108 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



As your calf is presumably not pure-bred and therefore has only 

 potential beef value, we would take the $5 and sell the extra hay or 

 feed it to a heifer calf. 



Pasturing or Rack Feeding? 



Can I get better results from pasturing dairy cozes on the alfalfa 

 or by cutting the alfalfa green and feeding it in the corral? 



This question has been much discussed and the arguments have 

 favored corral feeding or soiling. Aside from the fact that feeding in 

 the racks makes a lot of extra work, due to the daily hauling from 

 the field and the extra time spent in mowing small amounts at a 

 time, there is no objection, so far as we know, to that system, while 

 the practice of pasturing has a number of objections; namely it is a 

 bad thing for the alfalfa, as the sha'rp hoofs of the cows cut the 

 crowns, etc.; there is waste in pasturing due to tramping. Another 

 objection is that cows are lost often in pasturing, through the bloat, 

 which seldom happens when green alfalfa is fed in corrals. The 

 common practice is to cure a part of every crop cut, and feed the 

 balance in the above manner, to have good feed the year round. 



Feeding Conditions of Sorghum Fodder. 



Please tell me when to cut sorghum for fodder. What will be 

 the feeding value of dry fodder for milch cows? 



Sorghum may be cut for fodder any time after the seeds are in 

 the early milk stage. At this period of growth the fodder is most 

 palatable to stock and contains a fair proportion of dry matter. If it 

 is left standing until nearly matured a larger yield of feed materials 

 will be obtained per acre, but the fodder will be somewhat less 

 digestible than when cut earlier. The largest amount of digestible 

 matter from an acre will, however, in general be secured when the 

 kernels are in the dough. The reason why sorghum is always left to 

 mature before being siloed is that it will make a very acid silage if 

 cut before this period, owing to the relatively large proportion of 

 sugar and other readily fermentable carbohydrates which the plants 

 contain at the earlier stages of growth. 



The feeding value of dry sorghum fodder will depend on the 

 stage at which it is cut and the care with which it is cured. We may 

 assume as a general proposition that such fodder is worth perhaps 

 two-thirds that of grain hay. But for the fact that the relatively thick 

 stems contain considerable water (30 to 40 per cent) there is no 

 reason to believe that it would have a lower feeding value, ton for 

 ton, than hay from the common grasses or cereals. F. W. W. 



Falling off in Milk with Good Feeding. 



We have been feeding a ration of about one pound of cane molasses, 

 tivo founds of cocoa meal, one pound rolled barley, and three pounds 

 alfalfa hay, chopped by a silage cutter. We have been milking about 



