BREAKING IN THE LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 22 (Supplement)

BREAKING IN THE LAND

CONSOLIDATION ESSENTIAL. PERMANENT PASTURE MIXTURE. The importance of proper preparation ’of land for permanent pasture is referred to as follows by Mr. J. M. Smith, Department of Agriculaure. He states;— “In the first instance much of our dairying country was covered with heavy bush. Gradually this was fallen and the land stumped and ploughed. During the breaking in process swedes, turnips and oats were the crops principally employed. “A mistake many farmers made was in endeavouring to get their land into permanent pasture too quickly, with the result that the permanent pasture did not stand, and this same mistake is being repeated to-day in many districts. “Fortfie establishment of a high production dairying sward a certain standard

of fertility and consolidation is necessary, and where a permanent pasture is sown within a few years of the stumping this standard, is not reached, and the resultant permanent pasture is disappointing. “The use of the short rotation pasture consisting of 151bs uncertified perennial rye, lOlbs Italian rye and 51bs of cowgrass can very usefully be employed in the preparation of land for permanent pasture. Such a mixture if topdressed will give a good pasture up to 5 years, by which time the ground will be ready to receive the permanent pasture mixture. “This delay in sowing to permanent pasture also gives the farmer an opportunity to level out the ground so that future operations such as mowing, etc., will not be impeded. Some of our old pasture lands are extremely rough, and this unevenness is a constant source of trouble and expense in delays due to breakages of machinery.