THE FARM

Northern Advocate, 15 July 1933, Page 14

THE FARM

| >.liLe...-3iaa : i«”wL u I "' 3 • enough I vital ■. matter of grassland J 3 faptor ia making for success. Con- | trolling j;he grass is .everything, the ■ft Being keep tlie grass in the f Ic&f stage» anS tliis •as long as possfaßon i |:aß;tfatr is through* $/6iijfc *ihe yearly dfas^. ; < its f , most stage when the herbage is of | aseafy ■ fW’ it'as then rich

tnflTnrnnro ■ amount of protein and its amount of fibre. And it is qtfite liooy grass at vita Ifitoest; jtoo^^^qe.;is|a’g(^'.nnle3s a i|; js man* !| aged, with care and intelligence, : and p the .first necessary plank in' thescience :|:p£; M gra3slk«’d -manageraent'is controlled Sigrazing.t-;; Tlje besf results will- pot Ibo ; manuring, aiid character of the. pas* tiixe gfPtttty. the •<-suc.cePß' $ tluit vnll jOped manage-; ment' and. .-completemanuring fatljt ;| graduallyde velopahigh class pasture il'biit the process; may' be y-sluw.’- It ia" p only; where the pasture contains the H leaft persistent; . strains ;;o£ the:-v best ’flrllow?; : iiiancomplete f« r v obtaiiiM.<Goofegrasa^ completer proper-*nianr, It's-, y-v? i ■ ".h i l *-- •' -• ■- is tha mo important of |f these three als:* f *;. 11 ;; v ’ l4 ‘ < '"'';* r•*&>>■ £‘-^v £ -of in .this 'tfoUn-‘ has fl been the' <mfrying ft-' 'if' ■ w ■ -,. ■/*■&*& -V- •►■•••;> ■ >■-,• r |^;d^i^£v^S^ ,air =S through|f Defnmiop on-pastures poor in |lcWrarfeb‘aifd mad 6 worse by bad manftave yet to find a case |i-vrhesre good itasturpa* completely ferf|td|sld;and welil managed’ have : failed lute .;■ give an outstanding response, but pin every case there has been most in*. ||teiiigent management—brains have 2; teen combined with energy. I,l'The Science 1 of grazing. ; ;,&« : If f~‘/ -ft'A r'&fr: v>t ‘>V In * tpSL Gontiiient -the management ofi. rhigh *;are V=bein,g ; keenly ll'studied; || idirected to the science of 'grazing. S-a' Home authority recently declared: f>| iAsfy manyyahiart? v many long |fc yee^ef^^lose^^djr‘ are" needed and rr much than at preavaiiable is/necessary before the ’|l fight knowledge is acquired and ' be* J|; fofe that ; knowledge Pan ; be best put [wfniw practice. Th- men 'in this count 'Who are combinxiig ;,good manage* fo-'irork vdiiij Sfwith ythe. bettkr. grasses ;dormant until

the better management and manuring enable these to take possession), arc men who have had no acknowledged technique to guide them in pasture management but have used their' own common sense and , have not been afraid of work. ■ They have realised that, at least iii the autumn months, deep harrowing is advisable, that repeated harrowing to-scatter the droppings is necessary, : ; that thei grass plants should have their periods of rest, that' the grass should never bo allowed to seed, that the mower is sometimes necessary when followers have: not done their work well, that animals should not be allowed to treat a-pasture carrying a crop of the finest milk-producing food at its best stage as a camping ground, and generally aim, at developing the best class of pasture and conserve it so that its grazing value may be maintained. True, the majority of these grassland enthusiasts have not every field in this highly productive condition, but their best fields are so managed. There is a farm, “Grasslands,” where practically all the grass of the farm is kept in the leaf stage. But the story of .this very valuable farm will be told later on. We would like to hear from headers who are anxious to have any particular grassland problem discussed. It Is easily our most important problem, and though it is vital to future progress in the world race for economic production, there is nothing like the 'study being given to it that its importance warrants. Mr A. H. CoekAssistant' Director General of Agrietflturej: Has declared that " the most 1 important thing before the country is the maintenance of our pastures at their highest standard of efficiency; jbUt’tHe farmer' wants to know how to do this;,and he can hardly be blamed for failure to secure the maximum returns from his grassland . seeing the very contradictory advice given him, dften by men who are employed to guide him, ! ‘ , . ,

Scientific Opinion. In reviewing the extent and objects of dairy research Sir William Dampier, F.R.S., Secretary/ of the Agricultural Research Council of Britain, says this; ‘t Science has already achieved fcsults which are of direct interest to New Zealand. In the field of nutrition, for instance, the mdst rebent advance /is the discovery that, young grass has a high protein- content which makes it comparable with expensive concentrates such as linseed cake. Young grass was specially efficacious in increasing the yield of milk. It was, or soon would be, available in the form of ensilage or dried cake, and more experiments on its influence on the quantity .and quality of milk should be made as quickly as possible. It was of great importance to the overseas Dominions as well as -to Great Britain.”

1 All surplus cockerels not required as breeders should be disposed of as soon as possible. See that the young pullets are not crowded for perching room.