PASTURES IN NEW YORK 



The greatest agricultural resource of New York is its exceptional 

 adaptation for the growth of grass. Yet the hay crop has received 

 little attention and pastures have rarely received any care. Land is 

 seldom seeded with the right kinds of grass for the production of a 

 permanent pasture. Usually the same seeding is used for hay and pasture, 

 that is, timothy and clover. But these are short-lived plants and will 

 soon be replaced by weeds unless the long-lived pasture plants are 

 seeded with them. 



Pastures furnish our cheapest feed. The pasture for one cow one day 

 costs 3-6 cents; hay or hay and silage costs 12-15 cents; grain, 12-15 

 cents. A good pasture will replace all the hay and much of the grain. 

 Pasture usually produces more milk than other feed at one-fifth to one- 

 tenth of the cost. 



Evidently the most profitable way to keep stock is to have an abund- 

 ance of good pasture all summer. Too frequently the pasture has to 

 be supplemented by summer feeding. Only on the high-priced lands 

 near large cities and on sandy soils that do not hold grass can summer 

 feeding compare favorably with pasture. 



It would certainly seem good policy to consider means of increasing 

 the efficiency of our pastures. They are one of our most profitable farm 

 crops and give large returns for any care that they receive. The increas- 

 ing cost of feed makes this care of still greater importance. 



G. F. Warren 



NEW YORK PASTURES 

 Paul J. White 



INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF PASTURES 



Relation of pastures to the feed bill. — A serious problem confronting 

 this State is how to reduce the feed bill. The great bulk of grain fed 

 on the farm is purchased. The feed bill is a heavy burden during the 

 winter months. It becomes heavier as the farmer finds his pasture 

 becoming so short during the summer months that he must supplement 

 it with grain. Often silage is fed which is needed for the winter months. 

 A rational handling of the farm pasture would materially aid in reliev- 

 ing this condition. 



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