OUR FARMING PRODUCTION COULD BE DOUBLED IN 10 YEARS-MR. BRUCE LEVY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22890, 9 March 1949, Page 6

OUR FARMING PRODUCTION COULD BE DOUBLED IN 10 YEARS-MR. BRUCE LEVY

“ALL-OUT EFFORT”

“IF tVe get down to an all-out effort we could double, and in some cases treble, the present production from our pastures in the next 10 years,” said Mr. E. Bruce Levy, director of the Grasslands Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, to an audience of farmers in the Bon Accord rooms last night when reiterating a statement made to a recent grassland association conference in Christchurch on New Zealand’s potentialities for increased production.

“We don’t want to re-open the whole matter of flood relief,” added Mr. Nash, “but if there are instances where aid is reasonably justified it will not be withheld.” “With an intensive farming system m New Zealand, involving greater use of bred strains of grasses and clovers; “In a more frequent break-up of old grassland and re-sow policy; “With special purpose pastures and specific grazing management to accord components of these pastures to produce their maximum at different seasons of the year to avoid some, at least, of wasteful conservation practices; “With an increase of top-dressing with phosphates and lime; “With a greater control of the grazing animals and with the higher per acre labour supply that these entail, both dairy production, beef and fat lambs on the lowland dairying and fattening country could be doubled in 10 years, whilst the production of store stock and wool, with an increasing amount of fat lambs and fat beef on the deforested hill country could easily be doubled or trebled within a period of 10 years, provided also that phosphatic fertilisers were available at reasonable prices per ton and provided labour was available to clear scrub, fern, etc., to fence the country to give a better control of stock and to help generally in the management of that stock. Production Horizons. “By the use of the best grassland species and strains under a rotational system of farming and with reasonable top-dressing with artificial fertilisers some 12,000 to 16,0001 b of dry matter per acre per annum can be produced

in the more amenable climatic conditions of the North Island, and up to 9060 to 10,0001 b. of dry matter in the somewhat longer and harder winters of the South Island,” continued Mr. Levy, explaining that one sheep consumed IOOOib. of dry matter in a year. “The North Island pastures are capable of producing 75001 b. of starch equivalent per acre per annum, and up to 5001 b. butterfat or 7501 b. increase live animal weight or 1501 b. of wool per acre per annum with a somewhat corresponding decrease in the South Island.

“Very large areas of the North Island hill country, doing now some 2000 to 30001 b. of dry matter per acre, are capable of producing up to 60001 b. of dry matter and a measured production of some 93381 b. on the better slopes and ridges where stock habitually camp has been recorded. “Further, by increased growth and carrying capacity by top-dressing and by the introduction of better grasses and clovers, not only is production of growth increased, but also the, food value of that growth can be doubled This is largely on account of the higher crude protein content that clovers can provide. Soil Fertility and Plants,

“Stabilisation of any permanent grassland farming system at a high economic production level, and one that will safeguard for all time against deterioration, must accord to this improvement in carrying capacity,” he continued. “High soil fertility and plants that can fully utilise that fertility are of paramount importance in grassland farming. A 14,0001 b. dry matter per acre per annum pasture requires for its growth, in terms of fertilisers, approximately 25 cwt. sulphate of ammonia, 17 cwt. 30 per cent potash salts, 7£ cwt. superphosphate and 3 cwt. carbonate of lime.

“Assuming these fertilisers are present in the soil and that the herbage produced is eaten in situ by control-grazed, mature animals so that their residues of dung and urine are returned to the sward in the course of their grazing, practically the whole of the nitrogen, potash, phosphate and lime is returned to the soil to be used immediately to help grow the next crop of grass. “The milk-producing animal and the young growing animal will, of course, make greater demands on the nitrogen and minerals in the feed it consumes and this fact must be taken into consideration in balancing up return and withdrawal of plant foods from the soil. The nitrogen can be made good by, legumes, and high-producing clovers are the starting point and provide the perpetual impetus to the pasture production cycle. “Measurements at grasslands show that a sward of New Zealand pedigree white clover, well grown, can extract from the air nitrogen to the equivalent of one ton sulphate of ammonia per acre per annum. This nitrogen is the key to high production grass development and to the efficient utilisation by the growing sward of applied minerals, phosphate, potash and lline. -A

“The mineral out-go must be provided from the world’s store and these should be regarded as more precious than gold. Phosphates or phosphates and lime initiate the cyclic movement of clovers and clover symbiosis, resulting in the fixation of nitrogen and New Zealand a immediate demand for the task of doubling production lies in a plenteous supply of raw phosphates. Fertility Building in N.Z.

“Initially, a great area of New Zealand was infertile and lacking in nitrogen, phosphate and lime. Our climata is such that, given prosphate and good strains of clovers, the cycle of soil fertility building can be implemented and the fact that we can grow bulky clovers and can graze animals on thesa out-of-doors all the year round ensures a turn round of fertility almost sufficient to keep the high production per acre going.

“How-be-it, no country can export animal or animal products without some loss of soil fertility. In this regard store-stock country is in a dangerous position and, in this, is second only to grain exporting countries. The exporting of fats and oils takes practically no fertility from the farm.

“Given an increase of soil fertility the hills will grow first-class grasses and clovers such as perennial ryegrass, white clover, crested dogstail and cocksfoot. These will carry four to six ewes plus cattle. Where that standard is not yet reached, browntop, Yorkshire fog, Lotus major, subterranean clover, together with some perennial ryegrass-white clover are carrying well—up to three to four ewes per acre plus some cattle. The real question before the hills is how to carry and adequately feed at least three to four ewes per adre plus some cattle.

“The unimproved hills carry a dominant situnted browntop, Danthonia, sweet vernal, annual clovers sward with 1 to 1J sheep per acre plus some store cattle aaid store lambs, but there is no future for that country: no adequacy in building a turf to control scrub growths and no prospect of better grasses and clovers until the soil fertility is increased. Whence this fertility? It must come from the clovers and from minerals supplied out of the bag.

“Irrespective of the class of stock used in grazing, the off and on, rotategraze management is the best system from the points of view of both pasture growth and stock thrift. Grazing Management.

“Set. close and continuous grazing reduces production by 50 per cent, it deleteriously affects botanical composition and permits entry of weeds and low producing, hardy, light loving grasses.

“Unless we can accord a grazing management to allow growth from our high-producing grasses and clovers when they have the urge to grow we may just as well leave them out of the seed mixtures sown.

“The golden rule to apply is to spell the pasture and allow growth at that (time of the year when a mn of new growth is possible. This will vary according to the species.

“Italian ryegrass' and short rotation rvegrass want to grow winter and early spring; perennial ryegrass has the urge to grow early spring, spring and early autumn; white clover, spring and summer- cowgrass and Montgomery red clover, late spring, summer and early autumn: cocksfoot, Timothy, Yorkshire fog, browntop. Lotus major and subterranean clover all grow better and produce more by being given a spell. Onlv perennial ryegrass, white clover, crested dogstail, Danthonia can persist under hard, close and continuous grazing and to adopt such a practice limits our potentialities for production. “This golden rule applies not only on the flat, ploughable country but also on the hills. A higher production and a better seasonal spread of production is obtained by systematic spelling and t cm hopeful of incorporating more species on the hills in special purpose summer paddocks and special purpose winter paddocks and by appropriate spells to improve the hills.”

“Mr. Levy's Plan” appears on. Page 8.