FARMING WORLD

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20911, 16 September 1939, Page 22 (Supplement)

FARMING WORLD

Hay and Ensilage When should fields be shut up for ensilage or hay? Some may have very deifinite ideas on this subject hut in the Waikato there are so many factors entering into this question that definite dates cannot be suggested. There are some farmers who have shut up fields for ensilage as early as the end of August or the beginning of September, but others have argued that there is little sense in shutting up fields when the stock are going short of food. However, there is some force behind the idea of shutting up the fields early. 'First of all if the fields are shut up early in the season the ensilage can naturally be harvested earlier, the rate of recovery is more rapid and more feed can consequently be taken off the area than where the field is shut up later in the season. If it is at all possible for the farmer to shut up early for ensilage he should do so, but with the weather, soil type and convenience among the factors to be taken in consideration, he may have little chance of doing it. The farmer should not shut up his hay fields too late or by the time he comes to harvest the crop he will find that there is a veritable mass of seed heads and the value of the grass has been largely lost. Liquid Manure Thousands of pounds are being annually wasted in New Zealand because many farmers fail to realise the fertilising value of animal manure. While money is being spent on artificial fertilisers, there is valuable manure at the same time wasting on their farms. Not only is the practice of leaving the manure lying around the farms wasteful, but if it is not spread it will definitely harm the pastures. The spreading of the manure by harrowing is a practice that could be more widely followed on .farms in this country, 'for after all it has to be regarded as a very effective means of returning to the soil the fertility that has been removed by the stock in the production of milk and wool, etc. The disposal of the droppings and the washings from the milking sheds and yards and from the pig sties has always been a problem, writes A. 'G. iElliott in the Journal of Agriculture. The usual solution —that of carrying this material off to streams and rivers by drains — is definitely wasteful. Practical and effective methods of returning milking shed and pig sty cleanings to the pastures where the manurial effect is outstanding have been developed in Taranaki on upwards of 40 farms.

Interesting Procedure The procedure is somewhat as follows :—At a safe distance from the milking shed a sump, either cement washed or concrete-lined, is built to hold from 1000 to 5000 gallons. A shallow depth is advantageous, especially where liquid is held for some time, as this allows better mixing (solids tend to collect on the bottom) and is also more convenient for cleaning out the intake of the pump, The droppings arc washed into this with sufficient water to clean the concreted shed fioor and yards. -Ilam water is not desirable generally, and is diverted from the sump when necessary. The sump is emptied either by a hand pump or an electric pump at intervals, as required, into a distributing tank mounted on a sledge or motor truck. The material is then distributed on to the pastures or cropping areas. Various types of distributing apparatus are employed, the choice depending on finance and labour available and the amount of material to be handled. It is desirable to protect the inside of an iron tank from the action of the liquid manure and to provide a brass tap rather than an iron one for the outlet of the tank. On farms where up to 50 cows are milked, and with the usual labour available, the following layout has been found economical and satisfactory :Sump lined, sft by 10ft by 3ft 1000 gall-ons (own labour), £7 10s;

hand pump, 6 feet, £6; 200 gallon tank on sledge, complete, £23; total approximate cost, £36 10s. With a plant similar to that described the sump can be conveniently emptied once a week and, provided a cut-off is inserted to carry away surplus water and a top built to exclude rain, little trouble is experienced. Where the sump can be built to permit gravitation of the material into the tank, time and labour are saved, but Ibis is not possible on many farms. Good and Bad “Doers” The production requirements cf livestock, whether for growth, fattening or milk, have been arrived at as a result of extensive feeding trials In different countries. In such feediing trials the object of the investigators has naturally been to arrive at reliable average values which would be generally applicable to each class of stock. In other words, a definite attempt has been made to eliminate any effect of individual variability which might be due to differences in the efficiency of particular animals. This was obviously necessary in formulating standards for the general guidance of breeders, but it has inevitably tended to divert attention from the important question of the individual response of different animals to the same ration. Discussing this subject in the current issue of the Journal of the English Ministry of Agriculture, Messrs Wright and Morris of the Hannah Dairy Research Institute, point out that while recent results indicate that existing energy standards for growth, fattening and milk production do not apparently require any substantial modification, there has been a marked tendency among workers in animal nutrition to lay increased emphasis on factors affecting the efficiency of food utilisation and particularly on individual variations in efficiency. As early as 191*4 the late Professor T. B. Wood directed attention to the wide differences which occur between individual animals in their capacity to convert food into fat. lie found, for example, with fattening cattle, that where the average live weight in- f crease per head was I.Blb per day, ] one in every four animals increase by more than 2.11 b, and one in four by less than 1.61 b, a difference in efficiency of about 30 per cent. In ; many instances very much wider dif- [ ferences were noted. Skin Temperature Incidentally it was attempted with some success to apply measurements j of skin temperature to differentiale ! between good, moderate and bad j “doers’’ an interesting line of in- ! vestigation which does not appear to j have been followed up. Recent investigations have confirmed I Wood's observations and have extend- ! ed them to other classes of stock and j to functions other than fattening. ! Thus, an investigation of the Mimic- j sola Agricultural Experiment Station \ lias shown that the efficiency of live ; weight increase of individual steers j may vary so as to alter the cost per ! 1001 b live weight gain by as much as [

BY “STOCKMAN”

30-40 per ©ent. Similar results have been obtained with pigs while with dairy cattle one group of American workers found that the range of efficiency in converting food energy to milk energy varied from 18-24 per cent, while another group observed even wider limits, i.e., l'B-40 per cent. There appears to be no doubt that these differences in efflicency are inherited. Studies with pigs # ‘have shown that a group of out-bred animals gave higher co-efllcients of digestibility than a comparable group of inbred animals, while similar significant differences were also found between the progeny of three different boars. Two practical conclusions emerge from the above findings. In the first place, the results show clearly that the level of efficiency of food utilisalion of his stock will depend to a considerable extent on the observation and subsequent breeding methods adopted by the stock owner. The elimination of poor “ doers ” and the selection of the most efficient strains for breeding should tend io raise Hip general level of efficiency of l’oo:: utilisation. Growth of Young Animals The better gains made by young animals are due to many and various causes. Their flesh contains more water; their food is in morej concentrated form 'for the immaturity of their digestive organs precludes the consumption of large amounts of rough-

Bravo .Yice Lad, the American imported Jersey sire in the Ridgeway Stud of Mr W. T. Luxton, of Matangi. Some of the progeny of this bull will be sold at the Waikato Combined Breeders’ B.ull Fair at Claudelands next week. Hiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiimiiiiimiiiiimimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii

ages; they consume more food per 100 lb live weight more than do older animals; and they possess a certain natural stimulus for growth which declines gradually until maturity is reached. In this manner, although animals may consume larger amounts of food with growth, such consumption decreases in relation to its proportion per 1001 b of body weight, until, when maturity is reached, the general tendency in animals in good condition is merely to lay on fattly tisshe. It becomes evident from these facts that if the greater economy of production is to be.secured, it is essential to take a timely advantage of all natural factors that influence growth, and that predisposes the cheapest and most rapid gains. For this reason an endeavour should be made to afford the best treatment possible to young stock. ,for at such periods they will provide more economical gains than at any other stage of their lives. In the case of calves, the stimulus for growth is most active from the time that the animals are horn until they reach the age of about twentyfour months; thereafter this attribute declines gradually •until the animals are full grown. Tile most critical age for development in cattle is, therefore, during this time, and the wise stockman will ensure ihat his young stock are provided with the liberal rations which will not only hasten maturity, and consequently productivity, but which will ensure the raising of vigorous and healthy animals. Grazing Management Yaa An English farming authority m a recent lecture condemned the system oi allowing cows full freedom on spring and early summer grass. The i food, 'Under such circumstances, was noL being properly utilised, and "cows B'orged themselves on the grass, lay down for an hour or two and got up and had another go at it." Under these conditions the grass passed through the cows rapidly and to little i purpose. The lecturer advised 'the raj tioning of cows on an hour’s grazingin tile morning, and one in the afternoon, during Ihe period the grass is in its flush. There is a lot to he said for this viewpoint, for there can be little : doubt but that there is too much grass wasted in the Waikato. Fields of young grass should he rationed rather than to let the dairy herd on them for an unlimited period, gorging i themselves to tile detriment of their ! health and at t lie same time spoiling I the pasture by lying down on it to ! chew their cuds. There is little I sense in spending money on fertilisers j if the rich young grass produced as ; a result is not subject lo systematic ‘ grazing but 0)1011 lu tlic indiscriminate I grazing of the slock. Younig grass is ! a valuable food, certainly too valu- ! able to be wasted, and at the same. ; time il must lie remembered that it is , dangerous to ihe health of animals to j allow them lo gorge themselves on t this protein-rich food. I