Clovers and How to Grow Them

by Thomas Shaw

Cattle grazed upon alfalfa may be so managed that the extent of this hazard will be very much lessened, if not entirely obviated, but with large herds some of the precautionary methods now to be submitted may not always be practicable. They should never be turned in to graze upon alfalfa when hungry. Some grazers adopt the plan of leaving them on the grazing continuously when once put in to graze. Others leave them in for a limited time each day at the first, increasing the duration of the pasturing period from day to day. After managing them thus for a week or two, the animals are only removed from the pasture for such purposes as milking. Others, again, feed some alfalfa or other food in the morning before turning them on to alfalfa pastures. Another plan adopted is to graze them on a field of other grazing, located, if possible, beside the alfalfa field, until after the dew has lifted, and then to open the gate into the alfalfa pasture. This is readily practicable with a herd of cows, but not to anything like the same extent with a large herd being grown for beef.

The danger from bloat in pasturing sheep upon alfalfa is at least as great as in pasturing cattle on the same, and the methods of managing them while thus being grazed are not far different. So, too, the experiences in such grazing are very similar. The losses from such grazing some seasons have been slight. Other seasons they have proved so heavy as to make such grazing unprofitable. When sheep are being grazed on alfalfa, a light feed of grain given in the early morning reduces materially the danger from bloat. It also enables the flock-master to finish his sheep or lambs for the market cheaply and in fine form, since this small grain factor, not necessarily more than half a pound a day, whether given as wheat, rye, barley, oats or corn, puts the ration practically in balance for the purpose named, and it may be given to the sheep daily in troughs without taking them out of the pasture.

It is thought that there is more danger to cattle and sheep from grazing on alfalfa than on any of the clovers, and probably such is the case. But whether this is true or not, the danger is very considerable, and is enhanced by the presence of frost as well as the presence of moisture, from much succulence in the plants, from rain and from dew. So great is the danger that the inexperienced should proceed with much caution in such grazing. When bloat does occur, the method of dealing with it is given on page 95.

The tendency to produce bloat in alfalfa pastures decreases with the extent to which other grasses are present in the pastures. Should alfalfa be grown, therefore, for the purpose of providing pasture, some other grass or grasses should be sown along with it. Which of these should be thus sown ought to depend chiefly on the adaptation of the grasses for producing vigorous growth under the conditions present. In the States east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio, and in all of Canada east from Lake Huron, alfalfa may be made an important feature in pastures variously composed. For instance, on suitable soils alfalfa may be made an important feature in pastures composed otherwise of medium red and alsike clover and timothy. The author can speak from experience as to the slightness of the danger from grazing cattle and sheep on such pastures. In the Southern States tall oat grass could be sown with the alfalfa, and probably orchard grass. In some areas alfalfa will maintain its hold on lands smitten with Johnson grass, both producing freely. In much of Kansas meadow fescue would answer the purpose, northward brome grass would probably answer, and in some places timothy. In Idaho and the States adjoining, tall oat grass, meadow fescue and orchard grass will all be helpful, and in some of the mountain States it has been found that when alsike clover is grown freely in alfalfa pastures, the tendency to bloat is not only lessened in the animals grazing, but the value of the pasture, especially for winter grazing, is greatly improved. Some grazers, especially in the mountain States, have adopted the plan of sowing other pastures, as wheat or barley, beside the alfalfa pastures, and these are made accessible at will to the animals that are being grazed. The plan has some commendable features, but grazing animals thus does not reduce the danger as much as when they are grazed on pastures in which other grasses grow up amid alfalfa. In some of the Western States pure alfalfa meadows are grazed through successive seasons with but little loss, but in such instances the grazing began in the spring and was continuous. Judicious care should be exercised in grazing alfalfa lest the stand of the plants shall be injured. The liability to injury in the plants from injudicious grazing increases with the lack of adaptation in the soil and climate for abundant and prolonged growth in the alfalfa.

In a large majority of instances, as previously intimated, it is not wise to graze down alfalfa at all closely the season of sowing, and in some instances it should not then be grazed to any extent, lest the plants be unduly weakened for entering the winter. In cold areas the hazard is much greater from such grazing than in those that are mild, and likewise, it is greater when the growth is only moderately vigorous than in areas where alfalfa grows with the vigor of a weed, as in Western mountain valleys. In areas where the winters are cold, and especially where the snowfall is light and the winds have a wide sweep, the animals which graze upon alfalfa should be removed in time to allow the plants to grow up to the height of several inches before the advent of winter. The growth thus secured will catch and hold the snow, and the protection thus furnished is greatly helpful to the preservation and vigor of the plants. Experience has shown that in Northern areas pasturing alfalfa in winter, especially when the ground is bare and frozen, brings imminent hazard to the plants. On the other hand, grazing in winter in the mountain valleys, when as far north as Central Montana, may be practiced with little or no hazard to the stand of plants when these have become well established. In such areas alfalfa may be grazed practically as may be desired, providing this grazing is not too close.

Cattle injure alfalfa less than other animals when they graze upon it, as they do not crop it too closely; swine injure it more, if the grazing is constant. Horses do even greater injury, through biting the crowns of the plants too closely; but sheep injure alfalfa pastures more than any of these animals, when the grazing is close, owing to the extent to which they trim off the leaves.

As Soiling Food.—For being fed as soiling food, alfalfa has the very highest adaptation, owing, 1. To the long period covered by the growth. 2. To the rapidity of the growth resulting in large relative production. 3. To the palatability of the green food produced. 4. To the entire safety to the animals fed. And 5. To its high feeding value. In Louisiana, for instance, alfalfa may be made to furnish soiling food for nine months in the year. In the North, of course, the duration of production is much less, but it is seldom less than five months. The growth is so rapid that cuttings for soiling food may usually be made at intervals of four to six weeks, according to season and climate; hence, the cuttings for soiling food will run all the way from two to eight or nine each season. It is so palatable that horses, mules, cattle, sheep and swine relish it highly. When wilted a little before being fed, the danger of producing bloat is eliminated. Its feeding value is nearly the same as that of the medium red clover, thus making it in itself what may be termed a balanced or perfect food for horses, mules, cattle and sheep until development is completed and subsequently when they are at rest; that is, when they are not producing, as in the form of labor or milk.

The highest use, probably, from feeding alfalfa when green will arise from feeding it to milch cows. Its high protein content in combination with its succulence pre-eminently adapts it to such a use. Wherever alfalfa can be grown and will produce even two cuttings a year, it will serve a good purpose in producing milk. Every dairyman dependent more or less on soiling food will find it to his advantage to grow alfalfa where it may be grown in good form. When fed to milch cows, some meal added, carbonaceous in character, as corn or non-saccharine sorghum seed, may prove a paying investment, and it may also be advisable to alternate the green alfalfa, morning or evening, with such other green crops as oats and peas, millet, rape, corn or sorghum when in season, to provide variety. But even though alfalfa alone should be thus made to supplement the pastures, the outcome should be at least fairly satisfactory. When fed to horses that are working, some care must be exercised in feeding it, lest too lax a condition of the bowels should be induced, and a grain factor should be fed at the same time. It has frequently been given to sheep that were being fitted for show purposes, but may also be fed green to the entire flock, with a view to supplement the pastures. It has special adaptation for promoting large growth in lambs, and, indeed, in any kind of young stock to which it may be fed. When fed to swine, a small grain supplement properly chosen and fed will insure more satisfactory growth. It is thought that more satisfactory results will be obtained from allowing the alfalfa to get fairly well on toward the blossoming stage before beginning to feed, and to continue to feed until in full bloom. This in practice may not always be possible, but usually an approximation to it may be reached, especially when the production of the alfalfa will more than supply the needs in soiling food. The ideal plan is to commence cutting the alfalfa as soon as a good growth is made, cutting enough daily or every other day to supply the needs of the animals. If the growth becomes too much advanced before the field is gone over thus, the balance should be made into hay, and the cutting should begin again where it began previously.

There is no question but that considerably more food can be obtained from a given area when green alfalfa is fed in the soiling form, instead of being grazed. The difference in such production would not be easy to determine, but of the fact stated there cannot be any doubt. Ordinarily, each cutting of green alfalfa for soiling should not produce less than 4 tons; hence, where 8 cuttings can be secured, not fewer than 32 tons of soiling food could be obtained per season. But whether the increase from soiling alfalfa, as compared with pasturing the same, would repay the cost of the extra labor, will depend upon conditions that vary with time and place. Alfalfa fields thus managed or cut for hay will also produce for a longer period than when the fields are grazed.

Continuity in the production of soiling food may not be possible some seasons in the absence of irrigation; hence, under such conditions provision should always be made for a supply of such other soiling foods as may be needed, and of a character that will make it practical to turn them into dry fodder when not wanted as soiling food. But where irrigating waters are unfailing, it is quite possible to furnish soiling food from alfalfa soils through practically all the growing season. Dairymen thus located are in a dairyman's paradise.