Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1954-08-26
On the Farm

Beef cattle producers in Mary
lands drought-stricken area:
can't go along on a businesses
usual basis this fall and winter
for the simple reason that they
didn't grow as much feed this
year as they usually do.
Naturally these folk are wor
ried over their feed supply" says
University of Maryland Exter
sion livestock specialist Boyd
Whittle. But I hope none OF
them get panicky and do some
thing they will regret later"
He offers these recommends.
tons:
ID Don't sell good cows from
the herd. Many calf-producing
states are being forced to liqui-
date cow herds due to years of
continued drought. Prospects for
COW herd owners who have stayed
in the business will be good in
future years.
(2) Go ahead with rather close
culling of herd. Gull the least
valuable animals first. Start
with breeding cows, culling poor
mixers, old cows and those which
have been producing poor calves
for one reason or another. Go TO
the two-year-olds next for culIing
leave yearlings until last. Do
everything possible to provide
adequate feed for all calves.
Poor producing cows cannot be
carried over with high priced
feed and expect to return a profit.
go Feed a balanced ration 10
help stretch out the hay and
other roughage on hand. A pound
of linSeed or cottonseed meal per
head fed daily to cattle will add to
fuller utilization of low quality
roughages. Barley and oats are
good buys in grain feeds now If
the grain supplies on the farm are
short, buy enough to take care of
feeding needs.
Roughage supplies are short
this year because of the dry
weather, so farmers are looking
for any source of feed on the
farm that might be used without
decreasing feed production next
year.
Red clover which was seeded
with grain crops this spring is a
good source of feed that a lot of
farmers may have overlooked,
agronomists say.
The new red clover is growing
in grain stubble now. Cutting it
for hay or grazing it during late
August or early September is one
way to gain some additional feed.
And, surprisingly as it may seem,
cutting or grazing improves
chances for a good hay crop next
year.
Research conducted by the
agronomists has shown that leav-
ing the small grain stubble and
red clover growth through the
fall and winter of the year that
the red clover is becoming es.
tablished is poor practice in
maintaining stands.
These research results show
that if enough moisture is avail
able to make a hay cutting. this
should be made during the latter
part of August in most sections
of the State. Hay should not be
cut later than the early part of
September. The red clover should
then be allowed to make some
growth before winter.
If the red clover is too short to
make a hay crop, some of the
growth can be removed by graz.
ing, provided the grazing is dis
continued by October. The red
clover then has an opportunity
to recover growth during the fall.
The agronomists explain that
harvesting the new growth for
hay or pasture is better than
leaving it stand because the pres
ence of grain stubble and clover
growth tends to create conditions
ideal for weed growth, and insect
rodent, and disease damage tc
reduce the clover stand during
the winter period.