GRASSLAND FARMING

Waipa Post, Volume 41, Issue 3185, 7 August 1930, Page 5

GRASSLAND FARMING

IMPORTANT FACTORS.

FERTILISATION VALUE.

The s(own grass land of Now Zealand is about 18,000,000 acres, and the area is being slightly extended. These grass lands are responsible for an annual output of about 250,000 tons of meat, 70,000 tons of wool, and 140,000 tons of dairy produce. This works out at about 30 lbs of meat, 9 lbs of wool, and 17 lbs of butter-fat per acre. With normal prices the annual value of grass land products is in the vicinity of £55,000,000, and it is anticipated that this figure could quite easily be doubled by the more intensive application of scientific grass land management. All over the world the value' of such management is fast becoming recognised, not only by farmers, but also by other interests. Of the 18,000,000 acres of sown grass land, about 5,000,000 acres are used for dairying and 13,000,000 acres for sheep and beef cattle. However, a very large area of the dairying land is in a more or less unimproved state. If, therefore, 4,000,000 acres are taken as the area used for dairying, the average yield is about 70 lbs of but-ter-fat per acre. When it is considered that under the present conditions yields of lover 250 lbs per acre have been realised, the potentiality for an increase in dairy products is quite evident.

In fat lamb production highly topdressed farms are now carrying six and seven ewes to#he acre, which before top-dressing did not do better than two. When we take into consideration the fact that fertilisation and special grass land management are only in their infancy as far as New Zealand is concerned, the outlook for both our dairy produce and sheep is exceptionally promising. Extensive inquiries show that the cheapest production of butter-fat per acre has occurred where the larger amount of fertiliser has been used. For instance, dressings of 3 cwt of super per acre give a far greater ratio of profit than dressings of 1 cwt per acre.

While the "need for fertilisation cannot be stressed too strongly, the necessity of proper fertilisation to suit particular types of soil must be closely watched. Proper fertilisation may mean one treatment under one set of conditions and a wholly different treatment under a different set of conditions.

In general, the less exhausted the soil, the greater the acreage of responsive soil to be treated in proportion to size of herd, and the less the need for additional grazing the less intensive will be the treatment required; while the more "exhausted the soil, the less the acreage of responsive soil to be treated in proportion to the size of the herd, and the gerater the need foxadditional grazing the more intensive will be the treatment to be used.

Mere application of fertiliser—even of just the right fertiliser is no guarantee of profitable results, as proper management is of equal importance.