244 Jounial of AgilcuUnre, Victoria. [25 Avril, 1911 



Then the niiiiinnim price of Avlieat has been arnaraiiteed for next 

 season. 



Before the farmer sows au acre of wheat he knows in advance that 

 the price of his wheat will be at least 4s. per bushel f.o.b. The farmer, 

 theretore, is placed on a level with the manufacturer, for he now knows 

 what his crop costs are, the minimum price of his produce, and he can 

 therefore speed up production with confidence. 



In the more favoured districts of the State, where the rainfall is 

 ample, it is desirable to utilize every available acre of land. In the 

 drier ])arts of the State the wheat-grower would do well to concentrate 

 his efforts on the thorough preparation of the soil. Thorough cultiva- 

 tion is the foundation of successful and profitable wheat-growing. 



We often see cases where certain growers regularly secure double and 

 treble the average yield of their district. In some cases this is due to 

 the fact that they have better soil than their neighbours, but in most 

 cases their methods of cultivation are far more thorough. A barb-wire 

 fence frequently separated the grower of a 30-bu.shel crop from the 

 grower of a 10-bushel crop. If, by local co-operative effort, the careless 

 farmer could be induced to adopt the methods of the best farmer of the 

 district, a 50 per cent, improvement in croj) yields would result. 



Fallowing and thorough working of the fallows are essential to 

 success in the drier districts. Every inch of water saved in the fallow 

 means at least an extra bushel of wheat at harvest time. Other factors 

 are — (1) Liberal use of phosphates; (2) regular crop rotation; (3) the 

 use of carefully-graded and selected seed ; and (4) the use of the largest 

 and most efficient types of implements. 



The liberal use of superphosphates, es])ecially when used on well- 

 worked land, will greatly stimulate ])roduction. A number of tests con- 

 ducted by the Agricultural Department have conclusively demonstrated 

 that farmers would find it profitable business to increase their manurial 

 dressings by at least 25 per cent, above the quantities now generally used 

 in their respective districts. Not only would the heavier dressings give 

 •a considerable increase in crop over the lighter dressings, but the indirect 

 effect of heavier dressings in stimulating the grazing value of the 

 pastures is much greater than the light dressings. 



A well-known pastoral property of 14,000 acres, near Lismore, pro- 

 vides an interesting illustration of the effect of cultivation and manuring 

 on th? stock-carrying capacity of the holding. On this property the 

 owner, prior to cultivation, never shore more than 14,000 sheep. Eight 

 years ago he commenced wheat-growing, using, approximately, 4 cwt. 

 of superphosphate with each acre of wheat sown. Despite the fact that 

 5,000 acres of the estate are devoted to cultivation, the number of sheep 

 kept on the property has been maintained, and this owmer now shears 

 over 14,000 sheep each year. 



Regular crop rotation is essential lor maintaining high wheat yields. 

 Sheep should be associated with every wheat farm, and no wheat-groAver 

 can realize the fullest profit from his holding without a flock of sheep. 



Wheat, grass, bare fallow is the rotation best suited to our Mallee 

 .conditions. This implies one-third of the farm under wheat, one-third 

 devoted to grazing for sheep, and one-third in bare fallow for the next 

 wheat crop. In the Wimmera, oats sown on the stubbles takes the place 



