PASTURE CULTURE 43 



weather, a fair amount during midsummer. If a considerable acreage of such 

 land is available (a situation rare in Massachusetts) and some form of supple- 

 mentary grazing is available during midsummer, permanent pastures maj' supply 

 most of the grazing requirements. An extensive system such as this can be used to 

 particular advantage with beef cattle, dry stock, young stock, and sheep, or with 

 dairy cattle on medium production. On most farms, it is desirable to main- 

 tain a number of small permanent pasture lots conveniently located near the 

 buildings to be used as overnight pasture or for some other reason in which ac- 

 cessibility is important. 



It is obvious that there are in Massachusetts large acreages of permanent 

 pastures, much of which should and probably will shortly revert to forest. 



Semi-Permanent Pastures 



Adequately fertilized, well-managed, semi-permanent pastures have great 

 potentialities. Not only will such pastures go far in solving the pasture problem 

 in Massachusetts but, in addition, they will aid greatly in solving problems 

 relating to soil fertility and soil conservation. Where land acreage is limited 

 and grazing requirements heavy, the normal condition throughout most of the 

 State, a source of grazing must be sought which is more productive and more 

 dependable than the permanent pasture. Semi-permanent pastures are already 

 extensively used and the acreage is rapidly increasing. One of the principal 

 reasons why farmers have not used this type of pasture to a still greater extent 

 is that many of them do not even yet full>- appreciate many of iis actual and 

 potential advantages 



Perhaps the most important advantage of the semi-permanent pasture is that 

 once every few years the farmer has an opportunity tc deal directly with that all- 

 important problem of soil fertility. When he plows to seed or reseed a field, he 

 can apply adequate amounts of suitable fertilizer as well as barnyard manure 

 and he can mix these materials thoroughly through the plow laj^er of soil where 

 they will most effectively promote the growth of the new seeding. Plowing makes 

 possible the decomposition of the old sod or any other kind of raw organic matter 

 which may have been turned under so that, where mineral deficiencies have been 

 satisfied, the many benefits which accrue from decomposing organic matter in 

 the soil may be realized. The semi-permanent pasture presents an opportunity 

 to deal directly with the pasture soil fertility problem easily and effectively. 

 Stapledon has recently written, "If only all interests concerned will properly 

 evaluate the meaning and far-reaching implications of the golden word ferlility, 

 then great things will indeed happen. "'^^ 



The semi-permanent pasture gives the farmer an opportunity to control, for a 

 few years at least, the kind of plant he grows in his pastures. He can seed pasture 

 strains of species which will deliver not only much greater total herbage yields, 

 but yields which are well sustained throughout the grazing season despite the 

 vagaries of the weather. He is able to select plants particularly well adapted to 

 certain kinds of livestock or a particular type of soil or to suit any personal prefer- 

 ences. It is only the semi-permanent pasture which will benefit greatlv from the 

 present extensive program of plant breeding which is being carried on all over 

 the world. 



A third important attribute of the semi-permanent pasture is its great flex- 

 ibility. Many of the seeding mixtures can be used for hay, for grass silage, or for 

 pasture. This gives the farmer a splendid opportunity to insure his grazing re- 



^'*''Plough-Up Policy and Ley Farming, p. 170. 



