138 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 March, 1916. 



SURPLUS LUCERNE HAY. 



By Temple A . J. Smith, Chief Field Officer. 



Recent complaints by growers, that present prices for lucerne hay, 

 viz., £4 per ton, are not sufficiently remunerative, open up the 

 question as to whether the most profitable method of disposing the 

 crop, is to place it on the market in lai'ge quantities in seasons of 

 plenty when there is an abundance of lucerne, oaten and wheaten hay, 

 and natural grasses. 



The purchaser of hay from the grower buys to make a profit on the 

 material handled, a profit that the grower himself should be able to 

 pocket, provided he goes the right way about it. This fact has been 

 realized by farmers in other parts of the world, with the result that 

 hay and grain is fed to stock of various kinds on the farms on an 

 enormously greater scale than is the case in this State. Taking the 

 maize crops of the United States, America, as an instance, we find that 

 no less than 75 per cent, of the crop is fed on the farm, only 3 per 

 cent, is exported, and the balance, 22 per cent., fed to horses, &c., in 

 the city, and this in the largest maize-producing country in the world. 

 It is obvious that all fodders carry a certain food value, which varies 

 from time to time, according to the prices of beef, pork, milk, &c., and 

 the owner of such fodders should make it his business to ascertain when 

 and where it pays him best, to either sell in the open market, or utilize 

 his material at home. 



There is an immediate saving in feedine fodder on the farm, in that, 

 the cost of baling, wire, carting to rail, trucking, commission, &c., is 

 avoided — ^these items alone amounting to 25s. to 30s. per ton on 

 lucerne hay, and proportionally on other crops. Added to this inferior 

 hay of bad colour, or poorlv-harvested hay, which might be almost 

 unsaleable, could be turned into money through stock feeding, which 

 might otherwise be an absolute loss. Further, the more stock the farm 

 can be made to turn off, the more manure will be available, thus keeping 

 up the standard of fertility of the land and increasing the reputation of 

 the farm as a money producer, and a higher value per acre would 

 naturally follow. 



Lucerne, properly speaking, should not be fed by itself to secure the 

 best results, but should be supplemented with grain, bran, pollard, or 

 concentrates of some kind in order to make up a balance ration for 

 especial purposes. When lucerne hay is used for pigs, it should also 

 be ground fine to prevent waste, and to aid digestibility should be 

 softened by soaking in water. 



Feeding for Pork. — The following results of experimental feeding 

 for pork give a useful idea as to the quantities required and the com- 

 parative values when fed to various kinds of stock. 



Approximately, 14 lbs. of lucerne will make 1 lb. of pork when 

 fed to pigs, consequently 2,240 lbs. of lucerne will produce 160 lbs. of 

 pork, which, at 6d. per lb., gives a return of £4 per ton for the hay 

 on the farm, equivalent to £5 10s. on the market after all costs of 

 baling, freight, &c., have been deducted. When prices for pork reach 



