MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 347 



AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND FARM MANAGEMENT 

 A. H. Lindsey in Charge 



A study of Pasture Improvement and Soil Management Practices in Mass- 

 achusetts in Relation to Dairy Farm Organization. (C. R. Creek and D. C. 

 Plastridge.) The results of this project were reported originally on a "type- 

 of-farming area" basis to the cooperating agencies in Washington. In order to 

 make the material more useful to the farmers of the State and to the Extension 

 Service in the various counties, the data from the 113 farm records were retab- 

 ulated and analyzed on a county basis. Copies of these reports were given to the 

 farmers who cooperated in this project by supplying information on pasture 

 treatment and farm organization. The results were also used by the extension 

 specialists in county meetings on pasture management. 



The years in which the seeded pastures were first treated ranged from 1920 

 to 1936, but the greater number of farmers began an intensive system of pasture 

 treatment after 1929. The following table shows the number of farms and acres 

 of each treatment for initial improvement of seeded pasture. 



Seeded Fertilized Limed 



County Farms Acres Farms Acres Farms Acres 



Berkshire 22 354.3 21 346.3 12 154.8 



Franklin 10 115.0 10 115.0 6 58.0 



Hampshire 13 286.0 12 268.0 8 86.0 



Hampden 14 80.8 12 72.8 10 69.5 



Worcester 13 215.5 13 215.5 9 93.5 



Essex 5 44.5 5 44.5 3 14.0 



Middlesex 7 178.8 7 176.5 4 134.0 



Norfolk 2 29.0 2 29.0 2 29.0 



Bristol 3 29.1 3 21.7 3 23.4 



Plymouth 4 34.5 4 34.5 2 17.5 



Total 93 1367,5 89 1323.8 59 679.7 



Prepared seeding mixtures for hayland and pasture, as well as miscellaneous 

 mixtures of clovers and grasses, were used in the original improvement practices. 

 In recent years, a greater acreage of Ladino clover has been seeded, especially 

 in Berkshire' county. Complete fertilizers, cyanamid, calnitro, and super- 

 phosphate were the chief materials used for the fertilizer treatments, with rates 

 varying from 100 to 2000 pounds per acre. Ground limestone was the choice 

 on the majority of farms, although hydrated lime was used in a few instances. 



Fertilizers and lime were applied to established stands of hay and pasture 

 grass on 57 farms as the initial pasture improvement practice. A total of 779 

 acres was fertilized and only 113 acres were limed in this type of treatment. 

 The rate of application per acre varied widely for the different kinds of fertilizers 

 used. Cyanamid, calnitro and high analysis complete fertilizers were seldom 

 applied in excess of 500 pounds per acre. 



The results of pasture treatment can be measured in the increased number 

 of cow-days of grazing which are supplied per acre. Open untreated pasture on 

 the farms surveyed furnished from 28 to 107 cow-days of grazing, while the 

 seeded and treated pasture on these farms supplied from 142 to 289 cow-days 

 per acre. Grazing on unseeded treated pasture ranged from 57 to 179 cow-days 

 per acre. 



Case studies were made on the effect of pasture improvement on the organiza- 



