Plans For Big Area Of Lucerne

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29916, 1 September 1962, Page 6

Plans For Big Area Of Lucerne

Readers of these pages will already know something of the development programme carried out on the 4000-acre property of Mr lan Wardell at the south end of Lake Pukaki, some 97 miles from Timaru. This holding, relatively small in comparison with many Mackenzie Country stations, will soon have as much country under lucerne as any other property in this region. Mr Wardell already has 350 acres under lucerne. Another 300 acres is to be sown this spring and in the following two years the intention is to sow a further 350 acres, bringing the total area to 1000 acres.

Lucerne is an integral part of the development of this property to enable full use to be made of improved pastures by providing winter feed and an early green pick for ewes before lambing, and before the improved pastures are ready to take ewes and lambs. Katherine Field Farm, as Mr Wardell's property is known, ranges from about 1600 ft to 2000 ft in altitude and is divided almost in half by the Pukaki river. AH the development so far has taken place on the northern block, where there are extensive areas of fine silt and soil of relatively high potential fertility classified as Tekapo silt loam. Mr Wardell says that this country has as high natural phosphate content as the best South Canterbury downlands. The climate is. however, a difficult one with hat and dry summers a.nd autumn and a long, dormant winter. The rainfall is about 25 inches.

By about 1956. with the rabbit under control, the property was carrying 600 ewes and 200 hoggets, and was reckoned to have about reached the point of maximum production without improvement. Since then stock carrying has been pushed up a good way. Last year it was up to 1700 ewes and this year the ewe flock has been increased to 2300. The end is not yet in sight and Mr Wardell predicts that it 'will be possible to carry up to 4000 ewes. It is likely that this year ewe numbers will be stepped up to 3000.

Last spring there was a lamb crop of 1340. and 653 of these were drafted on December 15 at an average of 261 b. This early drafting is becoming an important phase of management on the pro-

periy to beat the onset of summer drought and relieve the pressure on the improved tussock country. All but a handful of the lambs were drafted as prime in the last season.

All replacement ewes are bought in to do one or two yeairs. The state of the market decides whether Merino or halfbred ewes are purchased, and these are mated mainly with the Cheviot ram to give a quick maturing lamb with a minimum of fait.

As part of the process of getting lambs away early. Mr Wardell is hoping for heavier lamb weights at birth by good feeding and regards a holding of four or five bales of hay a ewe carried as necessary for winter feeding. This point has not yet been reached. Off lucerne areas as yet available the cut has been up to 4000 bales a season with up to 120 bales being cut to the acre off one area in the one cut, but Mr Wardell eventually envisages cutting up to 20.000 bales a season. Already there are twx> hay barns on the place each capable of bolding 4000 bales. The co-uwtry that will go into lucerne this spring is now in course of preparation. It was ploughed out of tussock in the autumn, but in future a start may be made before Christmas.

It has had five workings with the ohnsel plough, a type of cultivation that guards against soil blowing away in this country, which is prone to strong north-westerly winds. It has also had one or two harrowings and is now awaiting two rollings with the Cambridge roller before being sown between September 15 and Labour Day—this latter date is regarded as the latest sowing date possible on account of the likely onset of drought

conditions before the stand has had a chance to establish.

Lime pelleted inoculated Marlborough lucerne seed is sown with the diac drill at 111 b to the acre with 2cwt of serpentine superphosphate with molydenum. The inoculant is being attached to the seed with a special sticker from overseas. There was an inoculation failure with aabut 40 acres of the lucerne sown last spring and by March it was yellow and sickly. At this stage inoculant mixed with lime in a concrete mixer was sprinkled on the surface of the ground with the disc drill and spread by the harrows which w-ere on behind. There has since, been a good recovery of this stand. The new stands are grazed in January and then shut up untel the following spring. It is likely that a further la-cwt of 4001 b sulphur super will be applied to the acre in the autumn and this, according to Mr Wardell, should ensure maximum production for the first three years. On the stand that has been down longest—four years—a potash deficiency is now suspected. Growth There has been a relatively mild winter on tihis property, and this week lucerne stands were already showing evidence of growth. The objective is to give pre-lamib shorn ewes, which will begin lambing about the middle of this month, a green bite before lambing when they will go out on to the improved tussock country. Same 400 acres of this country faces the north-west and. being warmer, comes away a,bout three week’s earlier in tihe spetog than the shadier country. About tour springs ago this was chisel seeded with about 41b of do ver—alsike and White clover —with about 4cwt of 8001 b sulohur super. The next year with the disc drill about 31b of alsike, 21b of perennial ryegrass. Jib of crested dogtail. lUb of timothy and some doubled headed cocksfoot. and another tewt of 8001 b sulphur super were put into the country. In the third season 10 ewes and their lambs were carried to the acre from lambing at mid-September through to weaning in about the second week ir January. Grass grub then raised its head—Mr Wardell speaks of about 17 grubs to a shovel of earth—and dressings of DDT sulphurised super were given in each of the last two autumns.

With the build-up of fertility on this country Mr Wardell envisages that it could become a good perennial ryegrass area both for seed and grazing, but he would be rather loth to see the tussocks disappear altogether, for he feels that they facilitate greater over-all dry matter production by reducing drying put in periods of dry weather and drought and also affording protection against frosts in the winter. On about 700 acres of the shadier country about 21b of alsike has been introduced to the acre with the chisel seeder with %cwt of 8001 b sulphur super, and since then another ticwt of super has been spread from the air.

The number of paddocks on the 2000-acre block under development has been increased from six to 13, with eight miles of five-wire electric fence being used. A problem associated with closer subdivision has been the supply of stock water, and for this purpose Mr Wardell has recently had two dams constructed to trap the natural run-off. One of these, completed last autumn, has involved the movement of 1000 cubic yards of earth. From one of these Mr Wardell plans to pump water to a concrete tank on a ridge and gravity feed water from there. Mr Wardell believes that these are the first dams of this nature to be constructed in the Mackenzie.