Story summary
What is pasture?
Pastures are the fields on farms where animals feed. Grasses aren’t the only plants in pastures – there are many other kinds of plants that livestock eat. Farmers choose the plants depending on what kind of animal will be eating it, or whether it is a wet or dry area.
Making pastures in New Zealand
When New Zealand was settled by Europeans, they grazed sheep on the tussock grasslands. Other areas were covered in forest, which settlers sometimes burnt to clear land for farming. They planted different kinds of grass and clover that they brought from England. Very soon, much of New Zealand was covered in pasture.
Grasses
We usually think of farm animals eating grass, which is the most common kind of plant in pastures. Most grass species were introduced from overseas, including:
- perennial ryegrass
- cocksfoot
- tall fescue
- prairie grass
- timothy
- Yorkshire fog
- browntop
- kikuyu.
New Zealand also has some native grasses, like tussock, which you’ll most often see in South Island high country.
Clover and other legumes
Legumes are a plant that can help other plants grow better, because they can turn nitrogen from the air in the soil into a form that other plants can use.
Clovers are the most common legumes in pastures. The main kinds are:
- white clover
- red clover
- subterranean clover, which pushes its own seed underground.
Two other legumes that farm animals like to eat are lucerne and lotus.
Herbs, shrubs and trees
Sometimes farm animals eat herbs, like chicory and plantain, or leaves of willows or poplar trees. Animals like the taste and the plants contain nutrients that are good for their health.
