WINTER SAVED GRASS

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26491, 4 August 1951, Page 5

WINTER SAVED GRASS

Remarkable Result At Winchmore

BIG ATTENDANCE AT FIELD DAY

About 140 farmers turned out on Thursday for a field day at the irrigation experimental farm at Lyndhurst, the main object being to inspect the winter saved grass on the 30-acre grass block which is wintering 150 ewes. The results obtained on this block by the Department of Agriculture have been astonishing, arid the Department feels that winter saved grass cotild have a very useful place for feeding ewes on dry land as well as under irrigation. The officer In charge of the experimental farms, Mr G. K. McPherson, explained that the 30-acre block was divided into three blocks, each of 10 acres, one of which was further subdivided into two paddocks, the second into three paddocks, and the third into four paddocks. “The object of the trial is to see how many ewes can be carried on irrigated grass,” he said. “That is the sole object of this trial, and we must maintain the ewes on grass alone. We can make hay or silage from the grass grown on the olock, but we are not allowed to cultivate, or to bring in feed from outside.”

The whole 30 acres was sown in the autumn of 1949 with 151 b of Hl, 151 b of perennial rye, 51b of cocksfoot, 51b of Timothy, lib of crested dogstail, 21b of white clover, 21b of mont. red, and 21b of sub. Half the mixture was drilled and half broadcast with IJcwt of super on ground which had had two tons of lime on the cultivation.

The pasture established well, and was fit for stocking in June, 1949. “We had no idea of how many ewes the pasture would carry.” said Mr McPherson, “so we made a stab at it, and in June we put on 90 two-tooth ewes in lamb to Southdown rams. From the 90 ewes, we sold to the works 94 lambs at an average of 33.51 b. We got 63 off the mothers, and fattened the rest on irrigated grass. We carried the ewes through" that winter on nothing but grass but for the next winter we made 360 bales of hay off one block of 10 acres. Of this the ewes cleaned up 231 bales, or about 2J bales each in the second winter. “In the spring we put on another 30 ewes, which brought the stocking up to 4 ewes to the acre. They were in lamb ewes of mixed ages, and from the 120 we got 142 lambs into the works. These lambs were better than the first lot, and averaged 371 b. We got 80 off the mothers, and the rest were again fattened on irrigated grass.” Mr McPherson said that in the first irrigation season, the block was given 11 waterings of about 3 inches each, a total of 33 inches as well as rainfall, which was about 28 inches. In the second season, the block was Sven 3j waterings totalling about a ot to the acre, but rainfall was a little under 41 inches for the year. During the winter of 1950 when there were 90 ewes on the block, one paddock of 10 acres was shut up_ in March for winter feed, he said. This grass, with hay, brought them through in reasonably good condition. In March this year, another 30 ewes were added to the flock, bringing the total to 150, or five ewes to the acre. In March the pasture was locking so well that it was considered that the bigger flock could be brought through the winter comfortably on 10 acres of winter saved grass, plus hay. A 10-acre paddock was shut up, but another 10-acre pad-

dock began to get away, so was shut up as well, making 20 acres of winter saved grass. That meant that the remaining 10 acres 'carried the whole 150 ewes through March and April. A start was made on the winter grass at the beginning of May, said Mr McPherson. A small paddock of 4i acres was used and the sheep had eaten it down by May 14. Rationing of another paddock, of five and a half acres, was then started. The ewes were given an hour and a half on the new grass, and were run off on to the bare paddock of four and a half acres, where they were fled hay. On this system, the five and a half acres lasted the ewes from May 14 until July 9, which worked out at the equivalent of one acre of grass for 150 ewes for a week. Since July 9, the ewes have been on two small blocks of about two and a half acres.

“We have at present got 10 acres of winter saved grass still available,” said Mr McPherson, “and we have 10 acres of reasonably good grass, shut in April, to lamb on to. The ewes are due to begin lambing on August 25. I believe we could have safely carried another ewe to the acre this winter, making six to the acre. The point to note is this—what we can carry through the winter here, we have no trouble, in feeding at any other time of the year. With irrigation, a dry summer doesn't concern us at all. A dry summer is, of course, the limiting factor in dry land farming.” Mr McPherson emphasised that irrigation was not the only factor in the easy feed situation on the block. Adequate subdivision was as important. An important point was that grass saved for the winter could be shut up too early, and get too much growth to go into the winter. A fair amount of this sort of grass would be frosted. The paddock on the block shut up first was given a quick nip off with the sheep; to top it. It was reasonably good grass, but the second 10 acres block shut up later was better.