The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1925-03-26
M. A. NYE
Blue Valley Farm Service

There are few farmers il
.Stearns county whose profits woul,
not be increased by raising alfalfa
Every farmer should aim to produce
as lar as possible upon his owl
farm, all the foodstuffs his dairy cat
tie, hogs, and poultry need.
Ten years from now ninety pc,
cent of the farmers in the count,
will wonder how they got along with
out alfalfa and wonder why they die
not recognize its great value sooner
There is no combination of feeds s,
economical for the production O.
milk, butterfat, pork and eggs, a
corn and alfalfa. Corn alone. @,
alfalfa alone will not produce hes
results. Alfalfa is needed becaus,
1T balances up the corn ration ant
saves the large waste of starch which
always takes place when corn is fet
alone. Stearns county needs alfalfa
first-because it can be grown OF
nearby farms to provide a source Of
protein in the ration; second-be
cause it feeds the soil and enable!
the farmer to grow larger crops Of
corn and oats, and third-because il
produces on an average double the
food value per acre of clover OF
any other forage crop.
Alfalfa also increases land value
The land values in those portions oil
the United States where both corr
and alfalfa are grown will always be
higher-much higher-than in those
regions where only one of these
crops can be grown to advantage
That alfalfa can be, and will be
grown successfully in. this part OF
Minnesota in the future there can be
no doubt. Alfalfa is exactly the
forage crop needed in Stearns coun.
ty to lower higher feed costs. Pound
for pound it will practically match
wheat bran in feeding value. When
it is remembered that good alfalfa
brings, in actual results, nearly as
great returns as wheat bran, dairy
cattle feeders will realize it's import
ance in the ration. Alfalfa costs
less than bran, enriches the land, and
keeps money at home.
A recent experiment in feeding
milk cows shows that home grown al
falfa is as good a milk producer as
"boughten" bran. In this expert
ment milk cows were divided into
two lots. Lot No. 1 was fed for
10 weeks on alfalfa, and Not No. on
wheat bran. They had other feeds,
too, but in similar quantities.
The point is that the rations were
similar, except that one lot received
alfalfa and the other bran, and that
the milk yield of those fed on alfalfa
was, most of the time, little above
the milk production of those fed on
bran. At the end of the ninth week
the feeds were changed-the cows
that had been fed on bran were
changed to an alfalfa ration and
those that had been fed on alfalfa
were put on a bran ration. When
the bran-fed cows were changed to
alfalfa the milk yield rose from 400
to $40 pounds. The total milk pro-
duction for the nineteen weeks show
ed a balance of 375 pounds in favor
of alfalfa feed.
Alfalfa has no equal as hay, be-
cause it is rich in protein, the very
thing in which corn and most other
crops are deficient. Alfalfa, there
fore, balances up the ration and
saves many dollars each year in the
purchase of high priced feed.
Every farmer in Stearns county
should try at least a small piece OF
alfalfa. Any suitable piece OF
ground on the farm will bring great
er profits if put into alfalfa, provid.
ing the work is done properly and q
good stand is secured.
Make beginning-start now-this
year!
Alfalfa a Lime Hungry Plant
Stearns county is fortunate in that
its soil contains fairly good amount
of lime.
Lime does away with sour soils
and improves the texture of both q
light and clay soil. 1t also liber.
ates some potash and phosphoric acid
and makes possible the right condi.
lions for the growth OF beneficial
soil bacteria.
This is good news to Stearns coun.
ty farmers because the successful
seeding of alfalfa largely depends
upon the supply of suitable forms OF
lime in the soil. The sure way ia
find out whether or not soil needs
lime is to try lime on it. When soil
needs a dressing of lime it can be
told by the kind of vegetation that
grows on it. When alfalfa and Glow.
er does not grow well on the soil or
which moss, red colored weeds anc
grass grow, it is a sure sign thai
lime is needed. When the farmer
lines strip of soil in the field anc
finds that it makes alfalfa and clover
grow better he has sure proof thai
the soil needs lime. Anyone who