The Ordway new era., 1921-03-11
TO TRY OUT 4
new PASTURE

uoI y
Dave Poundstone is going to give
cultivated pasture a good try-out and
VIII make his test on sweet clover.
He has bushel of good seed, receiv-
ed recently. and this will seed about
eight acres. Mr.. -Poundstone has
MADE quite an extensive study and in
curry into various kinds of pasture
and believes that sweet clover will
make an excellent pasture.
Mr.. Poundstone is given further
assurance that sweet clover will
prove profitable from the following
account by H. P. Rush of the Illi-
mons experimental station where a
thoro test has been made:
experiments at the Illinois station
ihdicate that from " to acres of
the Dest blue grass pasture on the
university farm are required to car.
ry COW with sucking calf thru the
grazing season. Obviously, we can
not afford to eliminate from our
cropping system 1 " to acres of
$500 or $400 land 90 Craze an ordi-
nary grade beef COW and Jher calf.
II cattle breeding on high priced
iana is to prosper, the summer
maintenance of the COW herd must
depend upon the utilization of q le-
gume pasture which has q value in
the crop rotation in addition to fts
pasture value.
The first experimental work at
this station on the use of sweet clo-
yer as cattle pasture was done dur
Ing the summer of 1916. Seven cows
with seven calves were turned on
seven acres of sweet clover on Nav 20
Half of this field was moved for hay
on June L. 1t had made too rank
growth for good hay and the now
ing killed practically all of the clo-
yer; However. these seven acres.
with the addition of $50 pounds of
hay per cow, carried the cows and
their calves for total of 147 days.
The best mixed pasture on the uni
versity farm that season yielded a
pasturage OF SO days per acre for COW
and calf. The same season nine
pure-bred two-year-old heifers on
sos acres of sweet clover, that was
seeded that spring, secured 1913 days
pasturage per acre. During -the sea-
son of 1918, 9 acres of sweet clover,
seeded in oats the preceding spring,
yielded 1862 days pasturage per
acre. This is calculated on the basis
of mature animals. Calves not
counted. The same season our Da-
maree mixture. which had been seed
ed In oats the preceding spring, gave
95 days pasturage per acre, and our
best mixed pasture, which was large
ly blue grass, yielded 11O days pas
turage per acre.
This past season, acres of second
years growth of sweet clover, pastur-
ed with 13 yearling heifers, yielded
217.1 days pasturage per acre. Other
results secured at this station do not
differ materially from those cited.
The greatest difficulty we have ex-
perienced in pasturing sweet clover
seeded in oats the previous season
was to keep ahead OF 1t in the. spring
and make 1t hold out in the fall.
While the animal husbandry. depart
ment has never been fortunate e.
nOugh to have a good stand IN stub
BILE ready to turn Onto when the reg
ular pasture failed. results of obser-
walton lead us to belive that under
the right system of management we
may depend upon the sweet clover
aftermath in oats stubble to supple
ment our second years growth dur
ing the fall. Likewise. observation
of results secured by practical. farm
ers. as well as the effects secured by
clipping on the agronomy plots, lead
us to believe that clipping high at the
right stage Of growth may safely be
employed for holding back growth in
the spring. and that such clipping
will materially lengthen the period
of growth in the fall. The sum total
of the experimental evidence and of
results secured by practical breed
ers. indicate that sweet clover. when
properly handled, may be counted
on to give at least as much pasturage
per acre as our best blue grass pas
ture.