The leys I was reared on were of two types, one of three years' duration for grazing in the first year, hay and grazing in the second year and grazing in the third year; the other a two-year ley which was used mainly for haymaking, being mown in both years of its life with the after-grass of the second year being ploughed in as a green manure. But in both these cases the mixtures were of a few ingredients designed primarily for bulk yield, with little regard for their effect on the soil, and no expectation of deriving any benefit for the grazing animal, or for the top soil from the subsoil, by means of deep-rooting ingredients in the ley. Three or four grasses and two clovers were about the limit of our imagination, or should I say rather the imagination of the seedsmen and agricultural advisers of the day, in making up the mixture.
In spite of the experiences of men like R. H. Elliot, the trend of scientific development in ley farming has been to simplify even these simple mixtures which were commonly used in north-country ley farming; and until recently there has been great hope for mixtures containing as little in variety as one or two grasses and one or two clovers, making up the deficiencies of such a mixture and the difficulties of getting a complete and quick coverage of the soil in establishing the ley, by heavy dressings of artificial fertilizers at the time of seeding. Where the sole consideration in ley farming is to obtain the maximum yield of hay, silage or grazing, with possibly some minor and quite secondary benefit from ploughed-in after-grass and nitrogen fixation by the clover, there might be some argument on purely commercial grounds for such a simple mixture; but one only has to give a little thought to the needs and preferences of the grazing animal to realize that the simple mixture is far from ideal in many respects. We have all by this time had the experience of seeing grazing cattle leave a lush ley of simple mixture to graze in preference an old pasture with little apparent growth but containing a wider variety of ingredients than even Elliott attempted. Attracted by the low cost of the simple mixture and the strong scientific advocacy by agricultural 'experts', I started my own ley farming with these simple mixtures; and I certainly had many experiences, which were discouraging to say the least, of seeing my herd on admittance in the early spring to a fresh, lush ley, instead of putting their heads down and grazing undiscriminatingly through the middle of the ley, walking out to the hedgerow and grazing round it or even over the hedge if they could get there, in preference to the simple mixtures I had sown.
This sort of experience quickly taught me to consult the cow at every opportunity when I was considering ways of feeding her, and especially where matters of economy and profits were concerned : for, unlike humans whose palates are so perverted that they cannot be relied upon to decide by taste what is good for them—in fact what we like most so often is bad for us—a cow, I believe, is still the best judge of the right diet, at least as far as her own health goes. And if a diet keeps her in health I have found it safe to assume that it also enables her to produce at a profit. Producing milk at a profit is so closely bound up with the whole question of maintaining the animal in health these days, that the health of the animal might well become the primary factor in deciding the manner of feeding the cow.
I must say that my cows, after their first course round the hedgerow, always without fail came back to the simple mixtures in the ley and grazed it extremely well; but the fact that they felt the necessity for an hors-d'oeuvres of much wider variety than my man-made menu offered them, was a clear indication that the simple ley mixture was entirely unrealistic in its approach to cow nutrition, and it seemed reasonable that I should assume also that it was unprofitable. The fact that I was having more than my fair share of disease in the herd at that time, when the main grazing was on simple mixtures, did not seem to me to be without significance.
From that time I began to widen the range of ingredients included in my ley mixtures, until they reached the complexity of the herbal mixtures which I now consider to be an essential part of profitable and healthful animal production.
Though consulting the cow provided my first clues in developing the ley mixtures most suited to economical milk production, I have discovered since that the preference of the cow appears to coincide with the requirements of the soil, when we follow nature's method of planning the pasture primarily as a fertility-builder. The verdict of the soil in its judgment of the comparative merits of the complex herbal ley and the simple orthodox mixture was uncompromisingly shown in the yields of crops which followed the ley, though there was no doubt in my mind that I had been right to regard the herbal mixture as the best when putting the requirements of soil-fertility first. When I came to compare the yields which followed the herbal ley with those which followed the simple ley, not only in crop yields did I see this advantage, but in milk yields also. Two fields in particular provided interesting information on this point: both were on similar soils and both leys sown in these fields were of the same age: the only difference was in the ingredients of the seed mixture. The first field was a simple mixture of Cocksfoot, Perennial Rye Grass, Late-flowering Red Clover, S.100 White Clover and 1 lb. an acre of Chicory as the only tap-rooted herb, a total of 25 lb. to the acre. The second field was sown to a complex mixture of grasses, clovers and herbs including the same grasses as the first field, but in addition 3 lb. an acre of Chicory, 4 lb. of Burnet, 2 lb. of Sheep's Parsley, 2 lb. of Kidney Vetch, 1 lb. of Yarrow, 2 lb. of Lucerne and 2 lb. of American Sweet Clover: a total of 45 lb. to the acre. Both fields achieved a more or less equal establishment, and at times of grazing appeared to have a similar yield of weight, although the second field, by virtue of its herbs, appeared to be slightly more bulky.
Throughout the life of these two leys, for a period of four to five years without exception, no matter what the variation in apparent length of growth—which was deliberately varied for test purposes—whenever the cows left the first field to go to the second, the milk yield was increased. This happened at all times of the year: even when the cattle were taken from the first field while there was still ample grazing and moved to the second field, before it appeared to the human eye to have what would appear to be adequate grazing. In other words, though there was at times during the grazing of the first field a greater quantity of starch-equivalent and protein-equivalent, the recognized nutritional requirements available for each cow to graze, there were some other factors present in the grazing of the second field which influenced milk yield so much that they enabled the cows to give a greater quantity of milk on a smaller consumption of starch- and protein-equivalent; or at least on a pasture from which it appeared more difficult to obtain the same quantity of starch- and protein-equivalent during an equal period of grazing.
I don't think even the most ardent advocate of chemical analysis in relation to animal nutrition will consider me unreasonable in declaring that the factor influencing the greater milk yield from the herbal ley, compared with the simpler mixture, was associated in some way with the inclusion of a larger variety of herbal ingredients in the ley mixture. It could be the minerals and trace-elements brought from the subsoil by the tap roots of the herbal ingredients; it could be the influence of plant hormones peculiar to the herbal ingredients which have an influence on the digestive capacity of the cow; or it could be the effect of this herbal grazing on the bacterial flora of the cow's stomach which enables it to be more efficient in converting the constituents of its diet into milk. This illustration of the comparative effects of simple and herbal mixtures, though it was not easy to explain, nevertheless clearly showed the superior value of the herbal ley.
In order to arrive at really conclusive results in this comparison, I admit that it would be necessary to reverse the seedings in the two fields and to test whether or not the herbal ley sown in the first field would produce a greater milk yield than a simple ley mixture grazed in the second field. Unfortunately, before I was able to carry this experiment through to this logical conclusion I changed farms; but I have every intention of resuming the experiment to test beyond doubt whether or not the only factor in these differing effects on milk yield is the inclusion of a wide variety of herbs. In the meantime I am satisfied about the superiority of the complex herbal mixture in maintaining animal health.
Most seed mixtures are made up purely on their productive ability, with no reference to the preference of the cow. There is no record of any order of preferences of grasses over clovers or herbs over both or one another. It is strange that in all the years that farmers have been sowing ley mixtures recommended by by the college and research station experts they have never questioned the research upon which these mixtures are based.
No doubt comparisons have been made between one mixture and another in yield of grass, hay, or silage and in their ultimate effect on the yield of the cow, though even this kind of information is sadly sparse.
But in 1952 I laid down thirty-five individual plots each sown with a single ingredient of the herbal ley, using ½ lb. of seed of each of the herbs, clovers, and the main strains of each of the grasses.
The following is a list of the individual plots:
The above are being duplicated on my present farm with the addition of
The plots in my original experiment were divided from one another with strips of Chicory, which clearly distinguished each plot from the next.
The object of the plots was to observe first of all growing habits and suitability for the soil conditions on my farm; to observe which of several strains of the various grasses were best suited to my conditions; and to work out the best mixtures for varying conditions, i.e. soils, seasons and grazing at different times of the year, so that I could lay down different mixtures to provide grazing at different times of the year.
But above all I wanted to know which of these pasture ingredients my cattle liked best, and what the order of preference was for the rest. Obviously I must adjust my mixtures according to the answers my cows gave to these questions. I already felt that there must be room for considerable improvement from changing some of the proportions of certain ingredients. No one I asked, of all the suppliers of ley seeds, was able to tell me what relationship the quantities of the various ingredients of the ley had to the cow's attitude to its diet.
Why, for instance, I asked, were we advised to use 8 lb. cocksfoot and only 1/2 lb. yarrow? Did that mean that the cows preferred to have sixteen times as much cocksfoot as yarrow, or that sixteen times as much cocksfoot as yarrow was better for the cows' health or milk yield? The best answer I could get to that was that yarrow seed is very small and doesn't need so much to sow the same area; and that in any case it is very much dearer than cocksfoot seed. But it wasn't sixteen times as costly as cocksfoot seed—and none of those answers took any account whatever of the animal that was to graze the ley when it was established.
In fact the sum total of the reasons I was given for the proportions of ingredients included in recommended mixtures was that most mixtures were arrived at partly on a basis of price and partly by juggling with various ingredients, until what was called 'a balanced sward' was arrived at. But what is the criterion of a 'balanced sward' I was unable to discover. Except that anything known to be quite unpalatable was not included, the ultimate consumer of the ley was neither considered nor consulted by any of the pasture authorities responsible for advising on ley farming policy and technique.
And the answers I obtained from my plots soon demonstrated the wastefulness and inefficiency of planning the ley without consulting the cow.
I found, for instance, that on my soil the cows did not touch Hard Fescue. It was completely ignored by them whenever there was anything else to graze. Obviously then, this was an ingredient that I had sometimes been advised to include in ley mixtures which was an utter waste of money.
But before I go into detail about my results—a few words about the manner of arriving at them.
The plots were laid side by side consecutively alongside a roadway from which the cows could be controlled by fence— either to graze from the road without walking freely over the plots, or to be admitted free range over the plots.
The first thing I recorded in watching the establishment of the plots in the early growing stages was that four plots grew away far ahead of the rest. They were Plantain, Westerwolth's Rye-grass, Chicory and Broad Red Clover. The first deduction from that, then, was a mixture for quick establishment for grazing in the shortest possible time after sowing. That would be a mixture roughly as follows:
Per acre—
That would, of course, not be suitable for more than a two-year ley; but it would, under good conditions, provide grazing in 6-7 weeks from the time of sowing. To give it a longer life—say 3-4 years, 6 lb. each of Perennial Ryegrass and Cocksfoot (light land) or Timothy (heavy land) and 1 lb. S.100 White Clover would need to be added.
Burnet and Kidney Vetch were both very slow to establish, partly because of dry conditions at the time—though I find Burnet is normally rather slow.
After these early and late starters the other plots followed in between fairly evenly, with the Short Rotation Ryegrass catching up the Westerwolth's long before maturity was reached. Of these two ryegrasses it is clear that though Westerwolth's might be cut ten days sooner for hay or silage than the New Zealand Short Rotation Ryegrass, the extra leafiness of the latter makes it preferable as a producer of maximum nutriment in the ley designed for quick-bulk production of high-protein fodder—either for hay or silage. It was also, of the ryegrasses, preferred to either Westerwolth's or Italian Ryegrass when the cows had free choice of grazing.
The first grazing tests took the form of a sampling session. The cows were allowed to walk alongside the plots and help themselves under the fence, in the manner which cows love, of trying the grass through the fence. We all know the habit which cows have of preferring the grass in the next field or paddock if they can get to it—and how, even with strip grazing with an electric fence, they always graze harder just under the fence into the next plot than the plot they are on. This fondness for the next paddock was extended to a choice of thirty-five next paddocks; for they were allowed to sample freely of the edge of each of the thirty-five plots daily for two weeks.
And of the thirty-five plots three were persistently eaten down while the rest were merely nibbled at; the herd would queue up to get to these three plots and each get as much as they could before they were moved on. The plots preferred were Sheep's Parsley, Plantain and Chicory.
Until the cows were later turned right on to the plots, little attention was given through the fence to any of the grasses. The ryegrasses, meadow grasses and Hard Fescue were almost untouched—Meadow Fescue and Tall Fescue were sampled. Timothy and Cocksfoot were grazed lightly, as were all the Clovers equally. The Lucernes were untouched, as was the American Sweet Clover. Following closely behind the three favourites, in this order were Burnet, Kidney Vetch, Sainfoin and Alsike. (The Italian Branching Clover from seed directly imported failed, but I have since obtained more seed from Italian friends and found it to be palatable and productive though rather shy of a hard winter.)
Later, when all plots were well established, the cows were turned in over all the plots at once. Their preferences continued the same: Sheep's Parsley was grazed down hard before any of the others, and Plantain and Chicory were not more than a day behind. The fact that Plantain and Chicory had a much heavier crop, both thicker and longer growth (for they had established much more completely), probably puts them at least level with Sheeps' Parsley for preference. The plots were not large enough to allow all the herd to go to the plot of their choice together at the same time. So first grazing was divided between three parties of the leading cows on the Sheep's Parsley, Chicory and Plantain plots with the rest of the herd on the Burnet, Kidney Vetch and Sainfoin, waiting their turn for their favourite herbs.
Of the grasses, H.1 Short Rotation Ryegrass and Meadow Fescue were preferred to the rest; and apart from Hard Fescue, which was not liked at all, the other grasses were about equally liked as far as we could see.
The second grazing was taken by in-calf heifers and a bull. Though they followed roughly the preferences of the cows they were not so discriminating or persistent in their demand for the deeper-rooting herbs; probably because the mineral requirements were not so pressing as with the milking cows.
The bull was the only animal who appeared to enjoy the Lucernes and American Sweet Clover as well as the rest. Though he too concentrated on Sheep's Parsley, Plantain and Chicory more than any of the other plots, for the rest he did not seem to mind what it was. His usual grazing plan was to take one or two of the deep rooters as the real meat of the meal, and any of the rest to fill up on. And my conclusions in selecting ley mixtures came pretty close to the bull's summary—though obviously, as far as pocket and availability of seeds are concerned, I had to try to follow the finer discrimination of the cows.
It would be interesting to know whether soil conditions, both of top soil and subsoil, deficiencies and varying availability of the different minerals and trace elements, organic content and moisture, and even breed of cow, had any bearing on the choice of the cow. The only way that this information could be provided, and I think it is vital that it should be, would be for my experiment to be repeated on all classes of soil in different parts of the country and with different breeds of cattle.
This is a worthwhile task for the Ministry of Agriculture experimental farms—but if any concerned farmer is prepared to undertake such an experiment on his own farm I shall be delighted to do all I can to help with information, organically-grown seed (so that variability of seed in relation to palatability is eliminated) and record-keeping, if he will write to me. Fifty farmers, covering all breeds of cattle and a wide variety of soil types, could supply some most valuable information on ley farming in relation to cattle nutrition, if we could get such experiments going. Goat, pig and poultry breeders too might join in such experiments: for there is also much need for information about the ingredients of pastures specially sown for all these classes of livestock.
COMPARATIVE YIELDS OF GRASSES, CLOVERS AND HERBS USED IN THE LEY
Another guide to the comparative importance of the various ingredients of the pasture mixture is that of yield or productive ability. Just as there appears to be no published work on the choice of the animal in the compilation of a ley mixture, neither is there anything that I have been able to find to guide the farmer on the ingredients of the ley that are to produce the greatest bulk, individually. It may be that such a comparison of individual ingredients becomes useless once they are combined in a mixture; but while I had my individual plots I thought it would at least be interesting to make an estimate of the comparative yields as well as the order of preferences of the cattle.
Such a comparison cannot, as a private experiment, claim to be accurate; for it is not possible to get an exact weight and measurement of growth magnified from a small half-pound plot to terms of yield per acre. But I was able to measure at least the main yielders of bulk; and it is interesting to note that they did not coincide in all respects (though rather more closely than presently accepted recommended mixtures indicate) with the order of the animal's preference.
The greatest bulk was produced by thickly sown Chicory; for cut or graze as I would, no matter how frequently, it was impossible to leave the Chicory for more than a few days without fresh growth. It produced many more cuts or grazings than any other ingredient of the ley mixture.
Closely following Chicory in productive ability are Lucerne and American Sweet Clover, with American Sweet Clover the heavier of the two. Being far behind in palatability we cannot, nevertheless, consider American Sweet Clover for a larger proportion of the ley mixture because of its high yield. But it does, in consequence of this demonstration of high yield, and in view of its great contribution of nitrogen to the soil, rank high for me as a green-manuring crop for building-up fertility and raising the population of soil bacteria.
Sainfoin and Crimson Clover produced heavily of the first growth, but because of slower recovery did not yield so well in total throughout the year.
New Zealand Short Rotation Ryegrass came next in order of yield for the year, after leading on first growth. Being only a short-rotation and consequently short-lived ingredient it would not, of course, compare with any of the other ingredients' subsequent yields—a test which I hope to report in later editions of this book.
On annual yield the two grasses, Cocksfoot and Timothy, came next in that order.
Meadow Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass and Late-flowering Red Clover were next in order—all about equal in annual yield, with S.100 White Clover, Kidney Vetch, Plantain and Yarrow very closely following. Italian Ryegrass followed, with Sheep's Parsley and Tall Fescue next. I would normally have expected Italian Ryegrass to stand high in bulk annual yield, particularly as, alongside the New Zealand Short Rotation H.1 Ryegrass, it was the quickest grass to grow—but I may have had a poor strain or weather conditions may not have suited it, for after its first great growth, it fell behind the others in total yield, while the New Zealand Short Rotation Ryegrass held its place well.
The Meadow Grasses, rough and smooth, were not among the really heavy yielders; and not developing to any great height, appear to be useful only as undergrowth, probably better suited to the sheep or horse pasture than for cattle-grazing.
Hard Fescue was by far the poorest yielder—but then it is never intended for its bulk.
Choosing a mixture in order of bulk yield—which appears to be the sole criterion of the modern seedsman, apart from some reference to competitive growing habits, one should have in order of preference something like this:
As I haven't tried any mixtures on this basis yet (but intend to do so) I cannot suggest proportions—but this is a piece of experimental work which might well be worth the while of any farmer looking for maximum yields from his leys.
From these plots and bigger field and grazing experiments I have worked out mixtures for varying purposes and conditions which I recommend, with some comments on them, in Chapter XVIII.
NEXT