POSSIBLY one of the more spectacular farming innovations of recent years has been vacuum silage. Encouraged by one of the wettest and most growth-promoting summers in living memory, it captured the imagination of the farming community in West Otago and Southland last season. Eighty-thousand tons of silage were made last summer compared with 3,000 tons in the same area the previous year.

The effects of cattle and sheep grazing on pasture productivity, under intensive farmlet management. were measured by a rate-of-growth mowing technique over 4 years (1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972). ~~heep pastures produced 28% more dry matter than cattle pastures over this period. With sheep grazing. a mixed grass-clover pasture remained ryegrass dominant. but with cattle grazing, the pasture changed to one with ryegrass and cocksfoot as co-dominants. At the end of the experiment the top 7.6 cm of soil was more compacted under cattle grazing than under sheep grazing. The aspect of the gently rolling terrain modified the pasture production results. Sunny aspects produced less dry matter than flat sites and this was a reflection largely of the reduction in minor grass species production on the sunny aspect.

Details are given of intensive sheep farming on improved pastures in the #higher rainfall areas of Otago and Southland. The main features of pasture a,nd stock management used to achieve high levels of meat and wool production are described, and an outline is given of an all-grass, heavy stocking, farmlet study

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