Story: Arable farming

Patchwork plains

Patchwork plains

This view of the Canterbury Plains shows a patchwork of crops and cultivated paddocks. From the 1890s until the 1990s this region was dominated by mixed farming. Farmers grew a rotation of crops and pasture to fatten sheep and cattle and maintain the soil’s fertility. In recent years dairy farming based on irrigation and high inputs of fertiliser has changed this landscape.

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Natural Sciences Image Library of New Zealand
Reference: Ag4678Rbt.tif
Photograph by G. R. Roberts

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How to cite this page:

Sue Zydenbos, 'Arable farming - Mixed cropping and crop rotation', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/17579/patchwork-plains (accessed 26 April 2024)

Story by Sue Zydenbos, published 24 Nov 2008