762 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



laxative, cooling effect upon the digestive tract. One to two pounds 

 will improve any ration. Old processed, rather than new, should 

 be purchased, as it has a higher feeding value. 



Alfalfa Feeds: There are many alfalfa feeds on the market and, 

 while they are palatable, most of them are expensive from the stand- 

 point of nutrients contained. 



IOWA HAYS AND THEIR VALUE. 



Alfalfa: It is conceded by practically all that alfalfa is the very 

 best hay that can be fed to dairy animals. It is rather rich in valu- 

 able nutrients, very palatable, has a good effect upon the system, 

 and, as it can be grown upon any Iowa farm, it is a very economical 

 feed to help balance the corn and silage ration. In 1912 the field 

 on the college farm yielded 7.03 tons of field cured hay per acre. 



Clover: This is an excellent hay and is second to alfalfa in all 

 the points brought out above. Care should be taken to cut it at 

 the right stage of maturity for best results. 



Oats and Canada Field Pea Hay: This makes an excellent sub- 

 stitute for alfalfa and clover hay where the acreage of these crops 

 is too small to supply the dairy herd. Excellent results have been 

 secured at the college dairy farm from sowing 1 1-2 bushels of oats 

 and 1 1-2 bushels of Canada field peas per acre. These are best 

 sown with a grain drill, sowing the peas first, and deeper, than the 

 oats. To make the best hay it should be cut when just passing 

 from the milk to dough stage. 



Timothy: While timothy is grown upon nearly every Iowa farm 

 and has a high value as a feed for horses, it should not have a 

 place in the ration of the dairy cow. It lacks the nutrients which 

 the milk producing cow and young, growing animals must have; 

 in addition, it is not very palatable and has a binding effect on the 

 digestive system instead of the beneficial effect of alfalfa or clover. 

 The composition table previously given shows that a ton of alfalfa 

 hay contains about four times as much digestible protein as tim- 

 othy, and seven or eight times as much ash or mineral matter. The 

 man who has only timothy hay for his cows had best sell a por- 

 tion of it and purchase with the proceeds alfalfa or clover hay and 

 next season get started growing one of the other hay crops. 



Straw, corn stover, etc., should not be fed in large quantities as 

 the sole roughage, but the cows will oftentimes relish small quanti- 

 ties if fed in addition to their silage and alfalfa or clover hay. 



SILAGE AND ITS EFFICIENCY. 

 No dairy farm is complete in its equipment without at least one 

 silo for winter feeding and one with a smaller diameter for summer 

 feeding. The characteristics of good corn silage make it pre- 

 eminently a feed for dairy cattle. It is palatable, succulent, bulky, 

 beneficial to the digestive tract, and economical. These are all 

 essential characteristics of the ration which is essential to the 

 largest and most economical flow of milk. Most dairy farmers 

 in the corn belt realize that to secure the largest possible profits from 

 a herd of cows they must feed corn silage. In regions where corn 

 cannot be grown successfully for silage, mg,ny dairy men have 

 silos in which they cure other crops. 



