The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-08-20
Pasture and Grain Crops for Hogs in Pacific Northwest
Contributed By Byron Hunter the Board Plan.
Plant Industry United States Department of Agriculture

Byron Hunter Of the Board of Plal
fall is scant, corn can be hogged off far
into tho winter. There is slightly less
waste if movable fence is used and
} the hogs are not turned into more corn
than they can consume in Is or 20 days.
| Especially is this true when the ground
becomes wet and muddy.
! The Use Of Barley.
As a crop to hog off, barley is used
during the summer, autumn and winter.
Because the boards, when dry and hard,
are so severe on the mouth of the hog,
the common beardless barley is gen.
orally used during the summer and
early autumn. The bearded varieties
usually outyield the beardless consider
ably, and for this reason the former are
generally preferred for late autumn and
winter use. There are some, however,
who prefer the beardless varieties for
all seasons.
II sown very early in the spring,
beardless barley generally ripens about
ten days or two weeks earlier than win
ter wheat. This makes it one of the
first crops available for hogging off in
the early summer. The hogs are turned
into the field when the first patchers
are ripening, or when the kernels are
in the stiff-dough stage.
Hogs do only fairly well on mature
bearded barley when the boards are dry
and stiff. After the autumn rains have
softened the boards and kernels, how
ever, they take to it readily. For late
autumn and winter use the bearded
varieties are allowed to stand in the
field until the fall rains have set in
well. This usually gives plenty Of time
after harvest for the hogs to CLEAN the
stubble field. Blue barley, a bearded
variety, is generally sown for late fall
and winter use. When allowed to stand
in the field it does not shatter and
sprout nearly SO easily as wheat or the
so-called winter varieties of barley.
On farm in Umatilla county, Ore,
during November, 1910, so hogs were
pastured 1s days and 9s hogs 10 days
on ia acres of barley on steep hill
side. The gain in weight averaged 23O |
pounds per acre, having value of
1885 per acre. The estimated yield of
barley was 81 bushels per acre.
Determining Area to Be- Hogged OFF.
In order to reduce the waste to a
minimum, the area of each crop hogged
off must be thoroughly cleaned up. Ow-
ing to the variation in crop yields and
the quantity of grain that hogs Of DIFF
ferent sizes will consume, it is not al
ways easy to determine the acreage of
each crop to be used in this way. Sup
pose portion of the main winter wheat
crop is to be fenced and hogged off
from the time the grain is just past the
'tiffdough stage, say July 10, until the
'tubble field is open, August Is. What
area Of the winter wheat shall be set
lside to be used in this wayt This may
70 determined in two ways, as follows:
(D When the first spots in the field
're nearly ripe or when the kernels
lave just passed the stiff dough stage,
Measure and fence small trial area,
nough to last the herd of hogs for only
few days. From July 10 to August IS
9 SO days. If trial area Of one acre
asts the herd days, as many acres of
Vheat must be reserved as the number
+ times is contained in SO, or 6 acres.
(2) By the second method, the yield
+ the crop per acre and the quantity
+ feed that the herd of hogs will con-
ume per day are estimated. Suppose
hat the yield of wheat is 30 bushels, or
800 pounds, per acre and the herd of
ogs will consume 400 pounds of wheat
er day. If 400 pounds Of wheat are
onsumed in one day, an acre, or 1900
ounds, will last As days. If one acre
lists as days, 8 acres will be required
} last 36 days, i. e., from July 10 to
ugust Is.
The quantity of wheat that the herd
hogs will consume per day can be
etermined quite accurately by weigh
g their feed for few days just be-
IRE they are turned into the field. In
10 case of growing hogs, they will con-
me little more each day as they