DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, MELBOURNE. AUSTRALIA : — . IShe Dairy Country Dairy Farmers are specially invited and assisted to come to Australia because it is considered that in a progressive young Country with so much Territory adapted for Dairying such Settlers will advance the interest of the Country and of themselves. PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - - - - 1915. By Authority: McCARRON, BIRD & CO.. Printers, 479 Collins Street, Melbourne. ; /- Ur' Note the Shedding is of very light description. AUSTRALIA: THE DAIRY COUNTRY. CONTENTS. PAGE 48 21 33 Bacon-Curing ... ... Bee Farming ... ... Breeds of Cattle in Use Butter Exported ......... n Cheesemaking ..... ... 47 Clearing Land ......... 45 Condensed Milk ......... 36 Conditions of Selection ...... 45 Co-op. Factories, Facilities given 36 Cost of Starting a Farm 27. 34 Dairy Herds .. ...... 47 Experiences of Farmers ... 35 Facilities Offered to Dairymen 31,38,42 Gov'mnt. Assistance to the Farmer 31 Grasses ...... ..... 35 Growth of the Industry ... ... 10 Labour Conditions ... ... 5 Land for Dairy Farming 26, 31, 32, 43 PAGE Land, Price of ... .. 26,33,43 Monetary Aid to Settlers 25 New South Wales 26-27 Pig Raising... ... ... ... 14 Poultry Farming ... ... ... 20 Profit per Cow ... ... 33, 40 Queensland ... ... ... 31-36 Seasons ... ... ... ... 7 South Australia ... ... 37-4° Share System of Dairying ... 22 Size of Average Herd 34 State Supervision .. ... ... 12 Stock, Price of 33 Tasmania ... .. ... 44-48 Victoria 27-31 Western Australia ... ... 40-44 Winter Feed 35 INFORMATION CONCERNING AUSTRALIA MAY BE OBTAINED ON APPLICATION IN AMERICA: AUSTRALIAN PAVILION, PANAMA PACIFIC EXHIBITION. NIEL NIELSEN, Esq., Trade and Immigration Commissioner for New South Wales, 419 Market Street, San Francisco. F. T. A. FRICKE, Esq., Land and Immigration Agent for Victoria, 687 Market Street, San Francisco. IN LONDON: The High Commissioner for THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, 72 Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W. IN AUSTRALIA: THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, Collins and Spring Streets, Melbourne. AUSTRALIA: Dairy Country. The suitability of Australia as a country for the dairyman is referred to in the report of the Scottish Agricultural Commission,* who toured the States of the Commonwealth in 1910-11, in the following terms : — " The practice of dairying, in a limited domestic sense, as applied to the milking of a few cows and the making of a little butter and An up-to-date Milking Yard. * The personnel of the Commission was as follows : — Sir T. Carlaw Martin, Edin- burgh (Chairman); Sir John R. G. Sinclair, Bart., Barrock House, Wick (Vice Chairman) ; Dr. J. H. Wilson, F.R.S.E., St. Andrew's University ; Dr. Shirra Gibb Boon, Lauder ; William Barber, M.A., Tererran, Moniaive ; J. McHutchen Dobbie, Campend, Dalkeith ; James Dunlop, Kilmarnock ; R. B. Greig, F.R.S.E, Cults; Wil- liam Henderson, Lawton, Coupar-Angus ; James Keith, Pitmeddan, Udny ; E. E. Morrison, M.A., Bonnington, Stravithie ; and Alex. M. Prain, Errol (Secretary). - B a 4, " " Australia : The Dairy Country. have not been included in the estimate. If the fencing were erected personally, the cost would be materially reduced. If the settler built his own house, it would cost him little more than his own labour and the iron for the roof. Many beginners put up cheap sapling yards for a start, and at a nominal cost. This would materially reduce this estimate. The Average Herd. The average herd is about thirty head, but many farmers milk from 80 to 150 cows daily. The number of cows that could be kept on an average farm of, say, 160 acres depends entirely on the land, and the amount of cultivation or area under artificial grasses. From thirty to eighty head would be about a fair estimate that good land would carry. Australia : The Dairy Country. 35 One dairy farmer in the West Moreton, who landed in Queens- land twenty-five years ago with $0.36 in his pocket, now has 160 acres of freehold, of which he cultivates 50 acres for feed for his cows and pigs. He began by working for his neighbours for the first few years, and thus gained both cash and experience. He now milks thirty to fifty cows the whole year round, and he makes from $720,00 to $864.00 a year from his pigs. His income from all sources is from $1920.00 to $2400.00 per annum. Six or seven years ago he paid $5280.00 for the place, but to-day he would not take $14,400.00 for it, and there is not a penny of debt on the property. An up-to-date Milking Shed. Grasses. The natural grasses of Queensland are sufficient in ordinary seasons during the summer months for the dairy stock, but no farmer can successfully carry on dairy operations in dry times, or in winter, by means of the grass alone. He requires to supplement the grass by growing fodder for the winter months. Splendid results have been obtained by sowing artificial grasses, such as Paspalum dilatatum, Rhodes, Prairie, Guinea, and Giant Couch grasses. Winter Feed. Barley, lucerne, wheat, rye, sorghum, &c., can be grown for winter feed. On land which will grow lucerne, a certain supply of fodder can be conserved. Lucerne (or alfalfa, as it is called in America), once planted, will last from five to ten years. 36 Australia: The Dairy Country. The butter factories were first started by proprietary com- panies, and their cream depots were scattered all over the farming districts. Competition was exceedingly keen, and in some of the townships there were four or five rival cream depots, all endeavour- ing to get the biggest shares of the cream. Jersey Cows. Of late, a number of co-operative factories run by the farmers have started, and proved very successful, enabling their share- holders to get a higher price for their cream than hitherto. They are admirably managed, are essentially popular institutions, and have done splendid work. The farmers establish, manage, and work them, and the profits, instead of going into the pockets of the middlemen, are distributed among the shareholders. State Aid to Co-operative Factories. Under a vote by Parliament the State makes advances to farmers to establish co-operative dairy factories. The loans extend over a period of fourteen years, and 4 per cent, interest is charged. Condensed Milk. The Preserved and Condensed Milk Industry promises to become important in the near future. Six factories are now in operation. Messrs. Nestle and Co., the world-renowned firm, have invested $480,000.00 in their Preserved Milk Industry in Queensland. It speaks well for a country when an old-world firm such as this is- prepared to invest so largely. Australia : The Dairy Country. 37 SOUTH AUSTRALIA. A large area of South Australia is eminently adapted to suc- cessful dairying, and while the summer is dry, rendering it neces- sary to make provision for succulent feed for several months, the temperate nature of the climate enables the dairyman to keep his cows in the open right through the year, the natural shelter in timber country being sufficient, except on a limited number of days of extreme wet and cold. Stall feeding for weeks at a time is unknown; the necessary shelter sheds can be cheaply provided, while the labour of feeding is, under these conditions, reduced to a minimum. In the northern districts conditions are not so favour- able as in the south, but even here dairying can be profitably carried on ; the fact that land is much cheaper compensates for the shorter period during which the natural herbage supplies practically all the feed required. In some of the driest of our farming areas dairy- ing has largely replaced wheat-growing, and, although the yield per cow is naturally not so high as under more favourable conditions, still low rents and large areas of natural pasture enable the farmer to make a fair profit. The Dairy Industry, though of considerable magnitude, has not made as much progress as was anticipated. This is probably due to the fact that wheat-growing and sheep-breeding combined offer The Cream Cart, North Coast, N.S.W. greater attractions to the farmer. These industries require a great deal less labour than dairying, besides which the work is not so continuous. So long as highly profitable returns can be obtained from the production of cereals and the breeding of lambs, the 38 Australia : The Dairy Country. Dairying Industry is hardly likely to make the progress that would otherwise be possible, though there has of late years been steady and continued development in the industry, especially in the northern districts. In the south and south-east, where conditions are more suitable, there has, on the other hand, been very little extension. Large quantities of butter are exported to Broken Hill and West Australia throughout the year, while during the spring months shipments are made to Great Britain. Butter is exported in increasing quantities to Great Britain each year. In normal years from 1400 to 1600 tons are shipped. Cheese is not made on such an extensive scale proportionately to butter ; indeed, in some seasons sufficient for local consumption is not produced. Practically all the cheese is manufactured on the Cheddar system, and an article of very high quality is produced in the best factories. Special facilities are afforded by the railways for the con- veyance of perishable goods, and cream is forwarded by the dairy- man to the city factories from districts 300 miles distant. Payment is usually made on the butter- fat percentages ; and in order to afford suppliers an opportunity of checking the returns received from private factories the Government established a butter factory in connection with the export freezing works at Port Adelaide. At this factory every can of cream is sampled, and the quantity of butter it will produce is ascertained by the usual methods, and the supplier is paid accordingly. A considerable number of butter factories have been erected in South Australia, and the butter produced is generally of high quality. The butter made from the milk of cows grazing on the natural herbage of the country is of splendid quality and colour. Hand separators are in general use, the cream being sent to the factories for treatment. The percentage of butter-fat in the milk of cows grazing on the natural pastures is unusually high. Practically the whole of the midland, central, and south-east districts, excepting that portion east of the Murray, are suitable for dairying practice when carried out on systematic lines. The prices for such land for dairying would range from $24,00 to $240.00 per acre according to location, soil, and rainfall. No special terms are offered by the Government for the occupation of dairy lands. Most of the repurchased estates are in districts suitable for dairying, and these are allotted under covenant to purchase. The purchase money is paid off in seventy half-yearly instalments (the first ten bearing interest only at the rate of 4 per cent, on purchase money). Pur- chase money may be completed at any time after nine years. Reliable particulars of successful dairying are difficult to obtain. It is safe to say that there are many hundreds of dairymen making comfortable livings throughout the State. Australia : The Dairy Country. 39 Fodder Crops — Lucerne, Mangels, Rape. 4o Australia : The Dairy Country. Capital may be safely expended for dairy practice, especially by careful and intelligent men who have families, and they may depend upon making a good living, especially when they combine dairy practice with pig-raising. There are many instances where Interior of a Cheese Factory. gross returns are obtained of from $38.40 to $72.00 per cow per annum, and this in districts where the milk is sold to the local co- operative or private factories, but where they are situated within forty miles of Adelaide, and are able to take advantage of a good train service, they can deliver their milk to the capital and obtain gross returns equal to about $76.80 to $96.00 per cow per annum. WESTERN AUSTRALIA. The Dairying Industry has not developed as rapidly as other branches of farming in the State during recent years. The cause of this is attributable to various reasons, one of the number of which has been the difficulty of obtaining suitable farm labourers. The majority of young men who have embarked in farming in the Western State during the last decade have favoured the lightly- timbered belts more suitable for wheat and sheep raising in pre- ference to the heavily-timbered land suitable for dairying situated in the coastal districts of the south-west. That there is in the State an enormous area of land which is eminently adaptable to the growing of fodders necessary for successful dairying has been amply demonstrated. Since 1905 indefatigable efforts to advance the Dairying Industry have been made. An estate at Brunswick, Australia : The Dairy Country. 41 in the vicinity of Bunbury, about 100 miles south of Perth, was pur- chased by the Government, and 800 acres of it was vested in the Department of Agriculture for the purpose of a State Dairy Farm, on lines that could be copied by a practical dairy farmer ; also — (1) For supplying stud stock of the best strains procurable at reasonable prices to dairy farmers. (2) To demonstrate that with the assistance of irrigation a small acreage of land can be made to carry a large num- ber of stock. (3) Where a variety of fodder crops can be introduced, and experimented with so as to ascertain their value for feeding-ofT, both in a green state for curing into hay or for preserving into big silos in a succulent form. Capacious cow and calf stables, suitable sheds, and piggeries were designed and constructed as an example to be followed in starting an up-to-date dairy farm. A herd of dairy cows, of some of the best Ayrshire strains in Australia, was collected, as well fine number of Berkshire pigs, purchased from the most as a successful breeders and importers. Three large tub silos, capable of holding 250 tons of fodder, were erected in which to store winter- grown crops as well as the summer crops under irrigation. " Crown Prince," Guernsey Bull. An irrigation scheme was carried out, and the results have been most successful. The following dairy fodder crops have yielded prolifically: — Oats, rye, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, vetches, field peas, cow peas, lucerne, mustard, Jersey kale, field cabbage, turnips, swedes, mangel wurzel, silver beet, buckwheat, potatoes, linseed, pig melon, paspalum, Italian canary grass. The 42 Australia : The Dairy Country. irrigation plant is capable of dealing with 80 acres of land in the summer months. Some of the land thus treated is the rich dark alluvial on the river bank, while a portion is on the higher clay plateau, and consists of land typical of many thousands of acres in the same locality. The land in its virgin state was timbered Milking Shed. with red gum and flooded gum, and cost about $38.40 an acre to grub and clear, and on such land with irrigation in the summer two heavy crops a year can be depended on. Shortly after the State Farm was established the Government purchased over 500 dairy cows in the eastern States, and these were sold to Western Australian farmers in lots of ten at cost price on two-year terms, with 5 per cent, interest added. The Government engaged a highly-qualified dairy expert in the person of Mr. Kinsella, of New Zealand, to visit the districts most likely to give attention to the dairying industry in the imme- diate future, and by means of personal interviews, addresses, leaflets, and concisely-written pamphlets, Mr. Kinsella did valuable work in distributing information and directing the beginner on the right road to successful dairying. Mr. Kinsella subsequently severed his connection with the department, and he has been recently succeeded by Mr. Abernethy, who has obtained the very highest diplomas in England in connection with dairying Mr. Abernethy recently arrived from Great Britain, and has now entered upon his duties, and it is confidently believed that his efforts will result in a number of farmers being induced to embark in the industry on sound and practical lines. The new selector Australia: The Dairy Country. 43 will also have the benefit and the advice of the Director of Agri- culture, Mr. McNulty, on all matters concerning his soil, his stock, and the marketing of his produce. Lands for Dairy Farming. With a view to settling practical farmers with limited means on the rich and heavily-timbered lands in the southern portion of the State the Government have a large number of surveyors at work surveying the land into suitable sized blocks, ranging from 200 to 700 acres each. Main roads have been cleared to serve these areas, and a proposal to clear 10 acres on each block for the plough is now under consideration. Railways will be pushed through this country as rapidly as possible. The annual average rainfall over this country averages from 35 in. to 40 in., and the land contains some of the richest soil in the State. Price of Land. The price of land ranges from about $4.80 to $19.20 an acre, and each new selector over sixteen years of age will have the right to practically a free grant of 160 acres, additional land being avail- able at approximately the prices quoted, the payments for which will be spread over twenty years without interest. The selector will also have the privilege of borrowing from the State Agricul- tural Bank for ringbarking, clearing, water conservation, and sub- sequently for stock and implements, the loan being repaid over a term of thirty years, for the first five years of which interest only at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum will be payable. Prior to the blocks being thrown open the prices will be advertised and the amount of loan the bank is prepared to advance to suitable appli- cants on each block will be fixed. Devon Cattle in Australia. 44 Australia : The Dairy Country. Prime Herd of Jerseys. Butter Factories. At the present time there are three butter factories operating in the State, and no doubt when the Dairying Industry has de- veloped sufficiently a number of co-operative 'factories will be started. The men who decide to devote their energies to the Dairying Industry will have the advantage of a magnificent local market to start on, as at the present time Western Australia is sending some- thing like $4800.00 a day to the eastern States for dairy produce. TASMANIA. The conditions of Tasmania are eminently favourable for dairy farming. Up till recent years the industry did not receive much attention, but now that a start has been made butter produc- tion is advancing rapidly. The Land Required. The foundation of the Dairying Industry is grass, and to get grass, good land and plenty of moisture is required. Therefore anyone proposing to go into this business should endeavour to secure the very best land obtainable. There is a large quantity available, especially in the north-western and north-eastern parts of the island. There is a great deal also in the southern districts. Information can always be obtained from the Lands Department and the district surveyors, and no difficulty should be experienced by the intending dairy farmer in finding land suitable for his pur- pose. The more open parts of the State, such as the midlands and Australia : The Dairy Country. 45 the east coast, where there is natural grass, have largely passed into private hands, and later selectors have had to take up, clear, and lay down in pasture the more heavily-timbered portions. This, however, is not altogether the handicap it appears at first sight, as the returns from the very rich scrub lands are by far the highest. It is easy to judge of the quality of land by the indigenous timber upon it. Rich land, suitable for laying down in grass, is covered with a dense growth of sassafras, tree-fern, musk, and pear tree, with large blue or swamp gums, and an underbush of what are known as cathead ferns. Stringy-bark trees mean a poorer soil, and any land bearing them should be avoided if possible. Any person of eighteen years of age and upwards may select an area not exceeding 200 acres of first-class land, provided he does not hold land on credit under any previous Act. He is re- quired to pay a cash deposit of $0.04 an acre at the time of sale, an instalment of $0.06 an acre for each of the two following years, $0.24 an acre annually for the next four years, $0.36 an acre for the next tour years, and $0.48 per acre for the next eight years. The survey fee is paid, one-fifth in cash and the balance by four equal annual pay- ments, with interest added, unless the selector elects to pay it off at once, when interest is remitted. Every encouragement short of giving the fee simple of the land away for nothing is afforded the intending settler, and he can acquire a freehold on easier terms in Tasmania than anywhere else. Ayrshire Herd, New South Wales. Clearing the Land. Clearing a selection for dairy farming is a very different opera- tion from the clearing required for fruit-growing. Where the land is to be laid down in pasture, no ploughing has to be done, conse- Australia: The Dairy Country. Clearing the Land. quently the cost is very much less. In clearing land for grass it is the best plan to first of all " ring" all the eucalyptus trees. This consists in cutting a ring round the tree with axes through the bark and sapwood, or alburnum, into the brown wood beneath. The crude sap, bearing in solution the various organic matters which the roots have extracted from the soil, ascends by the outer layer of wood immediately beneath the bark to the leaves, where it is elaborated into plant food. When this layer is cut through, the food supply is immediately stopped, and the tree dies. The opera- tion of ringing is best done during the winter, when the sap is down, and if properly performed at the right time the tree always dies very soon. If possible, the ringing should be done a year or two before the general clearing is commenced, as all the dead leaves, small branches, and dead bark have time to fall, and are then burned off with the rest of the scrub. The next operation is to cut down all the brushwood and smaller growths with bill-hooks, and then the rest of the scrub is felled with axes, and allowed to lie until quite dry, when it is burned off. A good burn should leave very little to be cleared up, but sometimes, where there is such vegetation as sassafras or fallen tree-ferns, a good deal of " picking- up" has to be done. This means that all the unburnt timber on the ground has to be rolled together and burnt. Tree-ferns should not be felled, as they do not burn well. The best way of killing them is to cut off the fronds just below where they spring from the stem. Some knack is required to cut in just the right place, but it is easily acquired. There are certain precautions to be observed in burning- Australia : The Dairy Country. 47 off, which the settler should make himself acquainted with. Infor- mation on this point and in regard to any matters of practical interest to the beginner will be furnished gladly and without charge by experienced officers of the Department of Agriculture. As soon as the land is burnt off the grass may be sown upon it. No cultivation is usually given, the grass-seed being sown upon the ashes remaining from the burnt scrub, which forms very effec- tive manure. Cocksfoot is the grass par excellence for this work, as it is very hardy and nutritious, and not attacked by insect pests to the same extent as others. Sometimes a mixture of cocksfoot, English rye-grass, and white clover is used, or the two grasses alone are planted. Local information is the best guide obtainable as to what it is best to plant. Dairying thus becomes practicable in a year or two, and returns are received much sooner than from any other branch of agriculture. It will, of course, be necessary to clear a certain amount of the selection for cultivation, so that crops may be grown, and it is often better and cheaper in the end to devote the poorer and less heavily timbered parts of the holding to this purpose, and buy manure. Some selectors clean up a part of the ground of roots and logs, leaving all the big ringed timber standing, and plough it up. It requires some skill to steer a plough under these conditions, but very good crops can be grown in this way. Butter Factories. Properly equipped butter factories are situated at Launceston (2), Deloraine, Burnie, Emu Bay, Wynyard, Stanley, Smithton, Wilmot, Ringarooma, Derby, and Pyengana. In the south there are only two of any magnitude, one in Hobart, and the other at Bream Creek. A well-equipped factory has been established on King Island, in Bass Straits, a locality that has been found very suitable for dairying. Dairy Herds. The dairy herds of the State until a few years ago were of a somewhat nondescript type, very few farmers having realised the necessity of improving the butter-yielding capacity of their stock. Recently, however, great improvements have taken place, as the dairying industry has advanced, until now many Tasmanian dairy- men own herds of the highest standard. The work of improving the milking strains of cattle is in the hands of the farmers them- selves, but advice and assistance are always obtainable from the Government Dairy Expert. Cheese-making. This is a highly profitable branch of dairy-farming, and the product is so small in bulk compared with its value that it is eminently portable. Cheese-making can therefore be carried on under conditions where other forms of production would be difficult. 48 Australia : The Dairy Country. Some skill and knowledge are required, but the Dairy Expert regularly gives lectures and demonstrations on the subject in all the principal agricultural centres, so that any intelligent person can easily obtain all the information he requires. The principal cheese factories in the State are situated at St. Mary's, Pyengana, Emu Bay, Devonport, and Circular Head*. The cheese produced is very good in quality, and a consider- able export trade will soon be developed in it. Bacon-curing. The production of hams and bacon is one of the collateral in- dustries connected with dairying, as the skim-milk and waste pro- ducts form a very valuable food for fattening pigs. Excellent bacon is produced in Tasmania, and a good deal is exported, but not nearly what might be produced. Group of Prize Bulls. Dairy Factories. It is the introduction of the dairy factory system that has solved the problem of success or failure for the dairy farmer. These institutions are becoming fairly numerous throughout the State, and are all equipped with the most modern machinery and managed by expert men. The farmer nearly always, nowadays, has his cream separator, and all he has to take to the factory is the cream, which does not occupy much space, while the skimmed milk remains on the farm for feeding pigs or calves. Some of the dairy factories in the State are proprietary, but others are on the co-operative system, under which the farmers are the owners, and share in the general profits, as well as being paid for their cream. McCAKRON, BIRD & Co., Printers, 479 Collins Street, Melbourne. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. v LD 21-100m-9,'48XB399sl6)476 YC 2087 M215400 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY D Saformbtion Concerning AUSTRALIA may be obtained on application to— IN AMERICA s THE AUSTRALIAN PAVILION, PANAMA PACiFIG EXHIBITION, SAN FRANCISCO. NIEL NIELSEN, Esq., Trade and Immigration Commissioner for New South W?i-*, 419 Market Street, San Francisco. F. T. A. FRIOCE. Esq., Land and Immigration Agent for Victoria, 687 Market Street, San Francisco. IN LONDON; The High Commissioner for ; THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, 72 Victoria Street, Westminster. IN AUSTRALIA; The Secretary DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, Collins and Spring Streets, Melbourne.