Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1923-06-21
Time of Cutting
Alfalfa for Hay
Has Much to Do With Value
of Cured Product as Feed
for Different Animals.

Tor DI1erenr animals.
Prepared by the United States Department
of Agriculture,
1t is probable that alfalfa Is not yet
n its heyday. Enthusiasts, whose
lame is legion. believe that the pos
abilities of this crop are far from be-
ng realized. A great part of the
iearly 100000 acres now devoted to
his forage Is annually harvested for
iay, and the conditions under which
4 is put up. the methods used. and
he time of cutting have a great deal
20 do with the value of the cured
product as a feed for live stock.
The number of cuttings that may be
aiken from an alfalfa field in a season
saries according to the locality and
the variety from eight or occasionally
more, In the extreme Southwest. to
TWO. or sometimes only one. In the
aorthern and semi-arid regions. Thir-
~ to forty days of good growing
weather are necessary to produce a
nay crop.
Time TO Cut Alfalfa.
There are conflicting opinions on
Ehe proper time to CT alfalfa for hay.
Chemical analyses. says the United
States Department Of Agriculture.
show that when cut In early bloom Ii
has slightly more protein than when
tut later, and that certain animals,
such as hogs and cattle, prefer 1t when
.ut In the earlier stages. These rea-
sons and the belief that frequent cut
ting produced a larger total yield led
to the old practice Of cutting just be-
fore the flowers appeared. That prac-
lice has been discredited. !.
AS the result Of experience accumu-
lated II was found that these early
and frequent cuttings, although they
produced greater yields the first sea
son., usually reduced the life of the
stand and the average yield over a
period of years. Later the basal shoots
we're used as a guide, cutting being
recommended when they had reached
q length Of one or two inches or when
The plants were one-tenth In bloom.
Hhe two guides seemed TO be needed
rs the basal shoots make very little
growth In dry weather and blossoms
IRE slow to appear In wet periods.
Recent experiments indicate that
iutting at a later date than has gen.
orally been advised is more desirable.
everything considered AT the Kan
las agricultural experiment station a
comparison vas made OF cutting at
our stages-in bud. one-tenth in
bloom, full bloom, and when the seed
pods were forming. The earliest cut
ting was highest in feeding value, but
the stand was practically killed out
In one season. Cutting when one
tenth In bloom gave less hay than cut
ting when In full bloom and seemed
to encourage grass and weeds. Gut
when the seed pods were forming
less hay than earlier cuttings.
but the stand was not injured. No
damage resulted from cutting the basal
although II has long been
taught that clipping them off will re-
duce the succeeding crop. The De
partment of Agriculture has conducted
experiments which verify these re-
In regions where the rainfall is
limited. such as the Great
Plains, stands are sometimes badly
by delaying cutting until the
plants are nearly through blooming.
The injury is more serious when a
second cutting is made or a crop is
harvested for seed. This is more seri-
BUS In dry seasons when there will be
7ery little growth after cutting as far
rs the plants are concerned. Cutting
8 harmful rather than beneficial, but
If course there must be, a harvest.
Worries for Farmer.
Once the problem of the time of cut
ing has been solved the thing which
worries the farmer most is getting the
lay into the best condition and stored
n the NOW or stack. There Is general
lgreement that putting the hay into
'ocks In the field saves more OF the
the best part of the feed, than
when curing is done In the windrow,
nut II takes more labor, and, since
nore time LIS required, there is more
from rain.
Where the weather promises to be
air for two or three days 1t may be
dvisable to hurry the curing by doing
1ost of II in the wfndrow. The amount
4 shatterings viii be greater than
the curing is done in the cock
rovided the weather remains fair In !
9th cases. However. when the hay is
ocked 1t requires longer to cure, thus !
1creasing the danger Of exposure to {
nfavorable weather. II the hay is .
xposed to several days rain, even I
hough cooked, the loss is likely TO !
e greater than would result from TAX
~ advantage of the favorable weather !