Wasted Manure is Money Lost to Taranaki Farmers

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1940, Page 22 (Supplement)

Wasted Manure is Money Lost to Taranaki Farmers

Every year dairy farmers of Taranaki waste manure worth thousands of pounds, simply because they have not yet attained a proper appreciation of the inestimable value of farm stock refuse. Animal manure is regarded by farmers in all the older countries of the world as a ' most valuable product, containing as it does the various elements essential to healthy plant growth. It possesses in addition the quality of improving the physical conditions of the soil, and, when properly used, can result in a marked increase in the activities of beneficial bacteria in the soil. But in the younger countries of this world— notably New Zealand, Australia and America — we have yet .to realise the wealth that we are squandering when we either get rid of this manure in every possible way but the right way, or else use it in such a way that most of its valuable properties are lost. Interest in Taranaki. It is pleasing at this stage to record that there is a growing interest being taken in Taranaki in regard to making use of stock droppings. During recent years many good farmers have expended capital in building suitable permanent receptacles, in providing for . complete drainage to their sumps and in arranging for systematic distributions over their fields. Much more can, however, be done. Those hundreds of dairy farm-' ers who have been toying with similar ideas should put them 'into practice right away, for stock droppings require proper handling if their fertilising value is to be retained. A conveniently placed sump large enough to hold all excreta and a manure spreader should form part of the equipment of all farms and the ' sooner the matter is attended to the better will be the profit from the land. A Complete Fertiliser. As a fertiliser, the chief value of farm yard manure lies in the fact that it contains all the elements of a plant's nutrition— particularly nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash — though for a well-balanced manure suitable to Taranaki requirments the phosphoric acid is comparatively deficient. Moreover, the nitrogen is present in various forms from the rapidly-acting ammonia compounds down to some of the undigested residues, which will remain for a long period in the soil before becoming avaiiable for the plant. Because of this. farm yard manure is a lasting manure which accumulates in the soil to build up what a farmer calls "high condition," that being the state which prevails when the reserves of manure in the soil are steadily arid continuously passing in sufficient amounts for the needs of the crop. This results in healthy growth and good quality. But however marked the farmer's preference is for such lasting manures, the delay in realising the capital they represent means a certain amount of. loss. Some of the constituents of farm yard manure are so slowly actihg that they may not be recovered for years. Pea Pullers Busy. Hundreds of acres of peas are grown on the Isle of Axholme. Ninepence a bag is the price generally paid to pea pullers, but this season the price has risen to lOd. Most of the pullers, who are drawn from Doncaster and Stainforth, average from 10 to 13 bags a day. On some of the farms a total of 1500 bags are filled in a day. ■ Market prices have varied from ls 6d to 2s 6d a bag compared with 2s 6d and 3s a little earher. At the beginning ofthe season prices ranged from 8s 6d to 9s a bag.