412 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



weigh 600 pounds at one year of age, gain 200 pounds on grass, 200 

 pounds as yearlings and 200 pounds the summer when they were two- 

 year-olds, making them weigh 1200 pounds when approximately 30 

 months old, instead of at an age of 48 months when they are wintered 

 without alfalfa. The result is that the use of alfalfa as a roughage dur- 

 ing winter will eliminate from 12 to 18 months time in bringing a steer 

 up to a weight of 1200 pounds, as compared with an attempt to develop 

 him on other nonleguminous roughages which do not permit of an in- 

 crease in live weight during winter. 



When fattening cattle on corn and alfalfa hay, as compared with 

 corn and prairie hay, or corn and timothy, the use .of alfalfa results in 

 more rapid gains, higher dressing percentages, higher selling value, 

 and a carcass which is more acceptable because of better distribution 

 of fat within the muscle and more even distribution of covering of the 

 entire carcass. In the feed lot alfalfa furnishes a portion of the protein 

 usually purchased in the form of linseed or cottonseed meal, thus re- 

 ducing the expense of the ration without influencing the behavior of the 

 cattle adversely. 



There is considerable difference of opinion among the cattle feeders 

 as to the comparative feeding value of alfalfa hay cut in different stages 

 of growth and cured in such manner as to secure the various shades of 

 color, such as pea-green, dark, and brown alfalfa. Undoubtedly the best 

 grade of alfalfa hay for fattening cattle would be that which comes 

 from the fourth cutting and is cured in such manner as to classify as 

 pea-green alfalfa hay. This cutting is usually more palatable, has less 

 fiber in it and carries a larger percentage of leaves than any other cut- 

 ting. The second choice among the cattle feeders is for what is usually 

 termed brown alfalfa. This grade comes from stacking the hay before 

 it is thoroughly cured, with the result that it heats and turns brown in 

 the stack. Apparently this method of curing softens the fiber and re- 

 tains practically all the leaves that are on the hay. On account of its 

 containing such a large percentage of moisture it is usually not profit- 

 able for cattlemen to purchase this hay by weight, but rather by meas- 

 ure. These two grades of hay should be very largely used for finishing 

 cattle for market. The lower grades from the first, second and third 

 cuttings can be used for the maintenance of breeding cattle or for 

 roughing stockers and feeders through the winter. 



During the past two years there has been a considerable quantity of 

 alfalfa all over the state that has been badly damaged by rains at har- 

 vest. The result has been that the only method of securing a market for 

 this hay was to purchase thin cattle and allow them access to all of the 

 hay they will eat during the winter. While there are no experimental 

 results which indicate the true value of this hay, yet the results secured 

 under practical conditions indicate that the apparent damage is very 

 much greater than the real damage to its feeding quality. During the 

 winters of 1913-'14 and 1914-'15 the Hays Station used damaged alfalfa 

 and kafir stover for wintering mature cattle with excellent results. 

 Both of these feeds were in such condition that little or no commercial 

 value could have been given to them in that section of the state. 



