Tropical Islands
pp. 45-99 · Read in the full issue
Cattle Production In
By C. R. Turbet
World production of cattle, for beef and nilk, is not keeping pace with the in rease in world population. As more icople appear, closer settlement is ex ended over the older grazing lands. The earch for new grazing lands is being arried into new tropical countries.
Can the breeds of cattle most suitable or beef and milk he established within he tropics? Cattle farming is proceeding uccessfully in the high country of tropi al Africa—why not in the cooler uplands f the South Pacific Islands? There are arge areas of high country in New Guinea and more limited areas in the lolomons, Fiji, New Hebrides, New Cale onia, etc.
Mr. C. R. Turbet, who has given long ervice to the Fiji Department of Agri ulture as an expert in animal husbandry, etired recently, and is now living in the Auckland district of New Zealand. Near he end of his service, he spent some ears in Ceylon, on secondment to the "eylon Department of Agriculture. He las been recently in Africa. At our invi ation, Mr. Turbet has written this rticle, in which he discussess some spects of possible cattle-raising in the outh Pacific Islands.
il/’HEN considering the possibility
»» of producing cattle in the Pacific dands, one must think of the cattle idustry of Hawaii, which is well eveloped and concentrated mainly i the intermediate zone of elevation etween 2,000 and 4,000 feet. Hawaii, ke Fiji, is approximately 17 degrees com the Equator, and is cooled by le trade winds; and a very agree ble climate is experienced at that levation.
In Fiji and the Solomon Islands, nfortunately, there is only limited ighland territory suitable for cattle using. But those who have had ex erience in Fiji will know the high uality of the beef cattle raised on le highlands behind Vuna, Mua ad Nagasau estates on Taveuni, at levations of 800 to 1,000 feet, In North Queensland (same lati ide as Fiji) the suitability of the therton Tablelands for stock-rais ig has long been recognised.
In 1945, 1 was seconded from the :rvice of the Government of Fiji ) Ceylon, for the purpose of de sloping the cattle industry of that )untry, with particular reference to le utilisation of the grasslands of le central highlands, lying at ed itions of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet, he large farms developed on those ighlands of Ceylon are now well itablished as stud and milk-produc ig farms.
Of all Pacific Territories, the island
of New Guinea has by far the great est area of land, and much of this consists of high plateaus, some parts being grass-covered and some in forest. The high, rolling, grass-clad downs and highland valleys offer ex cellent prospects for the production of livestock of all kinds.
This has already been will recog nised, and credit must be given to the
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oneering work in the field of live ack production in the NG high tads done by the Leahy brothers, e Animal Industry Branch of the G Department of Agriculture, and more recently—to the enterprise of r. E. J. Hallstrom.
EUROPEAN breeds of cattle do well in the higher elevations in e tropics, provided that tropical .eases are controlled and manage- Jnt is good. In high altitudes, even the tropics, and particularly where infall is heavy, it has been found at cattle need shelter at night to /e the best results. They lose con ion, and milk yield is depressed, they are exposed for long periods cold and wet conditions.
In Ceylon, the European breeds ed were Ayrshire, Friesian, Milk l Shorthorn, Jersey and Red Polled, te Ayrshires were leading in pro ction, according to the latest avail le report; but since the Ayrshires re maintained on a farm separate >m that on which the other breeds re kept, the better yield may have *n —partly, at any rate—due to magement and different environ ;nt.
If ticks and tick fever occur, it necessary to undertake the regular aping of the cattle, or their spray l, if the number is small. The Jinary arsenical dip is fairly satis ;tory, but the use of one of the )dern preparations, such as imexane or DDT, give protec n not only against ticks, but ainst biting flies, which may also nsmit diseases.
In cattle farming in the tropical jhlands the introduction of cattle the Zebu strain is scarcely war ded. In any case, the breed of bu to be crossed with the Euro an breeds must be selected with -at care, having in mind the use which the progeny are to be put. iey may be needed for beef pro ction, or milk, or for draught. No e breed of Zebu will be suitable each of these purposes.
Under close domestication, Zebu brids remain docile, but the Euro an farmer who tries ranching with brid Zebus of the Nellore or Hissar Khillari breeds will find great faculty in controlling them. High ices will be needed and frequent ndling to keep the animals in con il for subsequent marketing.
IOR those of us who normally live in temperate zones, and who ve travelled in the more accessible
tropical lands near the sea, it is difficult to appreciate the existence of a temperate climate in tropical lands so close to the equator. Nevertheless, as land elevation increases the temperature declines so that, eyen in tropical areas, a temperate climate may be experienced. It has been ascertained that for each 1,000 feet of elevation, the temperature drops three degrees below the temperature usual y experienced on the sea coast of that particular Islands territory.
Therefore, if a steamy 85 is be-
ing experienced on the coast, inland at 5,000 feet elevation the tempera ture at that time would be about 70. Similarly on the coldest dawn on the sea coast which might be 55, the temperature at 5,000 feet would be 40, which is cold enough to war rant the provision of some protection for domestic animals.
The high temperature of the tropi cal coastal belts, which is usually accompanied by high humidity, may have a harmful effect on the physio logical well-being of animals. As an example of this, thoroughbred race horses living in the climate of Colombo (which, like New Guinea, is within 7 degrees of the Equator), suffer in time from a condition called
ry sweat. The sweat glands lose teir ability to sweat freely.
One of the functions of sweating the regulation-of the body heat, sweating ceases, serious body irm or even death occurs.
The immediate cure of the condi -3n in Ceylon is to move the fected horse to the mountain centre ; Nuwara Eliya, which is at 6,200 et, where the horse rapidly be imes normal. In the same way all limals in the tropics benefit by in ease in elevation, within the limits >unded by their oxygen require ents. The optimum elevation in e tropics for animal well-being and >od production is between 3,000 id 6,000 feet. Above 6,000 feet iwn temperatures are too low and limals may suffer from the effects oxygen shortage.
The temperate climate of Dpical highlands differs from that the territories at sea level in the mperate zones of the world en ying the same average tempera res. The chief points of difference e the lack of marked seasonal iriation, and the evenness of the >urs of sunshine experienced, and ere is no marked winter hiberna m or the stimulus of spring.
There are no such periods in the 3pics as Spring, Summer, Autumn id Winter. One might say there
are two summers, for the sun in the tropics is directly overhead at noon twice in each year.
The absence of marked difference of season and the uniformity of hours of sunshine have a greater effect on plant life than on animals.
Compared with plants, animals are far more adaptable to changes in environment consequent upon their being moved from one part of the earth to another.
ANIMALS may be transferred successfully from the temperate climate of temperate zones to the temperate climate of the tropical highlands; .but you cannot similarly transfer the pasture and fodder plants of the world’s temperate zones.
The average temperature of the new environment may be right, but it has been found that the Rye grasses and the Clovers of the temperate zones —to mention a common association of pasture plants—will not thrive in their new environment. The seeds will germinate and, for a time, the young plants will seem to thrive— only to fail later in competition with plants more suitable to the environ ment.
The plants require, more than animals, the stimulus of Spring. The annually-appearing pasture plants need the hibernation of winter. The
long hours of summer sun, which seem necessary for the development and ripening of the seed of the tem perate zone plants, do not occur in the tropical highlands, where the difference in the interval of night and day does not exceed an hour or so over the whole seasonal range of the year.
In attempting to improve the pas
ture of the tropical highland grazing lands, one must specially select plants and grasses. One needs first to study the existing pasture plants of the zone, for among these may be found the ideal association of plants of high nutritive value. Then one should consider plants of proved
worth in similar environment in other lands.
In the Ceylon highlands the naturally occurring pasture plants, with few exceptions, were found to be of disappointingly low nutritive value.
It was found necessary to do a considerable amount of new plant
ing, both of pasture plants and of fodder plants for cutting and freshi i green food.
In the early stages, Kikuya grassj; did remarkably well, covering the! pasture land where it was planted! to the exclusion of all other grasses!
This proved in the long run to be al disadvantage, since, by itself, Kikuyai grass is a poorly-balanced food.
Molasses grass, when it became established, proved a prolific grower,! yielding enormous quantities of suc-i culent green feed. Paspdlum dila-4tatum was mediocre in its yield but J prolific along roadsides. The up-i -right growing Paspalum urvillei was|< abundant, and provided the principal 1 source of fodder. With heavy manur-|ing with composted cattle dung, , Elephant grass yielded immense; quantities of green fodder.
Among the legumes the well-known 3 clovers failed to thrive, and even j the desmodium trefoils, which aret common to the lowland pastures of ' the tropics, made poor growth. Most ; promising of the legumes was the ; Queensland lucerne, Stylosantus gra- ■ cilis. The common lucerne did poorly ' but the New Zealand strain j of blue lupin was very promising. .
Oats and barley grown as a green j crop provided fair quantities of : fodder. No attempt was made to < produce grain crops from these, ,
ince the continually moist condi ons were unfavourable for the ipening of grain. 17HILST it is generally recognised » that the grazing of animals pro ides the most economical means of :eding them, experience in the high mds of Ceylon showed that for rofit it is necessary to supplement le grazing of even improved pas ire by hand feeding with cut green idder. and with such concentrates s coconut meal, rice, bran, maize, roundnut meal and other locally roduced foodstuffs. This practice economical in the tropics since lere is normally a sufficient labour )rce available at reasonable cost to it and bring in the fodder, and the ist of the locally produced concen ates was low.
In summing up the position in re ird to cattle production in tropical ighlands it can be said: • Climatically, conditions be ime more favourable as elevation icreases. up to 6,000 feet. • Open ranching, as practised i Australia, should give way to a ose domestic form of cattle hus mdry, such as is practised in Nor icrn Europe. • Particular attention should be yen to nutrition; and hand-feeding ith cut fodder and some concen ates may be necessary, whilst shel r is needed from cold winds and lin.
On Good Friday, April 11, Mr. F. eighton, one of Fiji’s oldest identi -2s celebrated his 90th birthday. He as born in a small Leicestershire llage, but as a youth joined the ritish Army and saw service in the judan at a time when Kitchener as a lieutenant in the Royal ngineers. After Khartoum he had ilf a dozen years with the Midlands ailways. then West Africa to lay acks for a railway there. There )llowed an unsuccessful cattle-rais g venture in Canada and more ack-laying over the Blue Mountains i NSW. In 1908 he arrived in Fiji id joined the railway section of the SR Company; he remained with lem for the rest of his working life, e is now a resident of the Cottage ome in Suva where his chief re eation is listening to the radio— s likes to keep au fait with the ews.
The Rev. S. G. Cowled, 0.8. E., ho was recently appointed Chair lan of the Methodist Mission in Fiji, id who is at present in the United ingdom. will return to Fiji at the id of July or early in August.
About 20 Australian technicians will leave Sydney by air in mid-June for Western Samoa, under direction of Aspen Productions Inc. of Hollywood. In Apia they will join a party from Hollywood, which will include film star Gary Cooper; and they will proceed to make in Samoa, in the ensuing four months, a coloured film, feature length, based on a section of James Michener’s book, Return to Paradise.
Three electricians arrived at Niue Island on the April Tofua to com plete the wiring for the Alofi Electric Power scheme. So far only the homes of the Government officials and some of the more prosperous natives will be connected to the supply. Most of the European mem bers of the community are adopting a “wait and see" policy until some thing definite regarding the probable cost of power is known.