Grasslands Development

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 19, 23 January 1937, Page 12 (Supplement)

Grasslands Development

“Our grassland history has been first the exploitation of our natural tussock lands, then the establishment of surface sown pastures in place of our forests and latterly the development of artificially-cultivated high-producing pastures on our ploughed land,” said Mr. P. \V. Smallficld, of the Agricultural Department, Auckland, in a paper to the agriculture and forestry section of the Science Congress. “The further development of our grasslands depends on the extent of our external markets. With our present knowledge pasture lands may be greatly increased in carrying capacity and very large areas of unoccupied ploughable scrub land turned into high-class pasture ” There were to-day .14,000,000 acres of native tussock grassland and 17,000,000 acres of sown pasture land, said Mr. Smallfield. Early farmers had found most of the tussock to he unpalatable to stock; the fresh growth after burning was readily eaten. Indiscriminate burning, overstocking and destruction by rabbits had led to serious depletion in places. Nevertheless the 13,000,000 acres of natural tussock in the South Island remained one of the most important grassland areas and its regeneration and improvement was a major problem. Of the sown pasture 11,000,000 acres was surface sown after forest fires and 6,000,000 acres was on ploughed land. Surface sown grassland had gradually deteriorated from the time of sowing to the present. Tlic improvement of hill country pastures, which supplied the breeding ewes, was imperative if fat lamb raising was to increase on the intensively-farmed grassland areas. Topdressing and the introduction of legumes were needed. ..... The main feature of grassland development in New Zealand in the past 15 years had been the progressive improvement of the carrying capacity of permanent pastures on ploughed land in the humid districts, which produced the hulk of the dairy produce and fat stock. In the past 10 years improving capacity had enabled the grazing of 1,000,000 more cattle and 4,000,000 more breeding ewes. Topdressiug and improved grass strains and management were responsible. Topdressing began in the middle Waikato basin in the ’Bo’s. The first cargo of basic slag arrived in 1892 and its use increased until the war, when supplies were cut off and superphosphate, the chief fertiliser to-day, became increasingly popular. “The scope for development is such that in even highly-farmed dairying districts great increases in carrying capacity may he looked for in the future,” Mr. Smallfield said. The chief extension of grasslands was now in the direction of converting ploughable scrub into pasture. The two important areas were the pumice lands of the central North Island plateau and the gumlands of North Auckland both soils of low natural fertility and yet soils which could be successfully developed into high-class pasture. Their development illustrated the importance of legumes in pasture establishment. Present methods favoured the initial establishment of permanent pastures with heavy topdressing rather than the primary building up of fertility through special soil-improving crops.