450 



IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



PROFITABLE PASTURES FOR PORK PRODUCTION. 



IOWA EXPERIMENT STATION, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY SECTION. 



Spring Pigs of Current Year. 



Forage 



or 

 Pasture 



lbs. 



Feed Re- 



(luired for 



a hundred 



pounds 



gain 



_ =3 



m p 



a u 



ttJ o 



lbs. lbs. 



o 





a; O 

 S5 



Bluegrass amd timothy-- 

 Bluegrass and white 



clover 



Alfalfa 



.\Ifalfa 



Red clover 



Red clover 



Rape 



Rape 



Rape 



Rape 



Rape 



Sweet clover first year's 



growth 



180 

 ISO 

 190 

 141 

 141 

 141 

 160 

 160 

 160 

 160 



IGl 



206 

 152; 

 215 

 158 



1S8 

 194 

 169 

 178 

 184 

 183 



182 



.64 

 .94 

 .85 

 1.13 

 1.10 

 .81 

 .93 

 .96 

 .90 



1.02 



380 



328 

 398 

 S2S 

 371 

 299 

 293 

 388 

 316 

 311 

 309' 



314 



13 



44 

 none 



24 

 none 



35 



34 



none 



25 

 38 

 44 



25 



$4.09 



4.06 

 3.46 

 3.'.50 

 3.71 

 3.84 

 3.79 

 3.25 

 3.64 

 3.88 

 4.00 



3.70 



$ 31.85 



74.50 



75.6 



91.0 



^Beginning 1912 corn graim asi fed on the cob is charged at 49o for 56 pounds, this 

 allowing the hogs a cent for shelling as compared to other years. 



tHay credited at $10 a ton, respectively 2329, and 1880 pounds to the acre. If pro- 

 portionate production charge is made on basis of the hay eaten by hogs, as compared 

 to plot not harvested partly by them we have costs running respectively $3.65 and $3.62. 

 Briefly the basis is to charge hogs simply with hay they eat (Supposed the field costs 

 .$10.75 an acre, and yields 5 tons normally,— but hogs on same eat 4 tons of this; charge 

 them four-fifths of .$10.75) plus loss of approximately 3 per cent due to shattering and 

 soiling of remaining hay and the extra labor and machinery costs necessitated in mowing, 

 raking and loading to insure upkeep of alfalfa hog pasture. 



§Oredits corn with all profits after paying for forage aod supplement. 



That alfalfa, red clover, rape, blue grass and sweet clover (in the first 

 year of its growth) are presented in this table to the exclusion of the 

 other forages means that these are really the standard hog forage crops of 

 the Corn Belt. We have placed blue grass first on the table because this is 

 the most common pasture grass, not because of superiority. Blue grass is 

 a most, excellent pasture especially when combined with clover, having 

 the advantage of coming early and staying late, but having the very 

 serious- disadvantage of drying up when pasture is most needed, namely, 

 during the dry, hot days of July and August. 



That blue grass should be improved by the addition of clover as com- 

 pared to timothy is manifest. Timothy added to the blue grass pasture 

 is not to be commended. Timothy tends to widen the ration when it 

 should bo narrowed and furnishes additional crude fibre when less is in 

 order. 



