WORK ON THE FARM

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3941, 18 August 1937, Page 3

WORK ON THE FARM

Many areas of sown pastures which have been laid down for some considerable time are producing much below their capacity. A considerable improvement in these pastures may be effected by breaking up the matted grass, either by ploughing or by very severe harrowing with special implements. The action of renovating implements is to correct the sod-bound condition of the grasses and to improve the soil condition.

The net result is a fresh lease of life for the pasture, and {pastures which show a marked decline in productivity may to some extent be restored to their original condition by renovation condition. In these situations where crops can be grown, a more effective means than periodical renovation of maintaining high producing pastures is to treat pasture as a unit in a crop rotation, allowing one or two seasons’ cropping between three and five-year stands of pasture.

Though very often adverse weather conditions prevent the full benefit of fertiliser application from being realised, many dairy farmers and graziers have used pasture fertilisers with encouraging results. Much of the coastal grazing country is deficient in lime, and applications of 1 ton of agricultural lime per acre have produced a marked improvement in the pasture. Superphosphates, in most instances has a marked effect on pastures on all but the richest soils, and applications of nitrogenous fertilisers produce results which may be economically obtained. Usually it is necessary to renovate a pasture by mechanical treatment before efficient top-dressing can be carried out.