The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1954-12-09
Form Mogoxine

- y AZ "
Continued From Page One)
of Holstein cows and a good
cropping program. However, the
industrial development in this
area since the second world war
has absorbed all excess labor
and made the dependable hired
man as scarce as a Dodo bird.
In 1947, Schramm made two
changes. He bought five COM
mercial beef cows, and began
teaching a veterans agricultural
class. At that time he still had
a hired hand to help carry the
farm labor load. About a year
later there was no hired man
available SO the dairy herd was
sold and three more cows added
to the beef herd.
The original eight cows and
their offspring now have grown
into a herd of so cows bred to
freshen next spring. There were
35 calves weaned in 1854. The
handy weight calves from this
group We're marketed through
the Guernsey-Noble Feeder Calf
Association at their sales held
October 27 and November 4 at
the Producers sale barn in
Coshocton. Schramm is a direc-
tor of the association.
Many labor-saving features
have been brought into the
Scramm's farming operation. A
field chopper harvests all of the
hay crop. Most Of the first-crop
alfalfa hay goes into the silo
The remainder Of the hay is put
in the NOW over a hay drier,
The hay silage is used for young
stock, part of which is raised for
herd requirements.
Since 1851 the cow herd has
been wintered on the open range
in an area specially prepared
for winter grazing, This fall 30
acres were ready for winter
range. Six acres of this is new
meadow, including three acres
of alfalfa-orchardgrass and three
acres of birdsfoot trefoil from
which hay crop was removed
in mid-August.
The balance of "a acres is III
good bluegrass sod with a fair
springling Of alfalfa, Ladino and
white clover. This area has been
grazed through each of the last
three winters up until mid-June
and then clipped. All growth
since late June has been allow
ed to remain for winter forage.
Luther's experience of the last
three years indicates that the
cows will require some hay after
the first of December or when
there is snow on the ground.
The first year he fed baled
hay on range. This seemed to
require too much hand labor
Since switching to chopped hay,
he finds that it is very simple
to push the chopped hay out of
the NOW into the Wagon box and
haul it from there to the winter
pasture.
He never feds twice in the
same spot so the ground is never
heavily tramped and the manure
is we'll distributed. This system
not only saves labor, but when
the calves are dropped on the
open range they seem to be Wig
orous and less subject to disease
than those dropped in the barn.
There are occasional calves
that need some special care.
| These are brought into the barn
with their dams and given the
needed attention. So far this
system seems TO be producing
excellent feeder calves. The
cows seem to go on spring pas
ture in thrifty condition.
Schramm believes in a good
fertility program for both cror
and pasture land. He is using
from eight to 10 tons of high
analysis fertilizer each year. He
IS following program of plan
ned treatment on both pasture
and crop land.
The labor load on this farm is
now arranged so that Luther ano
his l7-year-old son can do it al,
except such jobs as they nor
J mally do in cooperation with
their neighbors on an exchange
basis.