FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



they can be cut at a later stage of ma- 

 turity and still make a high quality hay. 



What ^'s the Effect of Time of Cutting 

 on the Longevity of the Stand and Its 

 Invasion by Grasses? — It has been known 

 for many years that very early cutting 

 weakens the stand. All experiments 

 agree on this point. Joe Wing, pioneer 

 Ohio alfalfa grower, wrote many year.s 

 ago, "It is better to cut it a few days 

 too late than a few days too early," and 

 cited observations of the diastrous effect 

 of early cutting on the stand. The 

 earliest stage at which alfalfa can be cut 

 without serious injury is not clear. The 

 limit seems to be at about the tenth bloom 

 stage. Many experiments show no in- 

 jury to the stand from long continued 

 cutting at this stage. Others show a 

 slight but definite injury, and only one 

 experiment shows serious injury. 



Late cutting has not injui'ed the stand 

 no matter how long the alfalfa has been 

 left. We may conclude on this point that 

 alfalfa should not be cut earlier than the 

 tenth bloom stage and that there is a 

 possibility that cutting continously at this 

 stage may slightly weaken the stand, al- 

 though it is not likely to be serious within 

 two to foui' years. 



What About the Shoots at the Crown? 

 — No carefully conducted experiments 

 have shown any injury to alfalfa from 

 cutting the shoots at the base of the 

 plant. Many writers have claimed that 

 cutting alfalfa late enough so that the 

 shoots at the base are long enough to 

 be cut off by the mowing machine delays 

 the next crop and reduces the yield, but 

 no proof of such a statement has been 

 found. There is no relation between the 

 appearance of these shoots and the 

 proper time of cutting alfalfa for hay. 

 They do not all appear at once but over 

 a considerable period of time, from May 

 15 until the latter part of .June. By 

 June 10 almost any alfalfa plants will 

 show them in all stages of growth. 



It is hardly reasonable to expect that 

 the longer of these .shoots will injure the 

 alfalfa when there are dozens of other 

 buds available to take their places, and 

 no such injury appears. After the first 

 cutting the appearance of these shoots is 

 at least partly related to moisture con- 

 ditions and bears no necessary relation 

 to the stage of growth of the alfalfa. 

 The shoots .should be ignored or given 

 very minor consideration in deciding 

 when to cut alfalfa. 



Other Factors Affecting the Time of 

 Cutting. — The later alfalfa is cut for hay, 

 the more easily the hay may be cui-ed be- 

 cause the more mature alfalfa contains 

 less water than young alfalfa. Al.so, at 

 the time of making the fir.st cutting, 

 u.sually in June, haymaking conditions 

 are beginning to improve and become 

 more favorable as the season progresses. 



Alfalfa which has been stunted or in- 



jured in any way should always be cut. 

 Obtaining experimental evidence on this 

 point is .somewhat diflScult, but the prac- 

 tical experience of farmers and all other 

 evidence obtainable bears it out. If, for 

 example, a late freeze kills the tops of 

 alfalfa, it is better to cut it so that new 

 shoots can start from the crown than 

 ; to allow the.se injui-ed shoots to continue 

 to develop. Alfalfa frequently becomes 

 yellow and seems to stand still. The yel- 

 lowing .sometimes due to attacks of al- 

 falfa leaf spot and .sometimes to other 

 conditions not well understood. What- 

 ever the cause, the alfalfa should be cut 

 as soon as the yellow condition is ap- 

 parent because its growth has practically 

 stopped. The next cutting will frequent- 

 ly come on free fi'om yellowing. 



Practical Recommendations. — It is clear 

 that quality of hay and longevity of stand 

 are somewhat oppo.sed to each other, so 

 that the man who wants the highest feed- 

 ing value will cut somewhat earlier than 

 the man who is particularly interested in 

 maintaining his stand for a long period. 

 Since the decrease in per cent of leaves 

 and feeding value from one stage to an- 

 other is much more rapid at the first cut- 

 ting than at any subsequent cutting it 

 would seem that one desirable way to ob- 

 tain the highest possible quality with the 

 least damage to the stand would be to 

 make the fir.st cutting early and the other 

 cutting at a somewhat later stage. This 

 has not been experimentally proven, and 

 the unfavorable weather and competition 

 of other work about June l.st may tend 

 to prevent carrying out this plan. 



The earlier one cuts alfalfa the better 

 the quality of hay; the later it is cut 

 up to full bloom, the longer the stand will 

 last. A good general rule is to cut when 

 it is from a tenth to a quarter in bloom. 

 Never cut before bloom or after full 

 bloom, unless forced to by accidents. 



The presence of the shoots at the base 

 .should be largely if not entirely disre- 

 garded in considering the time to cut. 

 The stand will not be injured by clipping 

 these shoots. It is not necessary or de- 

 sirable to cut alfalfa high. The ordinary 

 setting of the mowing machine leaves 

 ample crown for reproduction. 



At least three cuttings of alfalfa should 

 be secured everywhere in Ohio in an 

 ordinary season and usually not more 

 than four .should be made anywhere in 

 the .state. 



The last cutting should be made early 

 enough so that the alfalfa goes into the 

 winter with a growth of at lea.st 6 to 8 

 inches. This means that the last cutting 

 .should come about September 1.5 in the 

 northern part of the state and before 

 September 30 in the .southern part. 



Regardless of other signs, cut alfalfa 

 when it is injured by spring freezes or 

 appears badly yellowed from any cause. 

 — C. J. Witliard, Ohio Crop Talks. 



Are You Near-Sighted? 



Some people are near-sighted 

 mentally. We often call this trait 

 "thrift" when we find it in our- 

 selves, but u.sually call it "penny- 

 wise, pound-foolish," when we see it 

 in others. 



Big producing spring cows on 

 good pasture need grain — not to 

 make milk but to keep in flesh. The 

 succulent feed stimulates milk pro- 

 duction without supplying in suffi- 

 cient 'luantity all the ingredients 

 with which to make the milk. The 

 cow makes the milk from her own 

 body tissues, and gets thin doing it. 



By graining big producing spring- 

 cows on good pasture — just enough 

 to keep them in flesh, — the big flow 

 of milk is secured and the cow re- 

 mains in good condition. As the 

 summer heat affects the grass fed 

 cows by cutting down on their 

 pasture, the supply of milk is 

 greatly lessened and the price on 

 milk rises, the grain conditioned 

 cow maintains her flow of milk and 

 the feeder secures a greater share 

 of the higher price than does the 

 non-feeder. 



By fall and early winter, when 

 the grass fed spring cow is a strip- 

 per and the price of milk is at the 

 top, the spring cow which has been 

 kept in flesh throughout the sum- 

 mer with a carefully selected grain 

 ration makes a good quantity of 

 milk on which her owner secures 

 the top price. In other words, it is 

 the last six months of the spring- 

 cow's ten month lactation period 

 that the spring cow makes profits 

 for her owner, and the spring cow 

 which is nearly dry after the first 

 few months is a losing proposition. 



On good pasture comparatively 

 little grain is needed but that little 

 is badly needed, and should be care- 

 fully selected. The Eastern States 

 Farmers' Exchange is selecting the 

 b3st of ingredients for summer 

 feeding, and is blending them in ac- 

 cordance with the latest recommen- 

 dations of the dairy experts who 

 formulate all its stock feed rations. 



Some farmers who grain their 

 cows during the summer attempt to 

 carry them along on cheap feeds. 

 This is an expensive proposition be- 

 cause it takes so much more cheap 

 feed — feed containing oat mill by- 

 products, .screenings and the like — 

 to supply the cow's needs than it 

 does good feed that these farmers 

 have to do a lot of unnecessary 

 trucking during their busiest sea- 

 son. Furthermore, per unit of 

 feeding value, high quality feeds 

 cost less money. Be sure to supply 

 your spring cows all summer with 

 Ea.stern States grain. It will pay 

 you to follow this policy as it is 

 paying others. Don't be "penny- 

 wise, pound-foolish" on this impor- 

 tant question. 



EostcFugtatcs fVu'niGi's Exchange 



A no II -stork, non-profit orc^nnizii- 



tion o^rned and controlled by the 



fnrmers it serves. 



Sprinjjifielfl, 



Massachusetts 



