528 



IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



needed for a flock of ewes of this size and that the bucks will require 

 ahout the same feed as the ewes. It will therefore be safe to figure on a 

 permanent flock of about 136 ew^es and 3 bucks. 



ACREAGE OF CROPS TO BE GROWN FOR FEED. 



In replanning this farm as a sheep farm only such crops will be grown 

 as the sheep and other live stock require. The acreages devoted to each 

 of the crops of hay, pasture, oats, and corn are easily determined by multi- 

 plying the amount of each crop required for one ewe and her lamb, as 

 shown in Table 2, by the total number of mature sheep kept on the place, 

 or 139, and adding these results to the acreages required by the fixed stock 

 as shown in Table 1. In the following table these calculations are made: 



TvVBLE 3. — Acreage reqtiirecl for the maintenance of 139 sheep and for the 



fixed stock. 



Kind of Feed Required 



Area re- 

 quired 

 fori 

 sheep 



Area re 

 quired 



for 

 whole 

 flock 



Area re- 

 quired 

 for flxea 

 stock 



iTotal 



arta of 



each 



crop 



grown 



Corn ... 

 Oats __.. 

 Hay — 

 Pasture 



Total acreage required 



0.021 

 .016 

 .113 

 .250 



2.919 



6.394 



15. 707 



31.750 



6.730 

 1.030 

 4.190 



9.65 



7.43 



19.90 



34.75 



71.73 



The last column of the above table shows that to meet the requirements 

 of the sheep and fixed stock on the farm there should be grown each 

 year about 9h acres of corn, 7^ acres of oats, 20 acres of hay, and 35 

 acres of pasture, or 72 acres in all. In addition to the 8 acres of land 

 devoted to buildings, orchard, garden, and permanent pasture for cows and 

 colts. 



ROTATION TO BE FOLLOWED. 



For all practical purposes, these 72 acres might be divided into four 

 18-acre fields and a four-year rotation adopted as follows: (1) Corn and 

 oats (10 acres of corn, 8 acres of oats, and the whole field seeded to clover 

 and timothy), (2) hay, (3) pasture, and (4) pasture. This rotation would 

 supply each year 10 acres of corn, 8 acres of oats, 18 acres of hay, and 

 36 acres of pasture, which is practically what is needed by the stock kept. 



This rotation calls for the seeding of clover in the corn at the last 

 cultivation. Should the catch fail, a mixture of oats and field peas will 

 be sown on the corn land the following spring and cut for hay. A mix- 

 ture .of clover and grasses should be seeded with the peas and oats to fur- 

 nish pasture the following season. 



Another rotation and arrangement of fields which would meet the 

 needs of the sheep as regards crops and pasture would be as follows: 

 (1) Nine acres of corn, (2) 9 acres of oats, (3) 9 acres of mixed clover 

 hay, (4) 9 acres of mixed clover hay, and (5) four 9-acre fields of perm- 

 anent or semipermanent pasture. The objection to this plan is the in- 

 creased liability to stomach-worm diseases resulting from too long con- 

 tinued pasturing on the same fields. 



