“Students working with the dairy herd were anxious to have the cows make the best possible yields, and were tempted to give all the good alfalfa hay the cows would eat. When we discovered the alfalfa hay going too rapidly we looked for the cause and found that the dairy cows had consumed an average of forty-three pounds per head daily, besides fifteen pounds of Kafir corn fodder. The quantity of alfalfa was reduced to thirty-three pounds and the Kafir-corn fodder to three and one-half pounds daily per cow, and we found that the daily yield of milk was slightly increased. The quality of the hay was the same in both instances. In the latter case it was eaten up clean, while in the former considerable was hauled away and fed to dry cows. Later records show a still greater reduction in the allowance of alfalfa without decreasing the flow of milk. This experience shows some of the leaks that may take place in feeding roughness, especially when those feeds are appetizing, like alfalfa and red clover.

“For ease of calculation the roughness is figured on the basis of alfalfa hay selling for one dollar per ton. When alfalfa is worth six dollars per ton the other rough feeds are worth six times the amount indicated in the table; when alfalfa is worth eight dollars per ton the other feeds are worth eight times as much, and so on. Usually we find that we can give practically all the rough feed that the cows can eat, although, as indicated above, with a good quality of alfalfa or clover hay more may be eaten than will be consumed at a profit. At this writing alfalfa hay is selling in Manhattan at seven dollars per ton. This would make the feeding values of the other rough feeds worth seven times the amount indicated in the table. Red clover, for instance, would be worth seven times seventy cents or $4.90 per ton; prairie hay would be worth $3.57 per ton; and millet hay would be worth $4.48 per ton. If the problem was to select the most economical roughness, we would select alfalfa at seven dollars per ton, in preference to red clover at six dollars per ton, or prairie hay at four dollars per ton, or millet at five dollars per ton. Knowing the cost of these different rough feeds and having this table before him, a feeder can tell which is the most economical feed to use. It will be noticed that the table is divided into two parts, the first part giving the value of the total nutrients, and the second one the value of the protein nutrients. It frequently happens that we have plenty of carbohydrates and fat, but that we are lacking in protein. In this case we would consult the ‘protein nutrients’ column in order to determine what feed to buy in order to furnish the protein most economically. If it be carbohydrates and fat as well as protein that is required, as was the condition in the dry year of 1901, then we should take the total nutrients’ column. When it is possible to get a rough feed containing a large amount of protein, we find that in feeding a liberal allowance of roughness the grain can be reduced. Hence, the importance of providing roughness rich in protein, like alfalfa.”

SELLING FARM PRODUCTS THROUGH THE COW

No other branch of agriculture presents more advantages than dairying—disposing of the products of the farm as milk and butterfat. When the latter may be sold to creamery stations and the skim milk fed to calves and pigs along with alfalfa the profits are greater than from almost any other form of agriculture. No other business tends so rapidly to build up the fertility of the farm, and, when judiciously conducted, no other branch of farming yields more satisfactory financial returns. Raising and feeding alfalfa will add from 15 to 30 per cent to the profits of dairying over the use of any other feedstuff that may be raised or bought. The profit problem for the dairyman is constantly to find the feed that will decrease the cost of his production.

The diagram below, prepared by the editor of the Nebraska Farmer, is to “represent the digestible protein or milk property contained in different kinds of roughness. Points represent the decimals of a pound, and the bars are an exact representation of the superiority of one kind of food over another for the production of milk. Each bar represents 10 pounds of roughness. The approximate yield is also given per acre:”

Approximate Yield Per Acre.

Corn Stover6 to 8 Tons17 Points
Drilled Corn Fodder10 to 14 Tons25 Points
Timothy Hay2 Tons28 Points
Prairie Hay2 Tons30 Points
Millet Hay3 Tons32 Points
Oat Hay3 to 4 Tons43 Points
Red Top2 Tons48 Points
Red Clover2 Tons68 Points
Alsike3 Tons84 Points
Alfalfa6 to 8 Tons110 Points

A. S. Hitchcock cites as an illustration of feeding alfalfa alone, the case of the dairy farms in the vicinity of Moneta, Cal., where the stock are ordinarily fed no other ration than alfalfa. As alfalfa is not a balanced ration, a number of local dairymen tried to replace a part of the alfalfa by sorghum, thus giving a more nearly balanced ration. The cows, however, did not give as much milk upon this combination as upon pure alfalfa. “This result may be assigned to the fact that the cattle were unable to consume a sufficient quantity of the mixture to produce the same results as the alfalfa alone. These dairymen find they can secure a larger yield by feeding a little grain; but the increased yield does not pay for the grain, which is high priced in this locality.”

AN ESSENTIAL IN MILK PRODUCTION

Oscar Erf, professor of dairying at the Kansas experiment station, writing for this volume, says: “Alfalfa is quite indispensable in successful dairy operations, being one of the cheapest sources of protein, that most essential compound in feeds for milk production. The Kansas station found that for milk 11⁄4 pounds of well-leaved alfalfa hay, containing a high per cent of protein, is equal in feeding value to a pound of bran. In case the alfalfa is of a stemmy nature it requires 13⁄4 pounds to equal the feeding value of a pound of bran. Alfalfa hay is worth from $4 to $7 per ton on the farm, while bran costs from $14 to $20 per ton, hence it is far more economical to feed the alfalfa hay.