14 August 1985 Lincoln College farm manager is interviewed

Running a tightly-controlled arable program is demanding for any farmer, but 40-year-old John Mccartin not only has to know what to do, but also all year round must know why he does what he is doing.

John is manager of the 216-ha Lincoln College mixed cropping farm right alongside the campus.

Because of this he is on more public view than most farmers, and the college looks to him to maintain high standards.

And in his 40 years he has packed ,in a lot of farming experience to help him meet these standards.

He got to the college farm seven years ago, and although he has no formal qualifications in farming he is accepted and respected by those who teach agriculture.

John made an early start on the family sheep and mixed cropping farm at Southbridge, about 40 kilometres south of the college.

"I was driving tractors when I was eight," he said.

After getting a grounding on the family farm, he moved out and worked for a contractor for eight years.

He then got married, and he and his new wife took a job as a married couple on a farm.

And his whole working life has been on the flat paddocks of the Canterbury Plains, and he is in to a regular routine of preparing his farm for the new season.

Early in spring John does a more-thorough than-usual check of all his farm machinery to see everything is working well.

Most important is checking the tractor to see is this is adequate for all the implements that will be used.

He checks his plough, grubber and drill, along with other implements, making any adjustments that might be needed.

"I always try to make sure that I won’t be getting any breakdowns half-way through a job," he said.

John is looking to getting good fine seedbeds, and the right amount of seed and fertiliser in to the ground.

By this time he has already made most of his crop decisions : a wheat variety for high yield, spring barley, ryegrass and white clover, and process peas.

He has decided what fertiliser to plant with the wheat, has looked at the likely market and arranged a contract to sell the crop.

"The main thing is to have the most suitable crop for the type of ground," he said.

The ryegrass is sown in autumn together with the white clover ; these are grown free, not under contract like the wheat.

After harvest the seed goes to seed merchants for dressing, and may be sold in one lot, or held in store and sold gradually.

John started preparing his wheat crop early last March, ploughing and leaving the ground under furrow until mid-April.

He began cultivating a few weeks later, readying the ground for planting in the middle of May.

His next move on the wheat was in the middle of August when he sprayed, and checked the crop for wild oats and yellow stripe rust.

He used a combined spray for any wild oats at the three-to-four leaf stage and for weed control.

"I keep a close check on the wheat for any sign of yellow stripe rust, and there is the chance that I might need two more sprays during the season.

"I look at the wheat at three-to-four- week intervals for any sign of the rust re-entering the crop.

He applies nitrogen during the first half of September to boost the tillers, get more seedheads, and help protein for the finished wheat.

If there has been a dry Spring and this year his cropping farm has not had enough good rain, he irrigates in the middle of November. This fills the seed heads for a good yield.

Late in November he is looking out for aphids on the crop, and he may have to use a pesticide.

John gets a rest from the wheat usually until the middle of January when he starts monitoring the crop for moisture content.

When moisture content is down to 14 per cent, he can start harvesting.

About a month earlier he would have serviced his combine ready for harvesting, and his silos on the farm would be cleaned and fumigated against grain weevil and other pests.

John ploughs in autumn for his Spring barley, leaving the paddock fallow through winter, and then in early September he cultivates to a fine seedbed and plants his seed.

Late in October he checks for weeds, and sprays for weed control.

He also makes a check for aphids, and sprays if necessary for these and for any barley diseases.

John might spread some nitrogen on the crop in early November ; then the barley is left until harvest.

Harvesting starts about the middle of January when moisture content of the crop is down to 14 per cent.

After being harvested the barley is also stored in silos on the farm.

In late May John began preparing the ground for his process peas he ploughed and left the ground fallow over winter.

He cultivated in early September, and planted his peas a couple of weeks later.

"I keep a close eye on the peas coming through the ground, and spray for weed control," he said.

"At the first sign of flowers I irrigate, and give a second irrigation, for pod fill, probably about the middle of November.''

Peas are grown on the farm under contract, so the processor takes over to harvest the crop at some time from the middle to the end of December.

Preparing the ground for ryegrass and white clover, John cultivates in early autumn, working the grubber to get a fine firm seed bed.

These are planted as a seed mixture to provide ryegrass one year and white clover the next.

Planting, best after autumn rains, is shallow and covered by light harrowing behind the drill.

The seeds are left to grow in ordinary weather conditions, with sheep grazing in June and July.

Sheep are put on to graze, firming the ground and controlling weeds to some extent, during June and July, and are taken off when the later grass is freshening about the middle of August to early September.

John said spraying for wild oats and weed is done to produce clean seed for certification.

Nitrogen is applied mid-September to make plant grow more vigorously to produce more tillers and seed heads.

John may decide to irrigate about the middle of November, and again at the end of the month after flowering, boosting the flowers and fills out seed

By the middle of December the ryegrass is starting to ripen, and the crop is monitored for moisture.

When the moisture is down to 45 per cent the ryegrass is mown or windrowed.

The ryegrass lies on the ground until moisture content is about 14 per cent - this takes from five to 10 days - and is then harvested.

The seed is then transported in seed boxes or in bulk to the seed merchant for dressing.

After harvest the ryegrass straw is baled either for storage and use later, or the straw is sold, to dairy farms or other farmers.

The grass grows back in the autumn for grazing by sheep and cattle during winter.

Stock is removed in early August, and the grass is let freshen ready for spraying.

The ryegrass is then sprayed out to leave a pure strain of white clover for the next harvest.

In the middle of September sheep are let on to graze the white clover until the beginning of October when the paddock is closed until harvest.

And so the season begins again for John.

He is responsible to a farm supervisor at the college and to a farm committee, and works the farm with one farm worker, Hugh Walker, who came from Scotland and who has worked on the college farms for 13 years.

''I think one of the main differences between working on the college farm and on a commercial farm is that here I don't make all my own crop decisions," he said.

"On the other hand, there would be few farmers who would have so much expertise on tap.

"If I need any help or technical advice the scientists are here to answer my questions."

The students don't do any work on the farm, but they do keep a close eye on the work John is doing, and they are on the lookout for new techniques.

"Some students are very critical because what they are being taught in the classroom may not be the same as what I am doing in the field."

But not only students keep an eye on the college mixed cropping farm, each year in December farmers from around Canterbury are invited to a farm walk.

"And when the farm walk comes around I've got to make sure that the farm is in tip-top condition."

"There is good feedback from the farmers on the farm walk, and many have a lot to say after they have evaluated how the crops are shaping up," he said.