Winter-Saved Grass At Pendarves Impressive

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29246, 2 July 1960, Page 8

Winter-Saved Grass At Pendarves Impressive

winter-saved grass, break fed, was seen to good effect by farmers attending the Rakaia winter farm course at a field day on Thursday on Mr J. G. King’s property at Pendarves. Fed off in breaks of about five acres Usihg electric fencing, the Six-year-old pasture was yielding a wealth of feed.

Last year the satoe paddock was sated for the winter and carried 1000 ewes fof 34 days Without any hay, Mr King Baid, The 551 acre property carries 1300 breeding ewes, 500 dry sheep and 16 head of cattle, with about 30 acres of wheat a year. Merino-Romhey cross hoggets are brought ih and culled the subsequent year fof replacements add just over 120 per cent, of lambs were sdid this last year from the flock, 1000 going fat off the mothers. Lambing Lambing begins about August 1 and Mr King aims to have aS many lambs as possible away before Christmas. The average Weight is Usually atound 341 b. Using Southdown and South-doWn-Dorset Down cross fams, hearly all the lambs grade first. Carrying capacity is not limited by the winter but by the summer dty period which over the last two years has been intense. The rotational practice is to sow turnips out of old pasture, .then grass followed by rape, wheat, greenfeed and baek into hew grass.

d.d.t. superphosphate is applied at the rate of ifeWt in Match, about 14 mob ths after Sowing the permanent pasture. Hair grass is a problem and one of the main reasons for the relatively short life of the pastures. The wool clip last yeaf averaged better than 111 b for the ewes and jiist over 101 b for the hoggets, well in excess of the average aim of 101 b a head each year.

“The feed supply on this property is amazingly well managed," Said Mr E. G. Smith, instructor in agriculture of the Department of Agriculture, Hangiors, who gave the summing up after the field inspection. "The saving of Winter grass has played a big part in assuring the feed position.” On the class of country Mr King was farming on, increasing the stock Carried to the full potential would necessitate a big reserve bf fodder to supplement pasture ih the dry seasons. “I would start an argument With Mr Kifig when he says he regards his 51 acres of lucerne purely as a hay producing area,’* Mr Smith said. “I would say that a place like this could carry 100 acies of lucerne for both hay and grazing. “However, if you are, carrying to the limit you have got to save excess feed from the good years on until you get a dry one. Sttekihg it away in an ensilage pit where it will keep is good dry season insurance,” he said. LUcerne-dOeksfodt pastures had been criticised because of cocksfoot dominance. Heavy Winter grazing was partly successful in suppressing tpO cocksfoot but in the last few years it had been found that grazing ewes in the dry season after weaning Ufitil the CroWns of the cocksfoot Had been eaten dut WbUld retard its recovery. Mr smith said that’fib did hot like phalaris—he hadn't liked it for 4o years—-and creeping lucerne did not creep fat enough for his liking, but a mixture of prairie grass ana lucerne would give ah amazing amount of feed. Oh trials on the light country leading out to the Eyrewell forest the lucerne and prairie grass had yielded three times as much as the standard light land pasture mixture.

“I think there, is a definite place for praltie grass With lucerne fbr grazing,” he said.