Breaking in Marlborough Hill Country

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 89, Issue 4, 15 October 1954, Page 336

Breaking in Marlborough Hill Country

IN southern Marlborough there are areas of scrub-covered hill country which are capable of development, and in this article J. P. Beggs, Instructor in Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, Blenheim, describes the methods adopted by a farmer on the inland road from Kaikoura to Waiau to handle this type of country.

ON the property of. Mr. L. H. H. Weaver there are 90 acres of scrub-covered hill country which vary from steep to moderately easy country. The latter portion is confined to the undulating tops and comprises approximately one-third of the block. From these undulating tops the country slopes toward deep gullies on all sides. Before 1900 the block' was ploughed, but since then scrub growth has been dealt with by periodic cutting • or burning. When the recent breaking-in programme was begun much of the area was covered with manuka scrub and fern of varying density and size, the height of the scrub ranging up to 20ft. Pasture cover consisted almost entirely of browntop. Ploughing Ploughing was begun in the winter of 1952. To facilitate this the dense patches of fern were burnt off. Small scrub was ploughed in, but large bushes had to be removed before the passage of the plough. This was done by pulling them out with a tracklaying tractor and wire rope and pushing them over into the gullies. To carry out the work as speedily as possible three types of plough were used. On the relatively easy and clean country on the tops a 3-furrow plough was used, and small scrub was handled satisfactorily with a doublefurrow swamp plough. A large section of the block, however, could be worked satisfactorily only with a single-furrow “brush-breaker” plough. This work was much slower. The ploughing of the 90 acres, together with the pulling of the large scrub, occupied 389 man hours. Subsequent Cultivation After it had been ploughed the area was left in the furrow for a time and

subsequent cultivation then took the form of discing and levelling. Tandem discs were used and 6 cuts were made, with harrows behind the discs in the later stages. Levelling was carried out very effectively with a jarrah beam Ift. square and 30ft. long drawn behind the tracklaying tractor. This also helped to consolidate the seed-bed in preparation for liming and sowing. Liming and Drilling As the soil on this developed country is naturally sour, the owner always applies lime if it is practicable. Mr. Weaver used a unit consisting of a tracklaying tractor and trailer with lime sower attached, with which 2 men applied lime at 1 ton per acre. Seed was then broadcast through a grain drill and harrowed in, the mixture being 301 b. of perennial ryegrass (Certified Mother seed), 21b. of cocksfoot, 2glb. of white clover (Certified Mother seed), and l|lb. of Montgomery red clover. Drilling was done in blocks from January to March. The first block was sown with rape and the later ones were sown with a cover of oats. The time spent on the paddock after ploughing and until the seed was all sown was 471 man hours. Benefits Derived Though considerable time and effort were spent in this undertaking, the farmer has been well rewarded for his industry. In place of an unsightly, scrub-covered hill he has now an additional block of good grazing country. The previous carrying capacity was 1 ewe to 3 acres, but Mr. Weaver now estimates that he will be able to carry 2| ewes to the acre, more than a sevenfold increase. Besides other areas of similar country in southern Marlborough there are areas in many parts of the Marlborough Land District which could be developed by these methods.