FARMING IN OTAGO

Abstract

The land district of Otago, comprising the counties of Waitaki, Waihemo, Waikouaiti, Taieri, Peninsula, Bruce, Clutha, Tuapeka, Lake, Vincent, and Maniototo, contains the greatest variations in climatic conditions, topography, and soil types. Consequently, a detailed description of. the farming systems practised in each of the many categories into which land use may be subdivided is beyond the scope of this paper, which will deal broadly with a description of farming in the principal areas of the region. The fascinating story of settlement, which commenced over 100 years ago, has been published in several books freely available to all interested and some of the results from earlier practices, now recognised to be damaging to soil fertility and stability, will be discussed in a later section. The total acreage in occupation is over 8 million and this extends from the intensively farmed alluvial plains at sea level to the summer grazed natural grasslands at altitudes of over 5,000 ft.