Maximum Area For Grazing

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30146, 1 June 1963, Page 6

Maximum Area For Grazing

'THERE was a contrasting A situation on the property of H. R. and E. F. Clark, at Staveley, which was visited later in the day. Here on 384 acres, of which about 100 acres is on Springburn silt loam and the balance on Ruapuna stony silt loam, cultivation is kept at a minimum with the maximum area available for grazing.

Mr Whatman said that it was a method that made available the maximum area for grazing with a minimum labour requirement, and he said he felt that Mr Clark would agree that the flock did not suffer from early feeding on roots and hay while running on a fairly bare paddock from mid-May. with pastures being conserved for later use.

Some figures given for the financial results on the property in the 1932-63 season showed that only £lOO was spent on outside labour. This was confined to four weeks of shepherding. Mr Garrett said that there was a tendency for grass to be shut up toe early so that it went brown and mushy underneath during the winter and Mr Whatman suggested that one paddock should be shut up not later than mid-March in case there was an early onset of winter, ’and at two weekly intervals thereafter.

Mr Clark's pasture mixture consists of about 101 b of perennial ryegrass, 51b of short rotation, 41b of Montgomery red clover, lib of dogstail, 31b of timothy, 31b of cocksfoot and 21b of white clover.

The flock comprises 1324 Romney ewes and 568 hoggets At present the ewes are running off a bare paddock on to a break of swedes fenced with electrified netting. The area under swedes is 15 acres and about 2200 bales of hay are also held for the winter, but because of the good root crop this year not so much may be needed. From about the middle of July the ewes will start to get a’ taste of saved grass, of which about 70 acres was closed up about the beginning of April. The hoggets will also run off barish ground on to 15 acres of new grass sown In earlv February and another

15 acres of autumn-saved pasture.

Only about 10 acres will be under the plough this winter. This is for part of next year’s swede crop. An interesting point about the swede crop is that the application of a half ton of burnt lime mixed with super through the front and back boxes of the ? ridger has effectively controlled club root on the 15 acres and use of Dieldrix with the seed has, for a small cost, protected the crop against springtails Mr Clark intends to dust the seed with the insecticide next year and mix it with super for application through the ridger. On this property Calder has clearly been demonstrated as the most suitable variety of swede. Like a neighbour, Mr Clark is interested in the tops of swedes as a lamb-fattening feed. Some 150 cull lambs have recently been fattened on the tops and for this purpose Mr Clark may sow an increased area of swedes Six acres on the property is also in chou moellier which is available for feeding or a seed crop This winter Mr Clark is running 19 in-calf cows which were bought in ago They will feed on straw or tailings baled from a Montgomery clover seed crop. The round bales will be carted to the cattle which will be sold as fats in about April next year, having in the meantime dropped a calf, which will represent tne pro. fit. If this project is a success Mr Clark says that he may bale barley straw tbarley will be sown after the swedesi and increase the number of cows carried next year.

Figures which Mr. Clark made available to the visitors showed that the farm was likely to make a 9.7 per cent return on capital this year after allowing for wages of management. Stocking is now put at 4.6 ewe equivalents to the gross acre and Mr Clark forecasts that he should eventually be able to reach six ewes to the acre. Wool production in the last season has made up almost half the income and is running at about 531 b to the acre, it is followed by sheep and lamb sales, red clover seed and barley