IMPROVEMENT OF: HILL COUNTRY PASTURES IN THE WELLINGTON PROVINCE

Abstract

Of the 5 1/4 million acres of total occupied land in the Wellington district nearly 4 million acres are in sown pasture, the remainder being bush, natural tussock grassland, scrub and secondary growth. Of this sown area a large proportion comprises hill-country farms running sheep and beef cattle and carrying an average of 1 to 2 sheep per acre. From the sheepfarming point of view the Wellington district is of major national importance, contributing nearly 22 per cent. of the total sheep population and almost 19 per cent. of the total beef cattle. The region as a whole carries the heaviest concentration of stock of all New Zealand.