1962 Volume 35 Issue 8 Pages 374-392
One particular area was chosen for this thesis which has for its object of study various factors condition ing the development of local grassland formation in Japan, a country dominantly characterized by its smalhscale intensive paddy-field agriculture. The following are the essentials of the results of my recent investigation.
1) The grassland formation in Japan, exept Hokkaido, has been promoted especially by public guidance and investments ever since 1954 when the Government designated its ‘intensive dairy farming area’ throughout the country. Compared with other prefectures more grassland is found, in Hokkaido as well as in such prefectures as Iwate, Aomori and Akita in Tohoku district, Nagano and Gifu in Chubu district, Shimane and Okayama in Chugoku district and Kumamoto in Kyushu district. It is located usually on plateaus and piedmont slopes away from large cities, and, compared with arable land, it is removed from. the villages, and of low productivity and cultivation. As of 1960 grassland occurpied 48, 000 hectares, that is, only 1% of the whole agricultural land of the country.
2) Except Hokkaido, Futagawa, which the present thesis principally deals with, is found to be among those which have reached the highest stage of development in grassland formation in the country. Administratviely it is included in the town of Yubara, Maniwa-gun, Okayama Prefecture, and located on the southern piedmont slope of the Chugoku Mountain Range. It is a small farming village among low mountains depending upon zonal land at the bottom of a narrow valley for its agricultural operations _??_ mainly those in paddy-fields _??_ and also upon sharply sloping land. It produces milk _??_ all by Jersey cows _??_ for city use as well as rice and charcoal. Before grassland was developed there had been many small farmers whose income was far below the average level of the nation.
3) The people of this area started building their grassland in 1959 when the government designated the areas as its intensive dairy farming areas and encouraged them to introduce Jersey cows into the area Jersey cows. Before that time there was neither dairy stock nor grassland, whatsoever. The present grassland in scattered places over sharply sloping low mountains surrounding the arable land, is 144 hectares in extent, thus occupying 300 of the whole village's agricultural area, and here grow orchard-grass, red-clover and Ladino-clover in tiers. The idea of having grassland was originally not the village farmers' but was inspired by the public guidance and investments aimed at fostering dairy farming by self-sufficient fodder culture, as part of the Government's program for building intensive dairy farming areas throughout the country. Nevertheless the present stage of development in grassland formation would not have been achieved without some favorable factors, such as the following,
i) Though located on a steep slope, there was, within about 2 kilometres of the village, a public forest which is now released for private-use and available for grass culture.
ii) Small-sized, light-footed Jersey cows can pasture on slopes and also can be fed with roughages.
4) However the artificial grassland, made available by having accompanied by much difficulty, has not made good progress since somewhere about 1960.
This is not because there is no more land obtainable for grass culture but because of the recent growing popularity of fodder culture operated in small upland fields close to the village, and in pabby-fields as well, during the winter-time, thus making it possible to cover the increasing demand for fodder which necessarily accompanies the developing dairy agriculture.
Geographical review of Japan series A
Geographical review of Japan, Series B.
