WHAT IS GOOD PASTURE 87 



acres " may make as good a return as do the higher-priced tilled 

 lands. 



What is Good Pasture? — A first-class pasture furnishes the 

 cheapest means of growing livestock. Grazing provides a way 

 of utilizing the feed on the cheaper lands which otherwise could 

 not be harvested. Often the older, properly managed pastures 

 are the most profitable acres on the farm, as the labor cost of 

 pasture management is very low. An acre of good pasture may 

 yield 200 to 450 pounds of prime beef per season. 



When the value of pasture land is estimated, the yield per 

 unit of surface, or of a type, is often considered without special 

 reference to the palatability and quality of the vegetation. 

 Generally the quahty of the feed is quite as important as is the 

 yield per acre. 



The true value of a pasture is best based on its ability to pro- 

 duce mutton, beef, milk, or other animal products. It is de- 

 sirable, though difficult, to ascertain the " net available nu- 

 trients " produced per acre or for the pasture as a whole. Some 

 of the points to be considered in judging the value of a pasture 

 are: 



(i) Density, palatability, and digestibihty of the plant 

 cover and the permanency of the stand. The density, pala- 

 tability, and digestibility factors determine the amount and 

 nutrient value of the forage relished by stock. Permanency of 

 the cover has to do with the character of the vegetation, whether 

 it consists of a long-lived hardy perennial cover like Kentucky 

 bluegrass, of biennial forms like sweet clover, or of annual plants 

 such as rape or millet. 



(2) Distance the animals must travel to obtain food and 

 water. Animals in high condition of flesh, or those producing an 

 abundance of milk, are not found where they must travel far 

 for food and water any more than they are seen on lean pastures. 



(3) The earliness of the feed and its ability to carry the stock 

 through the normal grazing season. The time at which the 

 different forms of plant life begin growth in the spring varies 

 appreciably and often detennines the time at which the forage 

 is available for spring grazing. Sodgrasses, though not neces- 



