Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-04-26
AGRICULTURAL NOTES.
From State Agricultural Col
lege.
GET READY FOR THE pRoUrH.

GET READY FOR THE DROUTH.
June 4, 1898, the College herd OF
thirty milking COWS who being well
fed on twenty acres of tame grass
pasture from which an early crop oil
hay had been cut. June 19, this
pasture not furnishing sufficient fee
forty-two acres of prairie grass pas.
ture were added; and Aug gust ls
these two pastures getting short
eleven acres of tame grass meade "
were added; making seventy thrse
acres of pasture. With this amount,
/ became necessary, the latter part
of August, to begin feeding green
ksfflr corn to keep up the flow of
milk.
Contrast the College record, seven
ty-tcree acres of pasture for thirty
COWS, supplemented with green feed
from the latter part OF August, With
that of patron of the Manhattan
creamery, who having no pasture,
tunnel his cows into dry lot, cut
green alfalfa and fed it to them, feed.
ing ten head all they needed thru
tha summer on four square rods less
than two acres.
1t pa. s to keep dairy cows supplied
with full feed turnout the summer.
From July 5 to August 16 the Col
lege herd on full feed dropped 44 per
cent in daily milk yield, while eight
herds in the vicinity of the College
dropped 80 per cent in milk yield
because short pastures were not
helped out with other feed.
A drouth may be expected some
time in every summer. When it come
in the milk yield goes down all over
the country and the price of dairy
products goes up. Not many dairy
men can add more pasture when the
drOuth comes, and the Kansas dairy
man who can not should without fail
proviue for feed to supplement short
pastures, SO as to insure a good milk
Il w when prices are he highest.
If the pasture does not become too
scahty the milk flow may be- kept up
by feeding grain, but for most dairy
men this is too extensive. Liberal
feeding of either green alfalfa or OF
alfalfa hay helps out short pasture,
and both are cheap feeds where the
dsiryman has them. The cheapest
and Inost convenient feed for sum
mer drouth where the dairymsn has
a sllo is silage. The eoil may be un-
covered and the silage fed whenever
other feed is short. If rains come
and thu grass sgsin is sufficient feed,
cover up the silo and waite for the
next drouth or for winter.
Many dairymen have neither grain
alfalfa, nor silsge. and should put in
crops this spring that will supply
green feed when tie drouth comes.
Plan to-day. Green, wheat green
oats and green millet are good, but
last only short time. Begin cutting
these crops as soon as the first heads
appear and continue until the talks
begin to harden. Sweet corn comes
early, and is good milk-producing
feed, but the yield is too smails
Field corn, ksffir corn and sorghum
ar 9 tie most profitable green crops
or the Kansas dairyman who does
not have alfalfa.
Below are given the average dates
at which the various crops are avail
able as green feed for dairy COWS on
the College farm:
Alfalfa-May 20 to September 30.
Wheat-June l to Is.
Oats-June Is to 80.
Sweet corn-July Is to 81.
Field corn-August l 10 September
| Is
Sorghum-August to September
80.
Kaffar corn-August l TO Sep
tember 80.
Wheat-Fall pasture until ground
freezee.
M6ywrite asking how many acres
of each crop Is needed. The season
so and thoroness of cultivation
affect the yield go much that we can
not answer these questions. Green
crops are most needed in dry sum