The Ordway new era., 1909-03-05
Milling and Feeding of Alfalfa

Milling and Feeding of Alfalfa
While alfalfa cannot be ground, IL
can be and Is millcd. There are differ
cnt methods Of reducing IL. One is by
beating IL in Il perforated cylinder by
rapidly rotating arms or hammers un-
Til II is reduced firm enough to pass
through the perfOration. This system
is used by most OF the commercial mills
in making alfalfa meal. IL is the oldest
practical method. A serious objection
To this system is that IL reduces the
leaves TO dust. Another is the excess
i've power required TO operate IL and it
cannot be adapted to farm use. An
other method Is to use an cnsilage cut
| ter which Is adapted to twenty horse
| power to operate 1t. The principal
| objections To its use are that IL docs
not cut the alfalfa uniformly, large
proportion Of the product being very
coarse and the product Is not easily
mixed with other feeds.
A third system Is equipped with
cutting rolls which reduces the alfal-
IA or other forage entirely by cutting.
making uniform product as firm or
| rs coarse as may be desired and with
cut dust or lint. The ranch sizes
having capacities Of one to two tons
an hour can be operated with ten to
twenty horsepower and are either
| stationary or portable. None of these
systems grind the alfalfa. There are
good reasons why IL bays to mill al
falfa. One Is that it puts the alfalfa
| in such condition that it can be and is
more thoroughly reduced by maStca-
tiUn, which means more thorough
digestion and, as Il consequence, more
complete assimilation OF the nutri-
ment it contains by the animal, and Il
corresponding decrease in waste.
| An animal will chew a mouthful OF
| hay just about SO long, whether tender
or tough, just as the average man will
chew mouthful of tough steak only
about as long AS lie would mouthful
OF tender steak-in either case Just
long enough to coat IL with saliva so
that it can be swallowed. To be prop
erly prepared for digestion food should
be reduced in the mouth so finely
that the saliva can and does come into
contact with every particle Of it. Half
of the process of digestion takes place
in the mouth. If an animals food Is
/ 50 prepared that it can he thoroughly
broken down in the process of masti-
cation. requiring only the average cf-
fort, more Of the nutrimcnt will be
extracted from IL and less food will be
required to produce a given gain. En-
perimental feeding tests have shown
that properly milled alfalfa will pro-
duce from twenty to twenty five per
cent more gain for the amount natur-
ally consumed than alfalfa hay. AL
falfa must be fed in combination with
a carbonaceous food to balance it.
Corn, barley, pulp, molasscs and sugar
beets all balance it.
Grain ground and fed to steer
alone is not sufficiently masticated and
most of 1t passes undigested and is
wasted. Corn is usually fed to cattle
whole so as to compel them to chew to
cud. but even then large proportion
passes through undigeSted-and the
hogs do not get it all, either. When
hogs do not follow to recover the
waste, as is generally the case In this
state, the loss from that form of waste
Is big percentage of the feed con.
sumed. When the grain is to be mix
ed with properly milled alfalfa it can
be ground as fine as desired-the finer
the better-as the cattle fed with the
mixture must chew the cud which in
sures complete digestion, the assimila.
tion of the greatest amount. of nutri-
ment with the least waste and the
greatest gain In fat, flesh, eggs or
wool. 1t requires five to twenty-five
per cent. of the energy derivable from
the common feeds to replace the an
imal energy used up in their mastica-
tion, digestion and passage through
the system. If the food is so prepared
that it requires but half the animal
energy to carry it through those
processes the saving all goes to gain
and even more as the tax on the ami.
mails system In caring for and dispns-
ing of mass Of coarse and uninviting
matter is eliminated.-W. L. Monroe,
in Field and Farm.