PRACTICAL FARMING.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1922, Page 12

PRACTICAL FARMING.

p INCREASING PRODUCTION. T CARDIFF FARMER'S EXPERIENCE. Why does the New Zealand farmer lag so far behind the Danish farmer in the matter of the average production of his dairy herds? If. that problem were thoroughly investigated and solved there is little doubt that New Zealand would gain considerably, for dairy produce is one of the most important items on the list of our exports, and if the exports of this produce could be brought up to the Danish average it would double in value. Such a development is not impossible. It is not only possible, but is even now in the process of accomplishment. New Zealand possesses a climate superior to the Danish climate, and its <soil is naturally more fertile. The only circumstance that can be at fault then is the method of farming. If Denmark can reach an average production of 300 lb of butterfat per cow, New Zealand can do as well if not better when the same degree of efficiency in farming methods has been reached.

The New Zealand farmer lacks confidence and ambition, and is too much inclined to jog along on the same old lines with an aversion to scientific methods and advancement with the times. This characteristic is probably accounted for by the fact that his land has been amply favored by nature, and that it has been too easy to make a “living” without delving in the realms of science and pushing up production as has now become necessary. If the boomed-up price of land has done no other good it has forced upon farmers the absolute necessity of getting a greater return from his land than he was wont to get in the good old times when land was cheap and living easy. Now it is a common complaint that the struggling farmer,- ground down under a burden of mortgages, rates and high prices cannot afford to launch out nn schemes of improvement. In reality he cannot afford not to do so. He may not be able to make his backward farm a model in a year, but one step this year will enable him to make two next year. This has been proved beyond a dnuht by successful farmers all over Taranaki. Every scientific im- ! provement on a form increases the re- • venue, hut of course it is possible to ! spend money on the land without receiving an adequate return.

Tn Taranaki at least great strides are being made in farming methods and this fact is reflected in the ever increasing volume of produce handled at the grading and export stores. TVitn success, confidence and the advancement idea is spreading, and there is little reason to doubt that New Zea land will one day make the best use -of her natural advantages in agricultural matters and then she will no*, have to look up to Denmark or any other country as superior in agricultural practice. The case of Mr. A. J. Smith’s farm at Cardiff, may be cited as as an instance of how a poor “run.” giving sustenance to a lowly herd, may be brought up to a farm of high repute by the introduction of scientific methods. Mr. Smith specialises in the breeding and selection of his cattle. Six years ago his herd was a poor one, consisting of crossbred and ‘ mongrel” cows. To-day it is a high class one, made up almost entirely of pedigree cattle, some of them with astonishing records in production. The new herd was started with one good foundation cow. and slowly and carefully built upon until at the present time Mr. Smith has about forty high class Jeresv cattle with the certainty of a surfeit in the near future. While this herd was growing up attention was naid to the pastures and the crops. Manorial experiments and the rotation of crops and fodders all brought success, and paid for themselves as they went along. As fast as possible the inferior crossbred cows were called out of the herd and substituted with pedigrees, selected with judgment, and by the infallible method of testing.

To show the standard of efficiency already reached by Mr. Smith after only six years’ work, the record of his best cow mav he quoted. This is St. Lambert’s Bell, which was sired by Soumise Tom. and whose dam was Countesd of Lambert. This remarkable cow. under semi-official test, last rear produced 14.419.9 lb of milk and 780.08 lb of butterfat. Her highest production of milk in one day during the season was 81.79 lb. At the ginning of the season Mr... Smith had no intention of milking this cow more than twice daily, but her production of milk became so heavy in the flush of the season that it became necessary to milk her three times a day. and this practice was continued. This is onlv one of the many high class cows on the farm. Her record is the highest. but there are others with substantial records. This season Mr. Smith will have four cows under semiofficial test, and these are expected to put up very high records. If such efficiency as this can be reached after six’ years on land of average quality, it would seem that there are great possibilities before the <»reat tracts of rich country throughout New Zealand. If the advancement of agricultural knowledge and the adoption of better methods oi farming, which are certainly in evidence amongst the farming community to-day. do not cause a substantial increase in the average production of New Zealand’s herds in the near future it will be something more than surprisin e-