BREAKING FERN LAND INTO PRODUCTION EXPLAINED TO FARMERS

Wanganui Chronicle, 8 June 1948, Page 4

BREAKING FERN LAND INTO PRODUCTION EXPLAINED TO FARMERS

Methods adopted in the handling of tile fern country in the Wanganui district —the land which commences on an average of 12 miles from the coast and runs into the centre of the island—were related to the meeting of West Coast farmers at Massey Agricultural College last week by Mr. Ivan Johnston, of Kai Iwi, in collaboration with Mr. L. Elliott. "The bulk of the country was never property surveyed, especially regarding Individual blocks or farm sections being laid out according to the contours of the country,” stated Mr. Johnston. "The areas were apparently drawn out on maps in oilices, resulting in -unsatisfactory and in-conveniently-shaped sections lacking streams or ridges for boundaries. After outlining his experience in farming this type of land, Mr. Johnston said that the subdivision and size of paddocks was an important feature on which Mr. Elliott also ipid stress.

“Firstly, the paddock in this class of country must not be large—not more than 50 to 100 acres —preferably less, and the hill faces should be fenced off from tlie easy parts. The shady areas are best fenced off on their own and areas of low fertility even if this means smaller paddocks. A knowledge and study of sheep habits is helpful in planning the layout of fencing so as to make for better grazing of paddocks and also easier mustering. Fencing, wherever possible, should always oe kept on ridges, as here a better job can be made with less wear and tear and a reduced maintenance cost.

"Where paddocks may have to be long it is advisable to make them lie north and south, as paddocks running east and west, especially big paddocks, are hard to control and graze evenly. Sheep show a grazing preference for land nearest to the coast, and always camp at that end of a paddock even though this may not be the highest part of the area. “There are two generally accepted methods of handling this country of a deteriorating nature, one to burn and sow, and the other by stocking and crushing. I have tried both, and definitely consider burning and sowing most successful and cheapest in the long run. To apprecaite the difficulties fern presents in this heavy rainfall area, one has to realise the prolific and sustained nature of its growth. In a favourable season it is remarkably strong; for instance I have measured a frond of bracken, and know it to grow six feet in 19 days, and sometimes faster. It depends to a great extent on the fertility of the soil, and at maturity stands from four to 10 feet high. Usually it starts to come away in October, and if not combated in its early stages continues until April, according to season, with its greatest growth during November and December, and early January. The later growth after this is not so hard to deal with. The stems of mature fern are up to hah an inch thick, and the root growth extends four feet into the ground with roots of over half an inch thick. In less than a fortnight after burning the fern will commence to grow again, and continue to do so until the colder weather and dormant season. It takes from three to eight or more years of hard grazing or four to six years of ploughing before you can say you are beating the fern, and even then it must still be carefully watched, as one year of neglect to do so and bad management will allow it to make a fresh start and give further trouble. “Here I will concentrate on the burn and sow method; I have found it best to take a limited area in at a time.. I consider it unwise to endeavour to handle too much as if this is done it often happens that the recurrent fern growth will get out of hand, and the whole job will have to be undertaken again. My method after fencing the area to be handled is to crush big cattle into the fern for one or preferably two years with the object of knocking it about and creating a bed of dead fern which, when burnt, will leave a good ash on which to sow and cover the grass-seed.