, to keep a lookout for it and destroy where possible. By a curious coincidence farmers in Ladbrooks have suffered severe loss from time to time by cows dying (suddenly. There has always been sepne doubt as to the cause, which has been generally attributed to a weed bearing a yellow flower, and known locally, because of ita resemblance to the parsnip plant, as the parsnip weed. It is said that insurance companies have refused to insure stock grazing on land where this weed grows, it being generally found beside ditches or other damp ground. Mr. Brown feels certain that the parsnip weed is not the eause of animals dying, as he has often seen cattle eating considerable quantities of it and showing no subsequent illeffects. He also mentions the experience of another farmer who, having lost •a number of cows, and attributing their death to the parsnip weed, had it practically eradicated, only to lose cattle shortly afterwards.

The Auckland Star has just seen the record of an actual case that happened to an Auckland farmer, who sent 20 bullocks to London. The meat realised good prices at Home—from 9Jd down to 3Jd per pound—and the 14,0001 b made just a little short of £3OO, about £l5 per beast. Landing charges, rent, inspection, etc., at the London end absorbed £4O, but that was a mild sum compared with the rest of the bill. Slaughtering cost £3O, cold storage £25, but the shipping people got the lion’s share, their little bill being £lll. Six months after the beasts left the farm on their expensive peregrinations the farmer received his cheque, which was just short of £94, or £4 14s per head. In anticipation of an eventual sharp rise in the price of wool, individuals with capital at their disposal are picking up good quality parcels at current market rates in different parts of the North Island. “Many of our opponents ‘have questioned the cost of administering a big concern like the New Zealand Co-oper-ative Dairy Co., Ltd.,” said Mr. A. J. Sinclair, at a meeting of dairymen. “The cost of overhead chargee, including salaries and office expenditure, is £25.000 which I admit is a large sum. But it does not seem so large when I tell you that it works out as equivalent to id per lb butter-fat.”

Notwithstanding the depressed state of the wool and stock market, the great majority of the soldier settiers in the Nelson land district are working their, farms in a manner that indicates a determination to become successful farmers (states the Nelson Mail). A few properties have, however, been abandoned for various reasons, and the Lands Department is now arranging to place new settlers on them. Most of the farms have necessary buildings and are stocked and improved. They comprise sheep farms, dairy farms, and orjhard? in full bearing. In every country in the World, except Australia and New Zealand, the population is increasing at a faster rate than the meat supply. United States population during the past ten years has increased by 18 per cent., whilst its stock has declined during the same period by 20 per cent. Fifty years ago, there were said to be 300,000,000 potential meat eaters in the world and to-day there are nearly 600,000,000. War conditions introduced frozen meat into some countries such as Belgium, which probably twenty years of peaceful penetration would not have secured. The outlook is therefore good for meat, although the congestion at loonie will prevent the possible improvement to any appreciable extent for some little time to come.

Dealing with the land market, Messrs. Pyne, Gould, Guinness, Ltd., of Christchurch, state in their annual Review: — “The future of the land market largely depends on finance. If farmers, who are more or less embarrassed by present conditions, can hold on until the markets right themselves, a serious collapse may be avoided, but if large numbers are put into liquidation, and their properties submitted to forced sale, there is no doubt that a heavy decline in the value of sheep country will have to be faced. Good nibround farming laud would not be so seriously affected, as the present and future prospects of dairying and wheat-growing appear very hopeful.... Without taking a pessimistic view, we fear it must be recognised that purely pastoral country has changed hands during the last three years on a basis 1 which present and prospective prices cannot support. A good deal of this land must either fall back into the hands of the previous owners, or be thrown on the open market, when a new basis of values will be established.”

Canada achieved a new record in dairy production in 1920 with an output valued at 14,483,188 "dollars, which was nine million dollars in excess of the previous year’s production. Creamery butter in that year, with an output of 110,030,399 lbs, showed an increase of 6,139,69111)8. over the figures for 1919, with an average price secured of 56A cents per pound, as against 54 cents. Cheese made in factories during the year agregated 149,521,008 lbs, a decrease of 16.000,000 from the previous year, which makes the increase on the total dairy products all the more remarkable and pleasing. In addition to these two products condenseries turned out 53,980,993 lbs of condensed milk; 30,369,642 lbs of evaported milk, and 7,674,688 lbs of milk powder. The rapid manner in which the production of creamery products is increasing in Canada is indicated in a concise manner by a comparison with the figures of ten and twenty years ago. In 1900 the production of creamery butter was 36,066,739 lbs, valued at 7,240.972 dollars. By 1910 is had nearly coubled, with a production of 64,<198,163 lbs, valued at 15,645,845 dollars. By 1920 it had almost redoubled again with 110,030.309 lbs, worth 62,306,794 dollars quadrupling in value. A large factor in maintaining this consistent increase has been the enthusiastic entry of the Western provinces into the industry and the past few years have seen the most remarkable * development of dairying on the prairies. According to an Australian paper, a new grass named Mocatto, which thrives well in swampy land, was recently introduced into England from Africa and made splendid progress, and has become regarded as a first-class grazing and fodder grass. From England it was brought to Victoria, where it has estab lished a splendid reputation. As hay it has produced up to four tons to the acre, and for grazing purposes it is very popular. It grows densely and is considered to be a reclaimer of useless swamps. It propagates very slowly •from seed, but grows quickly from roots. I Two New South Wales landowners have I secured a supply of roots, and are goinft to give the grass a chance in some of the swamp lands in their locality.

Cows. Lbs milk. Test. Lbs. fat. 48 974 4.3 42.29 28 1112 3 8 41.85 38 £130 3.0 41.44 29 1085 3.8 41.28 43 1042 4.0 41.10 30 1030 3.9 40.37 HIGHEST COWS. Lbs. milk. Test. Lbs. fat. 1335 4.8 64.08 1380 4.G 63.48 1110 5.7 63.27 1110 5.6 62.10 1335 4.6 61.45 1530 4.(1 61.20