Under the large irrigation projects being carried out in several of the States there are splendid opportunities opening up for the carrying on of all these industries, either separately or in conjunction.
Share Farming.
The system of farming on shares is common in several branches of Australian farming, including dairying. To the intelligent and industrious man with a limited amount of capital, the system offers many opportunities for success. Practical dairymen, and especially those with children over fourteen years of age, may obtain a farm on shares. The arrangements made between landlords and their tenants on shares are not uniform. They differ considerably in individual cases, but the following broad outlines of the arrangements made between the parties may be set down as having a more or less universal application.
As a general rule the landlord provides—
(a) The land cleared and fenced into convenient paddocks.
(b) The dairy herd.
(c) Cowbails and piggeries.
(d) All necessary utensils and implements.
(e) Dwelling.
On the other hand, the tenant supplies—
(a) All the labour—milks the cows, separates the cream and carts it to the nearest butter factory.
(b) His own horse and cart.
(c) Cultivates sufficient land to grow green fodder for the winter.
In some instances the share farmer buys his own dairy utensils, but in the greater number of cases the landowner provides them and keeps them in repair. The sharing of the profits depends largely upon the character of the farm. As a general rule the tenant receives from one-third to one-half of the proceeds of all cream or butter sold. He also receives from one-third to one-half the value of the pigs raised, and from $1.20 to $1.80 per head for each calf reared to the age of six months. A man is generally given as many cows to milk as he can conveniently manage and care for.
