Alfalfa in Kansas. 



77 



' ' TABLE No. 5. Percentage of growers storing in stack, in shed or in mow. 



As may be determined from Table No. 5, more than two-thirds of 

 the growers reporting from the western third of the state stack their 

 hay, and less than one-third of them store it in the shed or the mow; in 

 the central third of the state growers are evenly divided on the point; 

 while in the eastern third of the state the conditions of the western 

 third are reversed that is, two-thirds of the growers store in the shed 

 or the mow and only one-third store in the stack. The reason for this 

 variation probably lies in the difference in the annual rainfall of the 

 regions mentioned. Taking the state as a whole, 54 per cent of the 

 growers reporting store their alfalfa hay in the shed or the mow. Grow- 

 ers seem inclined to give better protection to hay intended for the market 

 than they give to the hay which is to be fed on the farm. Reporters, 

 living mostly in the eastern half of the state, estimate that the loss in 

 feeding value to hay stored in the open is from 10 to 50 per cent, averag- 

 ing 29 per cent, or nearly one-third. Further discussion of loss in 

 feeding value through exposure to the sun and the rain may be found 

 on pages 245, 259 and 457. 



Growers differ widely in their opinions about the economy of the shed 

 or mow, as compared with the economy of the stack, as a place for stor- 

 ing alfalfa hay. Here are some expressions greatly favoring shed and 

 mow storage : 



Brown county: "I have lost enough hay by stacking and feeding out- 

 side to pay for a 24 by 80 ft. shed in two seasons." 



Cherokee county : "You will save enough to build sheds in a few years 

 by storing inside." 



Geary county: "Save in two years the cost of a barn." 



Geary county: "My shed is fifteen years old. I believe it has saved 

 its cost twice or more." 



Jefferson county: "Sheds will pay for themselves in three years' 

 time." 



. Miami county: "If we should stack hay outside we would lose enough 

 in one year to pay for building sheds for all the hay we have." 



Montgomery county: "Sheds pay total cost in this section in three 

 years." 



Doniphan county: "Do not advise stacking, because you lose enough 

 hay in a year to pay for a barn." 



Labette county: "Hay stored in sheds will spoil only from being put 

 in too green or damp. Uncovered stacks will often lose one-third of the 

 hay from taking water. In a wet season sheds will pay cost the first 

 year." 



