DEMONSTRATIONAL FARMING.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 October 1922, Page 12

DEMONSTRATIONAL FARMING.

THE STRATFORD FARM. A VALUABLE EXAMPLE. The value of the Stratford Demonstration Farm as an example to the farming community of the district is probably not fully appreciated, but it could not be over-estimated. An investigation reveals the fact that great strides have been and are being made to increase its productivity under conditions that obtain on the great majority of average farms in Taranaki—indeed, under greater difficulties, owing to the costs of the working staff. From an ordinary log and stump strewn area of a few years ago it is gradually being worked up to a first-class and intensely cultivated farm, and the process of its development is an interesting and instructive one. ' Its‘purpose is purely demonstrations!, and for the benefit of the average farmer the policy has been to show what can be done on land of average quality with ordinary, average cattle, by adopting scientific and common-sense methods of cultivation, fertilisation, and management.

Of 140 acres in extent, the farm is carrying 85 head of cattle, the milking herd numbering 52 cows of mixed breeding and with not a single pedigree animal. The fact that this herd, which is probably of poorer class in point of breeding than the average Taranaki hetd, produced an average of 310 lb of butter-fat per cow last year, is an indication that breeding is not alone the great factor in successful dairyfarming. This very creditable return compares favorably with that of many pedigree herds, and is due in great inasure to abundant and judicious feeding. The average return per cow in the Stratford Herd-testing Association is 171 lb of butter-fat. When it is remembered that these two returns are taken from land originally of similar quality, a comparison gives an idea of the value of the methods o r the Demonstration Farm. Further than that, the manager (Mr. E. Hartwig) states that in a year or two the return from the same herd will reach 400 lb of butterfat per cow. The manager places greater confidence in feeding than in breeding, but believes, of course, that a combination of the two produces the ideal result. He says a cow will produce according to her feeding and treatment, and the more she is fed the greater will become her capacity to feed. This he has proved by practical experiment. Each year more fodder has been grown and fed to the cows, and each year the production has steadily x gone up. The extensive experiments in the topdressing of old pastures is one of the mostinteresting features of the farm, and they are attracting a great deal of attention from, farmers all over the district. The reconditioning of old, unploughable pastures, of which there are thousands of acres throughout Taranaki, is a problem which, if successfully solved,’would mean an almost incalculable increase in the productivity of the province. Besides the experiments on the farm, the committee are/also carrying out experiments on the hill country at Pukengahu, and the results are awaited with interest..

A number of plots of old pasture have been pegged out on the farm, and on these a large variety of fertilisers have been tried with varying but distinct results. Probably the best results so far have been obtained from a top-dressing of basic slag, although ephos, with blood and bone super and guano, followed the next year with Nauru phosphate and other mixtures, also produced good results. Carbonate of lime alone produced only fair results, but when followed the next year with super the growth was very strong. Mt. Lyall rock phosphate alone was not very successful, although every plot treated with fertiliser showed a very distinct improvement over the plot of untreated pastures. Not only do these manures produce an early and rapid growth of grass, but they also put substance into the fodder, so that the cattle feed even on the closely-cropped, treated areas in preference to more abundant growth elsewhere. This fact is especially noticeable in the case of basic slag topdressing. Experiments with a small area of lucerne have proved so successful that the committee contemplate sowing about eight acres of this crop in the coming year. The seed was sown two years ago, portions of the area being planted with 21, 14 and 7ir.ch drills, while another area was also broadcasted. The seven-inch drilling proved distinctly the better method. Some of the area was manured with basic slag, and other parts at intervals were left untreated —and here the value of fertilising was most strikingly demonstrated. The fertilised areas are covered with a luscious, even growth a foot high at the present time, while the untreated portions are patchy and stunted. With the seed a small amount of inoculated soil was sown, and a good “take” was obtained. For the purpose of comparison, a plot of cowgrass was sown alongside the lucerne, but its growth was disappointing, and now, in its second year, the cowgrass is sparse and choked with weeds. Cowgrass has not, proved a profitable fodder anywhere on the farm, and scarcely survives the second year. The growing of swedes on the Demonstration Farm has been little more successful than elsewhere in Taranaki, nearly very crop having been spoiled by clubroot and rot. Swedes are being replaced by soft turnips, the use of which is being extended.. Mangolds and carrots produce a heavy crop on the farm, and are used extensively.

Later in the year field days will be held on the farm and the public will be given an opportunity to see for themselves? the nature of the experiments carried out and the results obtained, while the methods adopted will be explained by the field instructors. The institution is a valuable one to the district, and merits the support of every farmer in Taranaki. The instruction it offers is free to all; and if given the proper measure of support it should prove an important factor in the advancement of agricultural knowledge in the most practical manner.