Research@Lincoln
    • Login
     
    View Item 
    •   Research@Lincoln Home
    • Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences
    • Department of Agricultural Sciences
    • View Item
    •   Research@Lincoln Home
    • Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences
    • Department of Agricultural Sciences
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Pastures and their improvement in relation to the management of foot-hill farms in Canterbury

    Flay, A. H.
    Abstract
    The foothill areas of Canterbury consist of a large portion of the province, extending from the Conway River in the north to the Waitaki River in the south, a distance of some 230 miles. This same area varies in width from a few miles behind Methven, and Mayfield to some 80 miles in a part of North Canterbury, with much variation between these limits. Except in parts of North Canterbury, the climate generally is more severe and the rainfall higher than on the Plains. There is, of course, much variation. The soil, in general, is second class, but much variation exists, so that good rich pockets and small flats are not uncommon. Large areas of tussock and also of third-class land-poor, clay, scrub country-are prominent in certain districts. A rough estimate of the area of ‘the foothill, farms in Canterbury is 2,000,000 acres. A typical farm or small sheep-run in this area consists of some medium flat land, a fair proportion of rolling downs with steep gullies, and possibly, an unploughable tussock or scrub area. The total ploughable area varies considerably between properties, but on an average might be one-half to three-quarters of the area of the farm, the total area of which might be 1,200 acres. The average carrying capacity would be one to one and a half sheep per acre, and a few cattle would be carried. The sheep, in the main; are half-breds, but in many of the wetter and colder districts and on the sour, clay soils Romney sheep are preferred. Corriedales constitute a fair proportion of the sheep of North Canterbury. Ewe hoggets are kept each year for flock maintenance. Surplus four and five year old breeding ewes, fat and store lambs, some fat ewes, store wethers, cull ewe lambs, and cull two-tooth ewes, together with wool and some cattle, constitute the main source of farm income. In recent times a few specially favoured properties with some suitable land have grown small areas of wheat and rye-grass seed. The production of these crops, however, is a precarious undertaking on account of the risks of winter flooding and strong winds and wet weather at harvest.... [Show full abstract]
    Keywords
    pasture; foothills; Canterbury; ploughable; farm management
    Fields of Research
    0703 Crop and Pasture Production; 070101 Agricultural Land Management
    Date
    1936
    Type
    Conference Contribution - Published (Conference Paper)
    Collections
    • Department of Agricultural Sciences [1407]
    Share this

    on Twitter on Facebook on LinkedIn on Reddit on Tumblr by Email

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    flay_1936.pdf
    Metadata
     Expand record
    Copyright © The Authors and New Zealand Grassland Association.
    Citation
    Flay, A. H. (1936). Pastures and their improvement in relation to the management of foot-hill farms in Canterbury. In Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association, 5, 48-58.
    This service is managed by Learning, Teaching and Library
    • Archive Policy
    • Copyright and Reuse
    • Deposit Guidelines and FAQ
    • Contact Us
     

     

    Browse

    All of Research@LincolnCommunities & CollectionsTitlesAuthorsKeywordsBy Issue DateThis CollectionTitlesAuthorsKeywordsBy Issue Date

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics
    This service is managed by Learning, Teaching and Library
    • Archive Policy
    • Copyright and Reuse
    • Deposit Guidelines and FAQ
    • Contact Us