The Jasper news., 1912-07-18
FORAGE CROPS MAKE
BIC PROFITS IN PORK
SAVE THIRTY PER CENT OF THE
GRAIN FEED.
L. A. Weaver, University Of Missouri,
College Of Agriculture.

hIOue Is not nearly so prOHtaDle as II
once was. II takes FIVE or six pounds
Of corn in dry lot feeding to make
pound of pork. With corn worth
around thirty cents a bushel and hogs
selling at FIVE or six cents, 1t was pos.
sible to make money feeding in the
dry lot When corn is worth around
sixty cents and pork is selling at six,
II is readily seen that the profits from
feeding hogs are materially reduced
unless cheaper way of producing
pork is found.
Results of Investigations at the Mis-
souri, Experiment Station indicate
clearly that pork can be produced
most cheaply by feeding grain in com.
bination with forage.
The kind of grain depends. OF course,
upon the forage crop. In the work
done at this station, in general, when
the forage was a legume. such as al.
falfa, clover, cOwpeas or soy beans,
straight corn was the grain fed With
non-legumiuOus forages, such as blue.
grass. rape and oats, sorghum or rye,
the corn was supplemented with lin.
seed oil meal, the ration being made
up OF six parts corn to one part vi Oil
meal
While the kind OF grain 10 feed is
important, the amount OF grain is Of
equal, if not greater importance in de
termining the economy OF grains. II
has been shown at different stations
that the best forage crops are little
more than maintenance ration.
II gains are to be made, then, # Is
necessary to feed some grain in addi.
tion to the forage. Experiments indi-
oates that the greatest economy Of gain
through the use OF forage is obtained
when one and one-hslf to two pounds
Of grain are fed daily for each 100
pounds of live weight. The best gen
eral rule is to feed enough grain to
cause the hogs TO make daily gain
of three fourths of a pound for each
100 pounds live weight.
Where alfalfa can be grown success
fully there is probably no crop that
will give better results for swine feed
ing. An acre Of alfalfa will pasture,
during the grazing season, from ten to
twenty shOats The important point
to be observed is not TO pasture too
closely Best results are obtained by
SO pasturing that one or two cuttings
OF hay may be taken on the field dur
ing the season In addition to the
amount foraged of by hogs. At this
station. with half feed OF grain, alfalfa
was found to carry II head for 1Gs
days
While il took FIVE or six pounds Of
grain to the pound OF gain, in dry lot
feeding, only triae over three pounds
was required when the hogs ran on
alfalfa.
Red clover ranks next to alfalfa as
forage crop for swine. 1t will not
carSy SO many head per acre, nor fur
nish pasture for so long a period as
will the alfalfa In two different trials
it was found that the value OF an acre
of clover for hog feed is more than
thirty.four dollars. Care should be
taken with clover not to pasture 1t too
closely, and to let it reach a height Of
ten to twelve inches before turning
onto IT,
The best results with annual forage
crops at this station have been OBJ.
tained with rape in which have been
sown a few oats. The Dwarf Essex is
the variety of rape used. If II is not
pastured too closely IL will come up
again after the first growth in favor
able seasons. The data in this series
nj 20
an acre of It is worth s22.S4 for pork
making. At the Wisconsin station
better results we're obtained with il.
surprising even the clover.
Bluegrass requires the feeding Of
more grain than do these other crops.
and 1t is only available in the early
summer and after the fall rains. In a
number of trials at the Missouri sta
ton the average return was found to
be Sl51S per acre.
In general the amount Of grain re-
quired to make a pound OF pork In the
dry lot was 5.11 pounds, and the
amount required on forage was 3.49
pounds. Thus there is a saving OF
about thirty per cent of the grain
which is replaced by the cheaper for
age.
The result Of these rather extensive
experiments show that the old dry lot
method OF feeding hogs is more eN-
pensRe and less profitable than the
new way, OF feeding green forage.
There are some other advantages,
also. in the saving Of the crop on the
land, and the economy Of labor In
making the hog harvest his own crop.
There are other reasons for the cul-
tivation OF corn besides the killing OF
weeds and the saving Of the moisture.