The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1919-04-03

Station in making its rotation and
eroppage system profitable To pre-
vent a shortage of feed during any
of our short crop years, silos furnish
a reserve storage for any surplus feed
that may be produced in any one
year of shortage.
The Fort Hays Experiment Station
uses a great deal of straw for winter
feeding of cattle. At experiment car
ried on with live stock indicates that
| the cheapest winter ration is about 80
pounds Of silage, a pound and a half
of cotton cake, and all the straw they
will eat. The same experiment show
that cattle will eat form six to twelve
pounds of straw when fed silage,
while dry fed cattle will eat from
three to six pounds per day. Cattle
thus wintered on silage, cake and
straw come through the winter in bet
ter shape than they started in the fall
Thus the experimental work on the
Station that indicates better results,
is always tried out on large herds be-
fore being recommended for general
use.
The advantage that we have of
thus trying out these experiments on
2 large scale is peculiar to this Sta
ton, on account of size, acreage Of
crops grown and live stock handled.
To test in large way the advan-
tage of cross bred calves in feeding
value, 100 black cows have been eros
sed during the past two years on pure
bred shorthorns bulls. The calves
from last year were fed experimental
ly at the State Agricultural College.
This years calves from this herd have
not yet been disposed of, but careful
records on. the feed value of these
will be kept and will be available to
the public.
Under range conditions, with the
difficulty of furnishing water to some
of the pastures, and the distance our
cattle have had to go to secure what
water could be furnished, the Short
horns have suffered the most, with
the Herefords and Galloways coming
in the best shape out of these trying
range conditions.
All of the cattle are rounded up
from the range after the 1st of No
vember. The calves are vaccinated
for blackleg, the males are altered
while on the range with the cows un-
til they are in good physical condition.
The first week in November every
thing viii be brough back from the
pasture and the calves weaned and
the cows put back on the pasture un-
til the more distant buffalo grass is
consumed. The calves then will be
grassed upon the short fourth crop
of alfalfa until they have thoroughly
recovered from weaving and can be
put upon regular feed rations. By
the first of December the experiment
cattle, some of which have been car
ried on the same experiment for
years, viii be sorted up and lotted,
to be carried through the coming win
ter experimental work What cattle
are not used in the experimental lots
are then grazed on buffalo grass pas
ture and fed rough feed with possibly
a little cake right on the grass. The
range cattle viii be divided into two
lots this coming winter; one lot will
be fed Silage, cake and buffalo grass,
while the other viii be fed cake and
possibly roughage on buffalo grass.
This viii give Us an indication of
whether silage viii pay under the
range conditions that prevail in Wes-
tern Kansas.
In spite of fhe fact that great
deal of the live stock work on this
Station includes extensive expert
mental work, live stock IN itself has
been in ne small degree responsible
for the profitable cropping and farm
ing system employed at the Station.