BETTER GRASSLANDS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 253, 25 September 1939, Page 5

BETTER GRASSLANDS.

SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.

Wales has shown the way to other countries in improving grasslands, and also how to extend the grazing season by one month in spring and another month in autumn.

A new policy in agriculture instigated by Sir B. G. Stapledon and an expert staff in Aberystwyth University College and put into practice on rough hillsides in rural Wales is being adopted all over Britain and the Empire. Worn-out grasslands arc ploughed up and reseeded with remarkable results. It has now been proved that the new pastures give 85 per cent, good grasses compared with 45 per cent, in the old. The gain in weight, of. the cattle and sheep grazed, on them is 1371 b. compared with 1001 b. under the former conditions. The new methods . also affect milk production. An agricultural expert stated recently that out of every £1 spent in- producing milk, 13s 2d goes on feeding stuffs and only 3s 6d for labour. Feeding, therefore, lie- adds, offers the best-scope for economy, and grass is the cheapest food. The Welsh experiments extending over 20 years are providing better, cheaper, and more prolific grass. ,