PASTURE IMPROVEMENT

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 182, 1 May 1931, Page 2

PASTURE IMPROVEMENT

Minerals in Herbage “Much valuable work is being done toward the improvement of pastures, not only with a view to increasing the quantity of the herbage, but also in the direction of improving the quality of pastures and fodder crops generally, more especially from the point of view of their mineral content.’’ said Mr. G. A. Lawrence, B.Sc., F.1.C., in an address to the Wellington section of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry.' There was little doubt that in the past stock had suffered considerably from want of sufficient minerals on what were considered good pastures, said Mr. Lawrence. A ease in particular came under liis notice recently where a farmer, in what was considered one of I lie best districts in New Zealand, had observed that his sheep were doing better and yielding a higher percentage of lambs since he adopted top-dressing as a regular routine. It was noticeable that the animals did not lick at the bare patches on tlie hillside as they did formerly, indicating that they were finding the minerals in the herbage more satisfying.