354 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table 4. — Plant food balance on a 100-acre dairy farm, carrying 20 cows, 10 young cattle, 5 horses 



and 20 hogs. 



Plant food in feed consumed and pasture grass 



Loss during digestion and handling of ma- f Maximum. . . 

 nure ] Minimum . . 



[ Average 



Returned to soil in bedding, stover, etc 



[ Maximum. . . 

 Total returned to soil i Minimum . . 



I. Average 



Removed from soil in crops 



[ Maximum . . . 

 Annual loss from soil I Minimum . . 



[Average 



Nitrogen- 

 pounds. 



4,858.4 

 2,908.07 

 1 , 6.57 . 67 

 2,282.87 



522.0 

 3.722.73 

 2,472.33 

 3,097.53 

 5,266.9 

 2,794.57 

 1,544.17 

 2,169.37 



Phosphoric 



acid — 



pounds. 



1,851.72 



1,028.67 



514.30 



771.48 



145.73 



1,483.15 



968.78 



1,225.97 



1,933.19 



964.41 



450.04 



707.22 



Potash — 

 pounds. 



3,9.34.19 

 1 , 667 . 56 

 1,129.55 

 1,398. 55 

 866 . 80 

 3,671.44 

 3,133.43 

 3,402.44 

 5,218.74 

 2,085.31 

 1,547.30 

 1,816.30 



The question arises at this point, '^Why is it that on livestock farms 

 good yields are still obtained, while where little or no stock is kept the 

 soil depletion is much more evident?" We must remember that most 

 of the plant-food elements in manure are readily available or soon be- 

 come so. Therefore when manure is applied a quantity of very effective 

 material is added which though it does not equal in amount the material 

 removed from the soil in crops, is very quick to show results. The 

 manure during decay may make available some mineral elements of 

 plant-food. Moreover the soils have been changed more frequently than 

 where grain farming has been followed. 



The maximum and minimum and average losses of the plant-food 

 elements are given above. It must be borne in mind that the amount 

 of these nutrients retained by dairy cows varies greatly, those animals 

 giving a large flow of milk naturally retaining more than the less pro- 

 ductive individuals. The care with which manure is handled varies 

 greatly. With low producing animals and the best of care the losses 

 may run below the minimum set and on the other hand a combination 

 of higher producing cows and careless handling of manure may result 

 in a greater loss than is indicated by the maximum. 



It will be noted in the detailed statements of the operations on these 

 farms, which appear in the appendix that only 10 acres of good clover 

 hay are grown. This represents the condition as it exists on a majority 

 of the farms today but is far from the condition desired and from the 

 farm practices that prevailed in the earlier history of the State. It 

 seems advisable therefore to include a summary of plant-food conditions 

 on a 100-acre general farm growing twenty-five acres of clover. This 

 should permit clover to be grown on every acre once in every four years. 

 The balance on a 100-acre sandy farm using a short rotation including 

 twenty-five acres of clover and five acres of soy beans is also included 

 (tables 5 and 6). 



A comparison of the data from the general farms growing small and 

 large acreages of clover respectively shows that the larger acreage of 

 legumes has decreased the loss of nitrogen but has increased the drain on 

 the phosphorus and potassium. This is what would be expected since 

 a large proportion of the hay was sold. However, only three more tons 

 of hay were sold from the general farm than from the dairy farm carry- 

 ing 20 cows but feeding silage. If the second cutting were turned under 



