CATTLE AND SHEEP ASSOCIATION

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28738, 8 November 1958, Page 9

CATTLE AND SHEEP ASSOCIATION

Pasture Control And Stock Health

There is a happy association of sheep and cattle on “Nukiwai,” the 1760-acre property of the estate of R. L. Jameson, situated partly on the flats and partly on the downs under the shadow of the Lowry Peaks range in the Culverden district.

Eating out the long growth, the cattle keep the pastures under control so that year by year they seem to improve and their carrying capacity moves upward. The cattle are also a vital factor in the good health of lambs and sheep, and on the familiar Culverden flats, with their matagouri and scab weed and low grazing potentiality under natural conditions, they are an important instrument in the improvement of this country.

Even where there has been no topdressing but fencing enables them to be concentrated the cattle all but eliminate the rough scrub, and at the same time they introduce subterranean clover on an extensive scale, so that the natural pastures of today are not comparable with the hard barren flats in their virgin state.

Half of “Nukiwai” lies on the downs, which is limestone country with five-inches of soil overlaying clay. The rest is alluvial flat with at best a light coating of soil. The annual average rainfall is about 28in. The property has been in the hands of the Jameson family for 41 years. It is the policy of Mr G. E. Jameson, who took over the management of his late father’s property in 1951, to increase steadily the carrying capacity and at the same time raise the quality of the stock. He has already gone a long way along this road. In 1951 there were 2100 ewes and 25 breeding cows on “Nukiwai.” Today ewe numbers stand at almost 3500, an increase of about twothirds, and the herd of breeding cows totals 132.

Mr Jameson says that for many years just as good pastures as those seen today have been grown on the property but it was not until fencing had been extended on a major scale—up to £llOO a year has been spent on it—that it was possible to control pastures using cattle. All of the sheep on “Nukiwai” are Corriedales, and about 1200

hoggets are carried as replace- ; ments for the flock. Cull ewes are mated with Southdown rams, and they lamb about two weeks ahead of the main lambing, which begins on September 1. The cattle are Aberdeen Angus, and replacements for the herd are bred on the place. The hoggets and weaner calves have the pick of the downs, but all the ewes and the adult cattle are wintered on the flats. Here a few years ago 30 cows, which were also fed a fair amount of, hay, were wintered on 335 acres. Last winter 800 two-tooth ewes were wintered on 86 acres, and 132 cows were carried on the remainder of the 335 acres, which is still in the unimproved state. The 86 acres is part of 120 acres, which at the end of January, 1955, was sown down in a mixture of cocksfoot, perennial ryegrass, white clover, and subterranean clover after it had been ploughed up early in the previous winter. The country with little soil covering is very stony and implements took a heavy battering. A ton of lime was sown to start with, and a further ton has been applied since. One and a half hundredweight of super is applied annually, with DDT super being applied on all good pasture once every four years.

Where this same country has only been fenced into 35-acre blocks the change has been notable. Under the impact of concentrated cattle grazing the matagouri has virtually disappeared and subterranean clover has come in to force. Mr Jameson has in mind further improvement of this country either by chemical ploughing and seeding or by extensive topdressing.

There is 90 acres of lucerne on the flats, and up to 8000 bales of lucerne hay have been taken off a total of 116 acres on the property. The breeding cows calve quite late in the middle of September, which means that they are on the downs country again in time to deal with the first flush of growth in the spring. All the ewes also come up from the flats to lamb on the downs in paddocks of not

more than 40 acres. The practice is for the ewes to be drafted off into mobs of about 350 or 400 as they lamb—this represents about half a day’s shearing. They are then allocated two adjoining blocks, and they alternate between these, not remaining on one for more than 10 days. Cattle also move from block to block

at the same time. At this time of the year there are, for example, 350 ewes and their lambs and 65 cows and their calves on 35 acres, 424 ewes and 500 lambs on 50 acres. 300 ewes and 350 lambs on 20 acres, and 325 ewes and 350 lambs on 25 acres. The lambs are all weaned before Christmas, and Mr Jameson considers that early weaning. in conjunction with grazing with cattle, is responsible for lambs being kept clean. No lamb has had to be drenched for four years. Since hoggets were crutched last autumn losses have totalled only two. All of the lambs are fattened on the place, and the general aim is to draft at weights of about 361 b. This season 4060 lambs have been marked.

r For the last year or two the J hoggets have been clipping 121 b i of wool, and Mr Jameson expects t that they may do better than I that this year. Ewe lambs are ) shorn in January and again at L the end of November. The aim is now to sell steers fat at 18 months. Last year these ’ averaged £3O. Some four years ) ago two-year-old steers averaged

£55 a head. Cull heifers are sold at Addington at rising three-year-old stage, and last year these cattle gained first place in the Grand National Fat Stock Show, and this year they were placed third.

On the downs country there seems to be no question of pasture replacement with the pastures improving with time. The pasture mixture used here consists of 151 b of perennial ryegrass, 81b of cocksfoot, 21b of white clover and 31b of Montgomery red clover. Initially two tons of lime is applied to the acre, with a further ton every four years, and the superphosphate dressing is at the rate of U cwt annually. A narrow band of swamp separates the downs from the flats, and here progress has also been made in reclamation. Where a section of bog was limed and topdressed and then heavily stocked th e rushes have disappeared and where rushes were so high that they were over the backs of the horses a crop of rape sown on 30 acres after it; had been swamp ploughed was so high that it was with some difficulty that 1000 lambs were drafted off it in February. ‘‘l believe that with fairly limited finances more can be done to increase production with fencing and stock management, with the accent on young stock having priority, than by any other means.” says Mr Jameson, summing up his experience on “Nukiwai.”