ASHLEY DENE FARM

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 25022, 2 November 1946, Page 5

ASHLEY DENE FARM

Greatly Increased Production

DEVELOPMENT OF LIGHT LAND About 10 years ago Lincoln College began on its Ashley Dene property an investigation into the possibilities of raising the fertility of light, stony, Canterbury Plams land by the use of subterranean clover. The trial was planned on a full commercial scale and has been carried out on lines that should not be beyond the capabilities of the normal farmei on similar land. Right from the beginning the experiment attracted intense interest in Canterbury, where there are upwards of 1,000,000 acres of similar land, and in Marlborough, where again there is a large area of country of the same type. Ashley Dene, of 878 acres, was an excellent selection for the site of the trial. It is similar to much Canterbury land on which the usual practice is short rotation pastures and a great deal of cultivation to provide keep for the sheep, and to prepare for the next pasture. Grass usually lasts about three years before running out to hair grass and other rubbish. Up to a third of the area has to go under the plough every year and the farmer more often not fights a losing battle with declining fertility which progressively lowers his wheat yields and reduces his turn-off of lambs fat off fhe mothers. In good years of favourable weather fair returns are made, but dry times catch this class of country particularly badly, as the thin soil cannot hold the modest rainfall.

One advantage Ashley Dene nas over many farms on similar land is an area of 40 acres or so of medium land on which it is possible to grow lucerne without difficulty When the development oi Ashley Dene was undertaken plots were laid off for trials of various manurial treatments It seems odd now, in the light of 10 years’ experience, that lime was more or less incidental in these trials, or, at least, was not regarded as it is now as the foundation of all manurial treatment. The lessons learned from these plots were at once transferred into practice on the farm, and much of great benefit to the farming community has arisen from them.

Steady Development , Development of the farm proceeded slowly but steadily from 1937 Onward. The first sowings of subterranean were made on the surface, and the clover established well. It took little time to sjhow that the benefits subterranean conferred were many. The writer saw the farm in the late spring of 1940, when the difference between the lush clover pastures and the areas not yet treated was astounding. There were signs everywhere of returning fertility, and ample evidence that the returning fertility was being accompanied by a sturdy regeneration of the better grasses, like ryegrass and white clover. More sheep were already being carried, and were being done considerably better, their keep in the back end of the winter provided r by the flourishing lucerne paddock. The farm was visited last week by a number of farmers in the course of the first of this year’s two college field days, and though it has received, iin common with all Canterbury farms, a check from the recent cold weather, it presented a startling contrast with the farm of 10 years ago. Everywhere there were grand pastures, with subterranean clover dominant in most, but with ryegrass and red and white clover growing strongly One nine-year-old pasture, the first sown with subterranean, was in excellent shape and showed no sign of running out. It was clean and had a great bottom. Cultivation has been reduced to the point at which, to provide a .bite for fattening lambs late in the season, pasture still good has to be ploughed up. About 40 acres a year are necessary for this, but more land is under cultivation because the old lucerne stands are beginning to run out after providing, as Professor E. R. Hudson told the visitors, more than 30 cuts as well as grazing when it was necessary The visitors were handed a typewritten slip recording the “stock and cropping position as at October, 1946." which set out the following figures:— area, 878 acres; ewes put to ram, 1670; lambs tailed, 1862; dry sheep, 350; area in wheat, 55 acres; area in oats, 6 acres; area in old lucerne. 48 acres; area in first-year lucerne, 35 acres; area to go into turnips 36 acres; area to go into rape and Italian, 20 acres; area to go into new grass. 40 atyes Lambs Fat Off Mothers The figures give a reasonably clear picture of what has been accomplished on land of which a similar type in the neighbourhood changed hands recently at £3 an acre. Of the lambs produced in recent years, it has been possible to send away fat off the mothers between 60 and 70 per cent. One of the management troubled that have arisen every autumn in' recent years is that unless they are deliberately kept short the ewes are likely to get too fat to go to the ram in the best order. They fatten readily on the dry clover stalks and seed burrs. The wheat is the first sown since the property was taken in hand and was sown- in respohse to the appeal for more wheat. It is expected to get a crop of somewhere near 30 bushels. \

Ashley Dene has stood on its own feet since the first year of its development. It has received no help from the college farm, and in fact has been able to supply the college farm with some hay at different times

It has been found that the most profitable manurial treatment is about 25cwt of lime and lOcwt of superphosphate in a 10-year period More than this modest amount of lime has been found unnecessary, probably because of the small amount of soil moisture It is probable that, as fertility continues to build up, larger amounts of lime will be needed

The flock was founded on Corriedales of good type, with Romney blood introduced as the feed became more abundant. It is proposed to get back to the Corriedale as the flock begins to become too coarse The ewes are lambed down in August so that full advantage may be taken of the abundant spring growth to get the lambs off fat and to allow the lowest stocking at times of scarcity of feed. The ewes are given between lewt and 2cwt of lucerne hay during the year. Over the whole of Ashley Dene at present there are plentiful signs of land in great heart and of production' at a level generally believed to be well beyond the capacity of similar country. The valuable part of the trial is that it has been conducted on lines which any farmer on similar land could adopt. Many Canterbury farms can to-day show impressive records of improvement over the last few years, but few as remarkable as Ashley Dene.

THIRD-YEAR RYEGRASS

A North Canterbury farmer who yearly turns off a large quantity of small seeds from his place, has found that in a ryegrass and white clover pasture he gets better results from the ryegrass if it is taken for seed in the third year and not the first. He has tried grazing the paddock lightly in the first vear instead of harvesting seed, and then taking a clover crop in the second year He has convinced himself that it pays to Leave the ryegrass crop until the third year.

WOOL SALE DATES Wool sales will be held iq, Christchurch and Timaru this season on the following dates: - -Christchurch, December 5, January 27 February 27, April 11; Timaru, December 9, and March 3.