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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 9 (January 1, 1929)

A Dividend Payer — A Horse That Wins — How Top Dressing Pays

page 28

A Dividend Payer
A Horse That Wins
How Top Dressing Pays

An example of effective modern publicity work is seen in the pamphlet “Top Dress for Top Values” recently issued by the New Zealand Railways to the farming community. The following appreciative review is reproduced from the “Evening Post,” Wellington.

As the Department of Railways has a chief who was first a railwayman, then a dairying director, and again a railwayman, it is perhaps not surprising that the Department is issuing some publicity to reinforce the propagandist efforts of a sister Department in favour of grass-land farming in general and of top-dressing in particular. In 1927–28 nearly 50,000 cows were added to the dairying industry—an achievement rendered possible only by the new grass-land farming, as explained in the “Evening Post's” Manawatu Show Supplement — and there is nothing like a practical association with dairying to make a business man realise how much latent spring resides in that industry. Its expansion in the next few years—and, of course, the progress of sheep farming, etc. — is the chief hope of redressing the evils of excessive mortgage. “If your farm has too much top-hamper of mortgage, a top-dressing of the soil will lighten the load,” says the Department's latest pamphlet.

Hauled the First Train out of Auckland. The above engine was originally built as a Class F engine by Stephenson and Co., England, in 1873. It was rebuilt as a Class Fa. engine in 1892 at Newmarket Workshops.

Hauled the First Train out of Auckland.
The above engine was originally built as a Class F engine by Stephenson and Co., England, in 1873. It was rebuilt as a Class Fa. engine in 1892 at Newmarket Workshops.

A Ladder up the Mortgage.

That advice is being heeded by very many mortgagors. As long as there is a top-dressing margin of credit after the interest is paid, the owner of high-priced land may yet be able to get on speaking terms with his capital account. And some day even the railways may do the same, for their wagon is inevitably hitched, for weal or woe, to the cow and the sheep.

Another “super” maxim is, “Delay with top-dressing is the thief of profit.” On the other hand, “top-dressing your land will top-dress your family.” But this observation seems to go hardly deep enough.

Particulars are given of hugely increased returns from the use of lime and phosphates. These details cover all the classes of farming, and constitute valuable information. In fact, the pamphlet is Sterling value all through.

In a forenote the General Manager explains: “This little publication, which gives big proof of the profit assured by a proper top-dressing of land is not, of course, an indication that the Railway Department is taking over a function of the Department of Agriculture. It is merely a friendly serviceable reminder to the farmer that he will benefit himself as well as the country as a whole by taking advantage of the helpful information and advice given free by the State's agricultural experts. It is well-known that the main basis of New Zealand's prosperity may be stated in one phrase—grass-land farming. In the aggregate of 18,830,000 acres under cultivation last year, pastures comprised 16,680,000 acres (nearly 90 per cent. of the total). Live stock provide, on the average, about 95 per cent. of the Dominion's exports. …

“Making the Railways Pay.”

“Reviews of the last dairying season have specially mentioned the importance of top-dressing in the surprisingly good returns from numerous farms. page 29 Some of the credit for those satisfactory results has been given to the Railway Department, which reduced the freight on fertilser by 40 per cent., thus facilitating a large use of soil-stimulants. This action of the Department is in accordance with its traditional policy, which is consistently one of development of the natural resources. ‘Making the railways pay’ solely from a narrow departmental viewpoint is not so important as making New Zealand prosperous. If the railways are doing this they are paying. In the achieving of this ideal of national welfare the railway transport system is a factor of immeasurable importance, and will continue to be one of the chief factors in the maintenance of the Dominion's prosperity.”

A Three-Colour Art Cover Makes the Appearance Attractive. Top Dress for Top values

A Three-Colour Art Cover Makes the Appearance Attractive.
Top Dress for Top values

Some good points are made in a contribution by the Director of Fields Division, Mr. A. H. Cockayne, who lays down the maxim, “Begin with the best land”:—

“It can be easily shown by reference to thousands of farmers that top-dressing pays, and that it is perhaps the greatest single factor of influence in the increase of New Zealand's production. Therefore it might appear, at first sight, to be advisable to urge all farmers to top-dress, without delay, the whole of their holdings. However, the fact that the majority of farmers have not enough ready money to enable them to carry out such advice clearly indicates that the ideal must be achieved in successive stages of development.

“The way to ensure eventually a sufficient top-dressing of the majority of the Dominion's sown grass lands is to so regulate the practice that a comparatively small initial outlay in manures will yield sufficient profit for the similar treatment of another section of the farm. Each acre that is so top-dressed should be viewed as the potentiality for the improvement of another acre.

“In the examination of any grass farm in New Zealand it can be clearly shown that certain areas are much more productive than others. There is a widespread belief that when a farmer begins to top-dress he should aim to improve his poorer pastures rather than those which, in his opinion, are quite satisfactory. If he has more than enough capital to top-dress all his best pastures, then the treatment of the poorer grass may be profitable, but unless he has such a surplus of money it can be definitely stated that on the vast majority of farms top-dressing should begin on the best grass lands and not on the worst.

Start With the Best.

“A little consideration shows the soundness of that view. If one assumes that the application of 2 cwt. of superphosphate to the acre will result in a 100 per cent, increase of grass growth, it is clear that a far greater profit will be secured by using that phosphate on the portion of the farm carrying two sheep to the acre than on the part which averages only half a sheep to the acre. In the one case 2 cwt. of phosphate means two additional sheep and in the other only half of an additional sheep.

“This proper understanding of the most advantageous top-dressing—beginning with the best land—must apply particularly to those areas where serious deterioration has set in. The recovery of that land to its former productiveness—and in many cases to a productiveness far above its former volume—will be achieved by the practical application of the basic top-dressing principle—treatment of the best land first. On every deteriorated farm in New Zealand there are areas—in every case the better grass land—which will show an immediate profit from top-dressing. These better parts must be treated first, in order to provide the funds necessary for the gradual regeneration of the whole holding. Failure, undoubtedly, will follow any attempt to deal with the worst areas first.

What is true of the deteriorated lands is true also of the average farm, for here, too, the largest initial return from top-dressing is derived from good grass land rather than from bad.”

“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilisation.”—Daniel Webster.