FARM METHODS

Hokitika Guardian, 11 January 1929, Page 3

FARM METHODS

FUTURE IN CANTERBURY. , PASTURES MUST RE TENDED. 1 ASHBURTON, Jan. 9. ‘•'Produce abundance of young grass. . with twice the nutritive value of old , by annual cropping and top-dressing," | was the advice which Mr A. 11. Cockayne, Superintendent of the 'Fickle . Division of the Agricultural Depnrt- | ment, gave to Canterbury farmers at | j the Field Day at Ashburton yesterday. He showed how a few pastures , | could he treated by top-dressing alone. . ! while most had to be renewed at short : i intervals. In the latter cultivation with annual cropping was followed by pasture treated with phosphates. With 1 such a policy cropping in Canterbury I was going to turn from the least pro- | fitable; to the most profitable vonturc. | Moreover, it was going to fit in with the production of a wealth oi young pastures—the sign of the really sucj eessl'ui. farmer. | The speaker stressed the difference between arable farming in Canterbury and elsewhere. In Canterbury the team was the pivot of progress and the production of special crops the I dominant feature. Of late years the i farm team was to some extent disapj pearing, and more attention was being | given to grass lands and their manage- : ment. Canterbury grass lands, for tin j mos part would turn, in a few years, ' from wet stock to dry stock country ! and the pasture unless properly treatjed would depreciate and ultimately disappear. Mr Cockayne proceeded to divide the grass lands into two classes: Those I which could ho regenerated by meani of top-dressing alone, and those which responded best to annual cropping, together with top-dressing. Most oil' the Canterbury country fell into the see-

oiid class. Toj)-dressing was the most important instrument the farmer had at his command. for the pasture must be attended to if milk and meat were to be successfully produced. Much North Island pasture could he rendered permanent by top-dressing alone. but. where this could not lie done—and on ipost Canterbury soil it could 'not—the farm team had to he brought in to cultivate as large an area as possible, to produce as many special crops as possible, a.nd get tbe maximum amount of young succulent grass. Future development in this province should be towards more annua! cropping with a consequent greater renewal of grass lands rather than keeping the land down under permanent pasture.

“The main objective in grass land is to produce as much young grass a*possible, for young grass, vigorously growing, lias double the nutritive value of that same gras? when old and dry,” continued Mr Cockayne. He held that they had not readied the limit of knowledge about mnnurru.r special crops. Wheat, turnips, and potatoes had been under fairly extensive trial. It had been shown that one hundred-weight of superphosphate per aero had increased the wheat yield by five or six bushels per acre. I bis had been proved with heavy as well as with light crops. Response from it was sc general that no farmer could neglect top-dressing his wheat at the proper time. ■Only about /0.04HJ acres, out of 200,000 acres in Canterbury had been unmanurod this last year.

Experiment bail shown also tlial, in no case where manure had been used, had tin* crop tended to ripen prematurely as some farmers contended. Top-dressing with nitrogen in tinspring was also being experimented with, so far 'successfully. Investigation was also being made into germination injury in turnip and allied crops. It had been found that fair quantities of lime put on with the superphosphate and llie seed tended to lessen this injury. One .crop which ,showed results from manuring more than any other was potatoes, hut only half of Canterbury’s crop had been manured this last year. (drop certification was work being executed to enable the farmer to secure seed of good type and free from disease. These two factors took greattoll of Canterbury’s crops. ft was going to be the directing policy of the Division in Canterbury to bring crop certification to a high level, because it was an important development. Mr Cockayne, ended by again stressing the importance to the Canterbury farmer of the combination of annual cropping with improvement in pasture lands.