NEW ZEALAND’S PASTURES

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 7 (Supplement)

NEW ZEALAND’S PASTURES

The Nation’s Greatest Provider Of

Wealth IMPORTANCE OF SEED QUALITY The pastures of this Dominion are our greatest source of wealth, providing production of more value than our mines, forests, fisheries and factories combined. Of our country’s total area of approximately’ 66,000,000 acres, 41,000,000 acres are grazing lands, and of these only 17,000,000 acres are in sown pastures. Upon these sown pastures, about one-quarter of the Dominion’s total area, we depend principally for our production. Upon them are grazed the greater numbers of our stock, which total 31.000.000 sheep, 2,800,000 dairy stock, and 1.800.000 beef cattle. Here are some 35,600,000 mouths, to be fed for 365 days a year, these consuming, it has been estimated, 80,000,000 tons of grass every 12 months. The maintenance and improvement of pastures is, therefore, a work of supreme national importance; to the man on the land, too, it is a matter of the highest importance, for upon it largely depends his prosperity as a farmer, whether he is engaged in dairying, fattening or sheep-breeding. Much has been learnt of grass management, but there is still much more to be learnt. And much of what, has been discoveicd has yet to become general practice. It is, however, onlv fair to state that grass management in New Zealand has attained a remarkably high standard. To put the matter plainly, the average farmer has a pretty good knowledge of pasture and management is generally fairly good. But, as ever,* there is opportunity for improvement, here. One of the most useful aids to this is the interchange of experiences.