The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1923-06-15
Time of Cutting
Alfalfa for Hay
Has Much to Do With Value
of Cured Product as Feed
for Different Animals.

prepared by the United States Department
of Agriculture)
1t is probable that alfalfa Is not yet
In it's heyday. Enthusiasts, whose
name is legion, believe that the pos
sibilities of this crop are far from be-
ing realized. A great part OF the
nearly 100000 acres now devoted to
this forage is annually harvested for
hay, and the conditions under which
It is put up, the methods used, and
the time of cutting have great deal
to do with the value of the cured
product as feed for live stock
The number of cuttings that may be
taken from an alfalfa field in a season
varies according to the locality and
the variety from eight or occasionally
more; in the extreme Southwest, to
two, or sometimes only one, in the
northern and semi-arid regions. Thir-
ty to forty days of good growing
weather are necessary to produce
hay crop.
Time to Cut Alfalfa.
There are conflicting opinions on
the proper time to cut alfalfa for hay.
Chemical analyses, says the United
States Department of Agriculture,
show that when cut in early bloom 1t
has slightly more protein than when
cut later, and that certain animals.
such as hogs and cattle, prefer it when
cut in the earlier stages. These rea-
sons and the belief that frequent cut
ting produced larger total yield led
to the old practice of cutting just be-
fore the flowers appeared. That prac-
tice has been discredited.
AS the result of experience accumu-
lated it 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
were 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.
The two guides seemed to be needed
as the basal shoots make very little
growth in dry weather and blossoms
are slow to appear in wet periods.
Recent experiments indicate that
cutting at later date than has gen.
orally been advised is more desirable,
everything considered. At the Kan
sas agricultural experiment station a
comparison was made of cutting at
four 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. Cut
ting when the seed pods were forming
gave less hay than earlier cuttings,
but the stand was not injured. No
damage resulted from cutting the basal
shoots, although it 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-
suits.
In regions where the rainfall is
rather limited, such as the Great
Plains, stands are sometimes badly
injured by delaying cutting until the
plants are nearly through blooming.
The injury is more serious when
second cutting is made or a crop is
harvested for seed. This is more seri-
Gus in dry seasons when there will be
very little growth after cutting as far
as the plants are concerned. Cutting
is harmful rather than beneficial, but
of course there must be a harvest.
Worries for Farmer.
Once the problem of the time of cut
ting has been solved, the thing which
worries the farmer most is getting the
hay into the best condition and stored
In the NOW or stack. There is general
agreement that putting the hay into
cocks in the field saves more Of the
leaves, the best part of the feed. than
when curing is done in the windrow.
but it takes more labor, and, since
more time is required. there is more
danger from rain.
Where the weather promises to be
fair for two or three days it may be
advisable to hurry the curing by doing
most of 1t in the windrow. The amount
of shatterings will be greater than
when the curing is done in the cock
provided the weather remains fair in
both cases. However, when the hay is
cooked it requires longer to cure. thus
increasing the danger of exposure to
unfavorable weather If the hay is
exposed to several days rain, even
though cooked, the loss is likely to
be greater than would result from TAX