TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 151 



cost of producing beef than any other one thing. Under present conditions, 

 the pasture is the last place to receive attention. It scarcely ever receives 

 a coating of manure, it Is usually overstocked, and is almost always pas- 

 tured too early in the spring and too late in the fall. The result is that 

 the grass becomes weakened or hide-bound, and of course falls an easy prpy 

 to weeds. 



The remedy is to allow some grass to grow in the fall to afford winter 

 protection, to keep the cattle off in the spring until the sod is well formed, 

 to disk or drill in a mixture of red clover, alsike clover and perhaps a lit- 

 tle alfalfa and timothy Avhen the sod needs thickening, and to give a thin 

 coating of manure every few years. By following the above method, our 

 pastures can be made to produce much more than they do at present, and 

 the cost of beef produced would be correspondingly. 



It is a dertiment both to cattle and pasture to allow cattle to tramp 

 over pastures in early spring. Under average farm conditions the months 

 of March, April and May are the hardest months of the year to keep stock 

 cattle thriving. At this time the dry feed is distasteful and the cattle 

 consume it under protest. They are continually on the lookout for green 

 feed, and are usually turned on grass as soon as they can get a nibble. 

 As a result, the grass is eaten close, the roots fail to develop, and when 

 the hot spell comes on there is little protection, and the pasture becomes 

 weedy and hide-bound. The best way to tide over this period is to feed 

 silage, and the average producer of beef cattle will derive more benefit 

 from silage during March, April and May than any other season of the 

 year. He should always keep enough silage on hand to have an abundant 

 supply at this time. By so doing he can keep his cattle off of the pasture 

 unitl the watery stage of the grass is past, and then can turn his cattle 

 on grass without scouring or shrinkage. 



The past two years have forcibly called our attention to another period 

 when the pasture needs help, and that is during the latter part of July 

 and August, or during the dry, hot period of summer. Cheap beef pro- 

 duction demands that some provision be made for this period. The sum- 

 mer silo, or some forage crop such as sweet corn, fed at this time will 

 keep cattle thriving and at the same time give the pasture a lift over a 

 hard place. 



Beef production in Iowa demands that greater care and attention be 

 given to home-grown protein in the form of red clover, alsike clover and 

 alfalfa. "We ought to get two good crops of red clover instead of one, and 

 could ordinarily if the red clover was cut at the right time, or when 

 about one-third of the blossoms are beginning to turn brown. If cut at 

 this time, the new growth springs up fresh and vigorous, and a second 

 crop is generally assured. Alsike clover should be sown in low, wet 

 places in both pastures and meadows. It will grow in places too wet for 

 either alfalfa or red clover. Alfalfa should be grown wherever possible. 

 In this connection, it is gratifying to note that alfalfa is more extensively 

 grown and more successfully grown every year. The farmer in the corn 

 belt who can grow alfalfa successfully will have little trouble in produc- 

 ing beef profitably. 



