472 Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



ment. Besides vast areas of "underflow" land, where irrigation is seldom 

 or never needed, there are some hundreds of irrigating plants. Under 

 these unusually favorable conditions it is not strange that the farmers 

 are often willing to sell the crop entire. 



In this connection there are other points to consider, one of which is 

 the selling value. Corn has a great range in selling value, and last year 

 reached the handsome figure of $28.57 per ton. Alfalfa, likewise, has 

 had selling values varying all the way from $6.50 to $17 per ton. Be 

 that as it may, we are told that when alfalfa hay is intelligently fed to 

 a good class of market animals it has an average feed value of not less 

 than $21 per ton. This conclusion is not hazarded on the cost price of the 

 feeds, but instead is based on the selling prices of the animals produced 

 by correct feeding, the same disposed of on the general market. Before 

 selling alfalfa hay from the farm the farmer should reckon the profits 

 to be made from feeding it. 



No one for a moment questions the permanency of the growing de- 

 mand for alfalfa in its various forms. On the farm it is in increasing 

 demand as a pasture, most especially for hogs and for poultry, and 

 regularly supplies a fair amount of winter pasture for horses as we 

 more nearly approach the western border of our state. 



As a roughage it is preeminently the best, outranking by far any 

 other roughage that is to be used alone, and in addition combines best of 

 all with the various available grains and chopped feeds for the finishing 

 or heavy feeding of grain-fed animals. 



As a base for condimental stock foods it is practically never over- 

 looked. Its absorbent powers commend it highly as a base for molasses 

 and other liquid or semiliquid substances, and its chemical content is in 

 pleasing contrast to the great majority of materials available for such 

 manufacture, which explains the tremendous demand for first-class al- 

 falfa to be sent to the manufactories. 



With the above advantages, alfalfa stands very high in its encourage- 

 ment of a desirable husbandry. It also is a great help in supplying con- 

 stancy of labor at home, thus enabling the farmer to keep competent help 

 regularly occupied. For these and other reasons, but particularly be- 

 cause of the encouragement of animal husbandry, alfalfa as a farm 

 crop ranks at the top, from a farm management point of view. (See 

 "Profits," in index.) 



I had one bottom field that made me over $30 profit per acre last year, 

 and some have done even better. I think much of alfalfa. A Bourbon 

 county correspondent. 



From a recent farm-management survey, the Wisconsin College of 

 Agriculture concludes : "That alfalfa is a profitable crop is shown by the 

 fact that the farms that grow it are making large profits. This is illus- 

 trated by the following figures taken in connection with our farm-man- 

 agement work: 



377 farms growing alfalfa made a profit of $1200 per farm. 



511 farms with no alfalfa made a profit of $728 per farm." 



Hoard's Dairyman. 



