2000 Ewes Self-Feeding Silage
Two thousand ewes were self-feeding vacuum silage on their West Otago farm this winter, Mr M. D. Lawlor told a convention in Christchurch this week attended by persons who are handling vacuum silage equipment in the South Island. The property of 500 acres on clay soils is carrying 3000 breeding ewes and 1500 dry sheep, including about 1300 ewe hoggets. Before the use of vacuum silage on the property, Mr Lawlor said, carrying capacity had reached eight ewe equivalents. Wool production amounted to more than 1001 b to the acre and meat equivalent production around the 3001 b mark. But winter feeding, he said, had become virtually a physically impossible strain. Growing of 40 acres of roots was necessary and 4000 bales of hay were needed and as much autumn saved pasture as they could get. In the event of failure of swedes chou moellier also had to be grown. As pastures improved swedes became more difficult to grow and Scwt of borated superphosphate and also potash were needed.
While 10 acres of swedes and 1000 bales of hay were expected to winter 1000 ewes most farmers were now growing 15 acres of swedes.
Mr Lawlor said that he had become tired of the seven-day-a-week job involved in feeding these stock numbers. New breaks of turnips had, for instance, to be provided every day. The only person who was getting any fun out of it, he commented, was Mr Lake. Visits had been made around both islands and to Australia and when vacuum silage was introduced he had gone to the North Island to look into the system. When they saw beef cattle selffeeding this silage they felt that they could also self-feed sheep, so straight away they started making vacuum silage and last year they had put 500 of their old ewes on to
vacuum silage of indifferent quality, and they had done very well. This winter, he said, they had four mobs of about 1000 ewe equivalents. The younger sheep, including the hoggets, were on a dual system in which they were being introduced to the vacuum silage. They were being fed on roots and being fed vacuum silage on the turnip paddock. They would be used to clean up vacuum silage stacks in the spring. They also had 1000 ewes on chou moellier and hay. About 30 man hours of work a week were being put in with them. Two further mobs were self-feeding on vacuum silage. One paddock where they had been had just been grassed down using the sheep to tread the seed in. Although it was expected that the pasture here would have recovered by mid October they had decided to introduce Ariki ryegrass as a superior species and also Italian ryegrass in the belief that they would get feed from it two weeks earlier. Under conditions of heavy stocking, he said, it had been found that when paddocks recovered with strong ryegrass and clover growth they were better than they had been before and under high stocking perennial ryegrass could become a palatable grass. Mr Lawlor said that they were learning the management side of the operation. They were pretty well on the road, but for hoggets they did not know all the answers yet. They had got far enough to know that they could winter feed without root crops, but they had not reached the stage where they could go all grass yet as they had to take it steady with the hoggets—the treatment they received at this stage could affect their future production. As yet, Mr Lawlor said, use of vacuum silage was still in the Model T stage. He was confident that it would be possible for him to winter 5000 sheep on his own self-feeding vacuum silage. It would be possible for labour to take a month’s holiday at this time of the year and the owner might also be able to take a month off.
They were expecting to go
to 5000 sheep In the next two or three years. With land being bought at about £2O a ewe equivalent, it was necessary to make a great deal off it
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Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31107, 9 July 1966, Page 10
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6962000 Ewes Self-Feeding Silage Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31107, 9 July 1966, Page 10
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