Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-02-22
ALFALFA IN IOWA.
Experience Of Payne SargissOn,
Northwest Iowa Farmer In
Raising Alfalfa.


ed sixteen years ago and has been
good stand all the time up to
about four years ago, when blue
grass began spreading in patches
and has grown so matted that 1T
has killed out about one-half of the
alfalfa plants. However, whenever
blue grass gets started in alfalfa, 1T
is best to break up the ground, and
plant it to corn or some other crop,
as after a few years of alfalfa crops
the land is in a most excellent con-
dition for raising good crops of
corn or almost any other grain,
for a number of years.
Alfalfa is the only crop l know
of that can be taken off the land
year after year and still the land
| be enriched every year so long as
the alfalfa is grown on 1t. In my
experience the growing of alfalfa on
piece of land that is worn out and
producing only twenty-five to thir-
| ty bushels of corn per acre will
make it produce seventy-five bu-
shells per acre and with the same
labor required to raise the twenty
five bushels per acre.
We bought 500 acres of wornout
land three miles east of Bronson
about twelve years ago for $25 per
acre and commenced sowing alfal-
ia, raising three corps each year
with a yield of from four to four
and one-half tons per acre each
season in three cuttings, and every
ton of this hay was hauled and fed
to stock on adjoining fields and
the manure from same used on 9TH
er parts of the farm. AS a result
of this system of farming, the in
come from this farm for 1910 made
6 per cent interest on $3.50 per
acre.
By the above experience we have
demonstrated that an acre of alfal-
ia not only builds up the lapd it
grows on, but builds up two acres
of other land, and makes poor land
grow seventy-five bushels per acre.
Alfalfa is an easy plant to grow,
and we have had no difficulty in
securing a good stand. We have
sowed some each year for the past
twelve years and never failed to get
fair stand and think that anyone
who knows our alfalfa fields will
confirm the statement. Now as to
securing a good stand of alfalfa,
one of the most important things is
to secure good pure seed that will
grow. In buying our seed, we
have been better satisfied with
that purchased from some good
Iowa seed company than with
that secured elsewhere. The next
important thing is to work the
ground thoroughly and deep. We
also like to SOW alfalfa on corn
stalk land and to pulverize the
stalks good and deep with sharp
, disk pulverizer so as to cut the
stalks to pieces we'll, and then
, shovel pillow the land just as deer
as possible, crosswise of the old
, corn rows. This loosens the ole
roots and mixes the stalks in with
, the soil, which prevents blowing
away of the seed or washing in case
of heavy rains. = It also keeps the
, land open so the small alfalfa
|, plants can send down their roots
. rapidly and secure moisture from
, deep down in the earth. After the
roots once get down deep the
drouth seems to have but little eff.
| feet on the plants.
, We SOW from fourteen to eigh-
|, teen pounds of alfalfa seed to the
: acre-fourteen or fifteen if the
ground is in excellent shape-whict
, should be dragged smooth and level;
then we sow the alfalfa seed with q
hand seeder or a broadcast seedel
| attached to the front of the drill
| If alfalfa is sown on rough, hilly
land that is poor, the land should
, be MANFRED before the seed is sowI
! and worked into the ground, but be
sure to work the ground good be.
fore sowing. Alfalfa will grow or
gravelly land and will grow on any
land where clover will grow ant
will yield twice the value in hay
crop each year. We sow about sil
pecks of early oats or barley to the
acre, and the best way to do this i!
: to have a grass seeder attachment
! on drill, sowing alfalfa seed and thu
shoe or disk on the drill will ridge
up the fine soil enough to cover thu
alfalfa seed between the drill rows
In this way the alfalfa plants have ;
! chance to get air and sunlight IL
between the grain rows.
We have always put in our alfal
ia in about this way and have al
$ ways raised good fair crop of cat
or, barley with the first years seed
ing of alfalfa. When the alfalfa Il
two or three years old 1t should b.
pulverized each spring and dragged
as this makes it thrive better.
Alfalfa as a feed, in our judg
ment, is the best hay we have eve
fed to stock, and green alfalfa is thu
; best hog pasture we have eve
found. However, in using alfalf;
for hog pasture we have found !
best to divide the pasture int
three separate fields so as to use on
field in the early spring, the mex
: field in the summer season and thu
third field in the fall In this wa.
two crops of hay can be cut from
each field and there will be no dan
ger of the hogs injuring or destroy
ing the alfalfa plants. If it is pas
tured all the time there is more o.
less danger of destroying the stand
In cutting the alfalfa for hay, on
2 can use any kind of hay stacker
: and the best way is to use SWEEP
rakes and not tedder, because i
, Jars off too many of the leaves. Th'