The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1917-09-13
ADVISES FARMERS
TO FEED STRAW
Head OF Experiment Station Says
Cheaper Ration Can BE Used With
Profit

That Lynden dairymen can save
considerable money by feeding their
stock a considerable percentage of
straw during the coming winter with
it's prospective high hay prices, is
the opinion of w. A. Linklater, sup
erintendent of the Western Washing
ton Experiment Station, Puyallup.
Definite information as to how this
should be done is given in the fol-
lowing bulletin issued this week:
At this date, August 20, alfalfa is
selling to cost Western Washington
dairymen about $500 a ton at their
unloading point. Various explana-
tions may be given why alfalfa is SO
high at this time, but this will not
alter the case. The important thing
/ to remember is that alfalfa may go
! higher. The writer spent several
/ days recently in Kittitas and Yakima
counties, investigating the alfalfa
crop conditions and the probable
available supply. The best informa-
ton he could obtain was that the
yield was only about eighty per cent
of normal and that about sixty per
cent of the total crop was already
contracted, at prices varying from
$500 to s21.00 ton f. o. b. cars
at loading point.
Since the crop is below normal and
more than half the hay is already
contracted, since districts not here
/ tofore buyers of Central Washington
alfalfa hay are in the market, since
cattle and sheep are too valuable to
| be permitted to starve on the range,
and since the cattle and sheep men
have not all provided feed as insur-
ance against a bad winter. the indica-
tions are that while alfalfa may be-
come somewhat cheaper for brief
period, the chances are that it will
go to higher prices yet before spring
! With wheat and oat straw avail
able at from 5000 to $1,000 a ton,
many Western Washington dairymen
will be considering the practicability
Of feeding some straw and less alfalfa
/ hay than usual. This can be done
profitably this season.
Wheat straw shows 36.9 pounds
of digestible matter per 100 pounds,
as against 45.6 pounds of digestible
matter in 100 pounds of oat straw.
Wheat straw is much less palatable
to live stock than oat straw and,
as shown by amount of digestible
matter, it is seldom practical to feed
it unless it can be bought for, at
most, two-thirds the price of oat
straw. As it is seldom practical to
buy wheat straw for feeding dairy
cows, we will not give 1t further
consideration in this article.
Oat straw contains 45.6 pounds
of digestible matter per 100 pounds,
as against SIG pounds of digestible
matter in alfalfa. Were we to consid-
er only the full digestible matter con-
tanned in oat straw, we might come
to the conclusion that it was seventy
five per cent as valuable for feeding
dairy cows as alfalfa, but the pro-
portion of digestible protein to di-
gestible carbohydrates and fat in
oat straw is only about 1:45, while
in alfalfa it is about "A. 1t is be-
cause alfalfa is so palatable to stock
and so rich in protein that ii is such
a valuable dairy feed. 1t is because
oat straw is less palatable and is low
in protein that it is a low-grade feed
With alfalfa costing s25.00 tor
or more and oat straw available a.
$1,000 ton or less. it will pay mos
dairymen to feed some oat straw
This straw may be offered to the
cattle whole, in which case, if ii is o.
good quality they will probably ca
| half of il and the balance may bt
used for bedding. If the dairymaI
wants his cows to eat all of the GA
straw he must cut it up and mix i
t with cut hay or alfalfa and add mol
; asses, or if silage is available mil
the cut straw, cut hay and silag,