THE predisposing factors of soil and climate have determined the type of farming that has developed in the intensively farmed areas of the Lower Rangitikei. In this area a system of fat lamb farming with the production of cash crops is predominant. The extent to which cash cropping is carried out depends mainly on the cash returns from crops when compared with the returns from livestock. However, there are some restrictions caused by soil fertility, poor drainage and soil contour.
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(78 KB)ALONG the west coast of the southern part of the North Island from Paekakariki in the south to Patea in the north and extending inland for from two to twelve miles is a belt of sand country covering approximately 270,000 acres. Most of it is suitable for farming but an extensive area is more suitable for afforestation. Large areas are only partly developed and production generally is low. Although there has been a marked improvement in farming in the area in the past decade there is still great scope for improvement.
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(87 KB)THE district described in this paper lies between the Whenuakura and Rangitikei rivers and stretches inland to embrace the Ohakune, Raetihi and Taihape districts. The city of Wanganui with a population of 36,000 is the principal centre. Wanganui has a superphosphate works, a woollen mills and is a wool selling centre. The counties represented in the area are the Rangitikei, Waimarino, Wanganui, Waitotara and part of Patea.
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(37 KB)THE KEY to improving the native tussock grasslands of the South Island is to obtain good legume growth. In these areas, the main nutrient deficiencies which limit the growth of legumes are sulphur, phosphorus and molybdenum. Sulphur deficiencies are very widespread (Walker et al., 195.5; Lobb and Bennetts, 1958; McLeod, 1961).
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(111 KB)THE productivity of New Zealand grassland has been increased markedly by the identification, selection and improvement of ryegrass varieties through plant breeding programmes, and by the clear insight provided by pasture ecologists, into the major factors governing the productivity of ryegrass-clover associations. If the proposition is accepted that sown ryegrass-clover associations, with appropriate management, are the basis for maximum herbage productivity, then some consideration must be given to the role of any unsown species which may replace the sown species in the sward.
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(151 KB)THE advertisements for New Zealand butter in English newspapers describe your country as a grazier’s paradise and readers are encouraged to consume what can be regarded as bottled-up sunshine. I was naturally very anxious to come to a country where grass is so much valued and to appreciate at first hand the striking advances that have been made in grassland research and development. In Britain, we have experienced a changing attitude towards grass and the cereal crop, especially barley, is assuming increasing importance. Associated with this trend has been a greater demand for barley in order to produce early maturing beef animals. This system, however, which relies almost entirely on barley, is not without serious disadvantages and there are indications of a renewed interest in grass for intensive meat production.
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(115 KB)IN APRIL, 1961, the writer was invited by I. McQueen, Dairy Farm Supervisor, Massey University of Manawatu, to assist in investigating two systems for the wintering of dry dairy cows. The need for this occurred on the No. 3 (Bourke) Dairy Farm, where wet soil was unstable in winter and spring. It was difficult to utilize pasture growth and avoid treading damage (Edmond, 1963), a problem common to most dairy farms.
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(139 KB)“WAIRERE”, the property discussed in this paper, is 1,454 acres in extent, and situated 25 miles inland from Wanganui between the Whangaehu and Turakina rivers. It is hill country which would be classified as moderate to steep hills with an average rainfall of 41 in. The soil tends to be very light and sandy - described as Whangaehu sandy silt loam. Deep gorges reduce the productive acreage to approxi mately 1,300 acres. The 150 acres of gorges have adjacent to them 25 acres of flat which play an important part in the management of the property.
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(93 KB)THE Wanganui district includes the counties of Wanganui, Waitotara, Waimarino and Rangitikei, and soil surveys embracing this area comprise : ( 1) The 4-inch to the mile survey of the North Island (Soil Bureau, 1954). (2) The sand country soil association survey, which mapped the sand country as far north as Whangaehu River (Cowie and Fitzgerald, in press). (3) A detailed survey of the soils of Flock House Farm of Instruction near Bulls (Cowie and Hall, 1965).
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(650 KB)THE interplay of seismic uplift and geological erosion upon ancient sea beds in the Rangitikei-Wanganui region has produced mudstone and sandstone hills which have been developed into pastoral lands probably as steep as may be found anywhere. Slopes of between 20 and 35” predominate but may range up to the order of 50”. The soils are of medium to high natural fertility. A well distributed rainfall and a high percentage of partly cloudy days which result in relatively low evaporation rates produce an ideal grass and tree growing climate. Included in the Rangitikei Catchment Board’s district which embraces the catchments of the Rangitikei, Turakina and Whangaehu rivers and totals some 2,700 square miles, is about 1,400 square miles of hill country which requires quite intensive soil conservation measures.
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(64 KB)AT "RATAHIWI", we have endeavoured to apply the findings and observations of research workers and farmers, and to do some constructive thinking and observation of our own. We were fortunate in starting out with no appreciable liabilities, but more fortunate not to have spare cash; this gave us an incentive to make some. The human being is so constructed that he must have something against which to strive, in order to be happy. A farm can be developed indefinitely on a basis of maintaining profitability in relation to investment, which means that as the undertaking grows the total income must also grow. This process can give the satisfaction of achievement to the farmer and a better standard of living for his family. If farming in New Zealand was running at even half capacity, there would be no balance of payments problems.
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(108 KB)AT the 1963 New Zealand Grassland Association Conference, I. L. Elliott gave a short description of a new laboratory technique for determining the ability of soils to retain nutrients against leaching. At that time, only a very few soils had been examined and since no comparable evidence from field trials was available, the value of the test was largely a matter of conjecture. The technique was applied to measure the ability of soils to retain potassium, phosphorus and sulphur. This paper is particularly concerned with sulphur. Following the examination of a larger number of samples, some clear patterns of leaching losses are now emerging and a better position exists to predict where sulphur deficiency is likely to arise.
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(66 KB)THE Agricultural Development Conference has called for an enormous increase in agricultural investment of between f400 million and f600 million in the next eight to ten years. The magnitude of the planning problem is clear when it is realized that gross farm investment must reach about f45 million annually to reach the targets. This figure, suggested by Professor B. P. Philpott in 1963, is about double that achieved in the last few years.
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