IMPORTANT PLACE FOR LUCERNE

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30076, 9 March 1963, Page 6

IMPORTANT PLACE FOR LUCERNE

“I fed that lucerne will be the answer to the rejuvenation of the depleted hill country of the Waitaki basin and in particular those areas which are most exposed to the northwest and have a very low rainfall,” said Mr R. M. Robertson, who farms on the eastern hills of the Hakataramea valley, speaking to a high-country farmers’ meeting held at Lake Tekapo this week under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture in conjunction with the Mackenzie branch of Federated Farmers. “With the latest techniques of pasture establishment such as the sod-seeder, chisel seeder, and the aeroplane, exposed light land which has up till now been considered unsuitable for pasture will be the mainstay of our sheep runs, and this will be made possible by the intensive use of lucerne.”

Mr Robertson’s property is exposed to the full blast of the north-westerly winds and is subject to dry conditions even in a wet season. The average rainfall is about 14in, with winter the driest time of the year. Three thousand acres of hill country rising to 2500 feet is well covered with blue tussock, danthonia, introduced clovers and grasses, and 350 acres of rolling country is sown in lucerne and lucerne mixtures.

Summing up his results with lucerne on this country, Mr Robertson had this to say: “Fourteen years ago we started increasing our areas of lucerne. At that time we were carrying 1700 sheep and no cattle. The increase since then of 600 sheep and 60 cattle may not seem spectacular but the improvement of the hill country has been excellent and we are by no means stocked to capacity. This has only been brought about by the intensive grazing of lucerne. The carrying capacity of the 350 acres of rolling country was barely one sheep to the acre before development. Now it is four sheep to the acre, plus hay and seed production, and is still improving. From this you will see that we have been able really to nurse our hill country. By only slowly increasing total capital stock and keeping unit performance high we have achieved almost complete regeneration of native grasses and tussock.”

On Mr Robertson’s property 1700 Corriedale ewes go to the ram and the flock includes 600 ewe hoggets, together with rams and mutton wethers. Wool weights average 10.251 b and all surplus stock is fattened. Wool production is regarded as the most important objective on the farm. ■

Discussing the management of the lucerne, Mr Robertson said that in mid-August with the lucerne carrying about an inch of spring growth 1000 ewes wintered on the hill joined 1300 already on luc-

eme until after shearing about a month later. “With the main emphasis on wool production we feel that delaying lambing until October 12 and shearing as late as possible definitely pays dividends,” he said. “The green feed frees the wool and improves greatly the general appearance and handle of the clip. The flock produced a fine 56’s quality wool. It has not become stronger with this management but has developed a bolder character.” At a safe period af:er shearing 1000 ewes were turned out on to the run and 700 were retained to lamb on the lucerne. Shorn hoggets were put out after two weeks on to their own tussock block and left until mid-January. The ewes on the lucerne were kept in two mobs—one of five-year-old sale ewes and the other of two-tooths. Three paddocks, each of 50 acres, were used in rotation for these mobs, with the older ewes following the two-tooths. The first shift was made when the lambs were marked ait a little more than four weeks after birth, and then at about twoweekly intervals until the lambs were weaned at 12 weeks after the start of lambing. At this stage about 33 per cent of the wether lambs went off the mothers at 281 b and the remainder were put on to lucerne which had come into flower and the ewes were turned on to the barest lucerne stand until the main weaning. Lambs on the run were weaned at 14 weeks. Ewe lambs to be retained were turned on to a clean, oversown and topdressed hill block and the remaining wether lambs were boxed with the paddock lambs and finished off on the lucerne. Provided they were kept on a mature stand, Mr Robertson said that they fattened readily without much trouble and even cull

ewe lambs (prematurely weaned), and small and rough wooDed lambs were all sent off the farm in prime condition.

The ewe lambs were given a month on the hill and then brought on to the lucerne and given only brief periods on the hill until early winter when they went on to .sub clover-lucerne mixtures and were fed hay when required until shearing. After weaning ewes were turned on to a clean hill block and left until the rams went out. After tupping twotooths and any other ewes requiring feeding were kept in for the winter and fed on hay when the lucerne failed to produce with the opset of frost. During an average winter 700 ewes were carried in the paddocks being fed up to 20 bales of hay a day according to the amount of roughage available. An objection to the shearing and lambing times on the farm was that lambs might be inclined to slip slightly in condition if there was a dry spell during December, but there was ample time between weaning and June to finish off any lambs not fit to kill at weaning and this was more than compensated for by the improved wool clip. By having ewes on a high plane of nutrition all the year round the boost before shearing could give rise to a set of circumstances ideally suited for an outbreak of sleepy sickness, but it was found that that risk here would be minimised by giving the sheep access to molactrate block for about 10 days before shearing and having it readily available to sheep before shedding at night. Stock Movement With ewes being grazed at six to eight to the acre with their lambs as well it was essential to rotate the sheep on to clean stands during the three months that the lambs were with their mothers. No trouble had been experienced lambing large mobs on lucerne and the extra time required to shift eWes with young lambs every two weeks was well worthwhile. The problem period for grazing lucerne, was the rearing of hoggets from late summer until after shearing. The practice already mentioned of turning ewe lambs out after weaning on to a hill block for a month was mainly to let lucerne stands mature . before they were stocked ’by weaned lambs. Lambs would go ahead on a stand that was in flower or consisted of well hardened young growth—say growth two or three weeks old and inclined to be withered by dry weather.

After a period of six weeks lambs in forward condition might start to die from pulpy kidney. Some years ago they had inoculated for this complaint, but now it had been found that reasonably good control could be achieved before deaths started by either turning the lambs on to improved tussock country for 10 days or by confining them in a bare yard for 36 to 48 hours depending on seasonal temperatures. No water was provided and the resulting check, while not affecting wool growth or the growth of lambs, seemed to halt the build-up of toxin in the small intestine.

With large areas of lucerne it was sometimes impossible to avoid grazing lambs or hoggets on lush growth after the break of a drought. General unthriftiness in lambs or hoggets under these conditions could be easily controlled by giving them access to plenty of good quality hay. They made a practice of pegging bales to a standard and having it available whenever young stock were grazing lucerne which had not hardened off. An endeavour was made to shift young stock on lucerne each three weeks on to a new stand which had been closed for at least two weeks. Stocking was at the heaviest rate possible—l2 to 14 to the acre—but they were kept in their age groups. Older ewes did not require the same nursing as younger stock and so long as there was noticeable growth they piled on condition.

Up until now roughage had been provided by inclusion of gullies and uncultivated steep faces in paddocks. When grazing of lucerne first started it had been found that sheep cleaned up the roughage before taking read-

ily to the lucerne, but it was now observed that sheep left the roughage and grazed the lucerne first, which meant that if in some paddocks this roughage was lost as a result of further sudivision it would not affect stock health. It had also been found that the old high-country idea that sheep had to have scope to thrive did not apply if mob stocking was practised with frequent shifts long before feed ran out.

Of lucerne varieties, Mr Robertson said that most upright strains could be grazed right to the crown and where they could be grown it was absolutely unnecessary to consider creeping or grazing varieties, which besides being 30 to 40 per cent, lower producing, also allowed weeds in. French Provence and Marlborough seemed to give the best results under grazing with Provence being somewhat earlier away in the spring and slightly leafier. In all paddocks 2 to 31b of cocksfoot had been included. The older stands had lost the cocksfoot over a period of drought seasons, but the younger stands where cocksfoot was complementary to lucerne and was not dominant gave much better winter grazing, particularly for hoggets. Another useful addition to a grazing lucerne stand could be subterranean clover, which it had been found would continue to produce under frosts of up to 20 degrees. This was, however, low rainfall country .subject to drought and the inclusion of grasses or clover where the rainfall was more than 20 inches appeared to be a questionable practice. Mr Robertson said they had found that all stock required more water and salt on lucerne than on any other type of pasture. Water had been

the biggest problem on the farm and as more dams were built paddocks would be subdivided into units of 20 to 30 acres. This would benefit both stock and lucerne as it would mean more frequent shifts and heavier stocking up to 30 to the acre. Another problem had been barley grass, which had become more aggressive with improved fertility. It had good feed value in JulyAugust, but created a problem in wet years with seed in lambs’ eyes and pelts. They were hoping that it could be controlled by subdivision and by making silage which would obviate the need to resort to spraying, which was expensive with uncertain results.

“We have found that lucerne is the only plant that will produce as a pasture even through the most 'severe drought and that sheep will thrive on,” said Mr Robertson. “Although it is relatively dearer to establish than pasture. It is really cheaper than other grasses and clovers because in a dry area with adequate feeding with fertiliser its life is not really known. Our oldest stand is 16 years old and showing no signs of weakening, so who knows it may be 30 years before it needs resowing. The cost of sowing is about £lO an acre, which over 20 years makes the cost of establishment only 10s an acre. Annual maintenance costs would be less than 30s an acre. The return on this investment is about 800 per cent, to say nothing of the joy of having sheep well fed at all times.**

Mr Robertson told a questioner that his lucerne was grazed down bare every winter. It was not grazed about the period of flushing before topping, but thereafter the practice was to get what growth there was before the frost got it. If a little cover was left on it he said the growth might come away a little earlier in the spring.