46 



MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Table 6. — Comparison of the quantities of digestible nutrients produced from 

 harvested crops and pasturage at the yields indicated 



Crop 



Cereals: 



Corti ears... ._ 



Corn, whole plant as silage. 



B arley '. _ . . 



Oats 



Wheat - 



Forage plants: 



Alfalfa 



Sweetclover 



Lespedeza 



Clover and timothy 



Grains cut green 



Yields per acre of- 



Concen- 

 trates 



Bushels 

 28.4 



22.7 

 31.7 

 14.0 



Roughage ^ 



Tons 



0.85 



5.64 



.82 



.94 



.63 



2.07 

 1.19 

 1.04 

 1.25 

 1.05 



Total digestible nutri- 

 ents 1 when- 



Harvested 



Pounds 

 1,908 

 1,974 

 1,551 

 1,588 

 1,111 



2,252 

 1,226 

 1,086 

 1,200 

 1,029 



Grazed 



Poundt 



1,666 

 907 

 804 



1 Based on analyses of feeds and the coefficients of digestibility by Ellis, Kauflman, and Miller. 

 Yearbook of Agriculture, U. S. Departnient of Agriculture. 

 ' 60 percent edible. 



1939 



QUALITY OF MEAT FROM LIVESTOCK FATTENED ON GRASS 



Results of studies on the effects of grass in the ration, on meat 

 quahty, point strongly to the possibility of cheapenmg production 

 costs by making greater use of pastures in the fattening of livestock. 



A summary of 10 experiments conducted for several years in cooper- 

 ation with the Louisiana, Virginia, and West Virginia Agricultural 

 Experiment Stations showed that beef from 2- and 3-year-old cattle 

 fattened on good pasture alone was very similar in palatability to 

 beef from cattle fed grain while on grass. The greatest differences 

 were in aroma, flavor of fat, and in richness and quantity of juice, the 

 beef from the grain-fed animals being superior, but the differences were 

 small. The grain-fed cattle had a higher dressing percentage and 

 w^ere somewhat fatter. The similarity in tenderness and general 

 palatability of the beef from the two methods of feeding indicated 

 that grass as a feed does not necessarily produce beef of low grade. 

 It appears that lack of finish or gain due to poor or insufficient pas- 

 ture is often the cause of the low^ quality that is sometimes attributed 

 to the use of grass. In another series of experiments conducted in 

 cooperation wdth the Virginia station, the yellower fat of cattle finished 

 on good bluegrass pasture was found to have a higher vitamin A 

 potency than the fat of similar cattle finished on corn with cottonseed 

 meal and mixed hay. 



The meat of suckling lambs produced on good pasture has been 

 found as satisfactory from the standpoint of both fatness and palata- 

 bility as that from suckling lambs which received a supplement of 

 grain on pasture. 



INFLUENCE OF PASTURES ON HEALTH OF LIVESTOCK 



Fresh green pasturage grown on fertile soil provides in a palat- 

 able form most of the substances required for perfect nutrition. 

 Pasturage is rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins. It is valuable 



