THE FARMER'S PART

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 February 1940, Page 10

THE FARMER'S PART

Investigations carried out by officers of the Department of Agriculture have shown that an expansion of special feed production in sheep farming is often most profitable. The objectives of the production should be:— (a) ‘•Flushing" of ewes where no provision is now made. There is evidence that flushing is often associated . with such an increase in the number of lambs as to make it profitable. In a major sheep farming area, an average increase of 8 per cent in lambing percentage was found where flushing takes place in comparison with the results under similar conditions where the ewes were not flushed. (b) Better feeding of breeding ewes in winter and early spring as a means of decreasing the mortality of ewes at lambing and lessening the losses of lambs between birth and tailing. A recent investigation in a main North Island province has indicated an average loss of 9 per cent of lambs between lambing and docking. It is considered that among the main causes of this loss are:— (1) Weak lambs due to the poor conditions of their dams. (2) “Mismothering” arising from ewes having a scant supply of milk due io their inadequate feeding. If a 5 per cent increase in the average lambing could be brought about by lessening ewe mortality, by increasing the number of lambs born through flushing, and by lessening the loss of lambs between birth and docking, the net results would be an increase of 1.000.000 in the number of lambs produced without increasing the number of ewes. DAIRYING PROBLEMS In dairy cows such conditions as red-water, bloat, acute indigestion and impaction, foul of the foot, and to some extent breeding troubles, are undoubt-

edly due directly or indirectly to some breakdown in the chain of adequate feeding, and management and hygiene of the herd as a whole. In all dairying districts, the practice of a higher standard of animal husbandry will do much to control diseased conditions which are not bacterial in origin. If we embarked on a policy of raising the standard of dairy cow management with special emphasis on the better winter feeding of both young and adult animals, our losses from disease would decrease substantially, and our output in the producing months would show a marked increase. In the provision of a greater volume of feed supplies, there are two main lines of approach, namely, increased haymaking and silage, and increased acreage of arable crops, such as mangels, turnips, swedes and carrots. HAY AND SILAGE In typical dairying districts under normal conditions, when pasture management is reasonably efficient, about 40 per cent of the total area of an all grass farm becomes available for hay or silage production. The actual area harvested for hay or silage is only a small fraction of the available area, so that, the scope for expansion in the conservation of surplus pasture growth is very substantial. The greater the exploitation of hay and silage potentialities the less becomes the need for arable cropping, but quite often such crops arc both useful and profitable, especially when pia-keeping is a feature of the farm operations.

Adequate provision of reserves of feed for the use of dairy herds may be expected to have the following results: —Better herd averages, less disease and mortality in stock and the production of better young stock lor replacement purposes.

VITAL TO THE WINNING OF THE WAR Counsel of the Director-General of Agriculture PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS TO PRIMARY PRODUCERS f (Written for the “Wairarapa Times-Age” by A. H. Cockayne, Director-General of Agriculture and Primary Industries Controller.) TODAY every farmer has a vital part to play in the task of destroy- ® mg the forces which threaten our very civilisation, and lam confident that the farmers of New Zealand will rally to the call of, duty with unflagging industry. It is our clear duty to marshal ail our agricultural and pastoral resources in the Empire s cause. In the furthering of agricultural production to meet the needs of the present crisis, it is necessary to get down to a practical basis. Since the outbreak of hostilities, many suggestions have been made, but few of these make any appeal to the practical farmer. In the immediate future, perhaps the best contribution we can make towards increasing production is to pay more attention to the feeding of pur livestock. At present we are faced with losses in our flocks and herds through diseases which are primarily due to malnutrition or inadequate feeding.

i SEED CERTIFICATION Wrapped up with this need for increased feed reserves is the sowing of high production pastures. There has been a tendency on the part of many farmers to be attracted by advertisements for cheap seed. Many of these advertisements are misleading, and those who have been induced to purchase seed . mixtures selling at sixpence and under per pound have been penny wise, but pound foolish. Ihe Department of Agriculture with its system of certification of pasture seeds provides a safeguard for farmers, and if they do no take advantage of this system they are not only harming themselves, but lowering national production. Our pastures are the basis of our feed supply, and unless the farmer exercises discrimination in his seed purchases he will find his feed position deteriorating to the detriment of his stock. As Wairarapa farmers are aware, the surest way to grow more feed is to use the plough. The National Council of Primary Production, which was set up by the Minister of Agriculture at the beginning of the war. has made a slogan of ■'Speed the Plough,” and if the council’s advice is followed there will be no shortage of feed for stock. If our farm animals are adequately fed throughout the year, our production will increase substantially, and we will not only place our farming on a better footing,’ but also help Great Britain and other parts of the Empire to win a victory for freedom and for right. Therefore, I ask all Wairarapa farmers to echo the cry of the National Council of Primary Production and “Speed the Plough.”