ONE COW TO THE ACHE

Shannon News, 21 December 1928, Page 1

ONE COW TO THE ACHE

VALUE OF SUBDIVISION. RESEARCH BY DEPARTMENT. The possibility of Auckland dairy farmers being able to carry one cow to the acre the year round, is envisioned as the result of investigations into new systems of grass management being made by the Agricultural'Department’s instructors in the Waikato.

At the present time, a number of dairymen are milking a cow to tho acre during the. Hush months, but to carry stock in tho same proportion the year round is an entirely different question. It would appear,' however, that ah efficient system of farm paddocking, together with the growing of supplementary fodders, brings the matter within the bounds of possibility. As evidence that such a thing is possible, Mr. *G. W. Wild, agricultural instructor, at Hamilton, recently detailed the results of some of his experimental work in the Waikato. He said that on highly-farmed dairy land, an acre'of glass was capable of carrying anything from 14 to 20 cows an acre for two days. If were considered further, and if the 'fact that the recovery period for well-managed grassland ranged from 14 to 18 days was taken into consulelation, it would readily be seen that eight to ten fields, providing a stocking capacity of 14 to 20 cows an acre for two days, were required. Stock Carrying Plan.

For example, a field or three acres in extent would provide from ,42 to 54 cows with grazing for two days. Therefore, to give a complete grazing rotation, these eight to ten fields of threfe acres each would be sufficient from mid-October to mid-December m a normal year. Only from 24 to 30 acres would be required for the pasturing of from 42 to 54 cows. The remainder of the farm must be shut up to provide hay and ensilage for periods of want or*scarcity during the autumn, winter and oarly spring. Taking the maximum, figures, about 54 cow's' could be pastured on 54 acres the w'hole year through. Ten three-acre fields, or 30 acres altogether, would be required from mid-October: to mid-De-cember. The remaining 24 acres of 1;lie farm would be shut up during-this period to provide hay and ensilage. . As, ensilage would be needed for the; autumn months, at least three times more ensilage than hay should be conserved. If these 24 acres were manured*.intensively, as they must be, then, seven acres would be sufficient for hay, and the remaining 17 could be harvested for ensilage. Continuing, Mr. Wild said the hay crop thus treated should produce at least three tons, of .hay per . acre. The ensilage crop should yield from six to six and a-half tons an acre. As previously stated, as far as general field knowledge\ went at present, this appeared to be the limit that purely grassland farming w'ould accomplish when only English grasses were sown. The case for paspalum appeared to be particularly strong. Pasture of the Future.

Mr. Wild contended the intensivelyfftnned pasture consisting of. ryegrass timothy, paspalum, crested dogstail with meadow foxtail in the country, associated with white clover would become the dairy pasture of tin future for the Auckland province. Suet a pasture would not only stand a heav er stocking during thp e-arly summei months, but also it had a quicker recovery period. The hay • and luccrm from such a pasture must be harvoateu not later than December, otherwise tin. heavy top growth produced would tern: to smother the associated English grasses, and the autumn production fiom these associates would be consid c-rably lessened. Top-dressing must b proceeded with after the first autumn rains, to strengthen the growth of thi •yegrass and white ch'-ver. ’ On those types of country where lu ,;erne would‘not thrive, special crop which produced a great bulk would have to be sown. These crops should .Include make, millet, and sorghum also mixtures such as field beans, oat;ar.d tares. This supposed that the crop ling paddock of the future would bv in 'entirely different proposition from die cropping ' paddock of the present. ■Such a cropping field must, receive in-, tensive cultivation, complete and sufficient manuring, and its humus content •nust be kept at a high level. In wet districts an efficient under-drainage system would also be required. The mixture of beans, oats and tares was now a most popular one in Ireland and England and produced from 10 to 15 tons of silage an acre. Maize would do the same, and more, in the favoured districts in the Auckland province. These special ensilage crops were mentioned ‘since the view was taken that, grass land would only be depended upon for heavy crops of,hay or ensilage. In abnormal inoisjrseasons such as' the 1925-26 season, two such crops could be taken, but in normal seasons and such as that just ended, two crops could not be depended upon. The farmer who aimed at carrying in the vicinity of a cow to the acre and more should not. pin his faith on two crops of grass. '