26 N. H. Agr. Experiment Station [Bulletin 275 



amount of available labor or to build up their farms to capacity more 

 quickly. The rapidly declining yields and the failing cjuality of the 

 roughage on these back farms will eventually bring the operators back 

 to adjusting their livestock programs to their own farms. It may be 

 advisable to purchase standing hay for two or three years, but the 

 operator should be planning to adjust his organization so that he will 

 not be dependent upon the back farms for his roughage. 



A notable exception to this may be the growing of potatoes on back 

 farm land. The heavy fertilizing of this crop in rotation will prob- 

 ably maintain hay yields, and a peniianent cropping system can thus 

 be built on this use of the land. 



The amount of high protein hay available per cattle unit varied 

 from 661 to 3,414 pounds, with an average of 1,610 pounds. Clover 

 hay, alfalfa hay, annual legume forage crops and aftermath or rowen 

 were considered as high protein hays in this study. The farmer with 

 the lowest quantity had not seeded any new pieces in three years, 

 and the operator with the highest had two-thirds of his tillage land 

 in alfalfa. 



The amount of high protein hay depended in general on the acreage 

 seeded down each year. Those operators seeding down over two-tenths 

 acres per cattle unit each year averaged 2,057 pounds of high protein 

 hay per cattle unit, and those seeding down two-tenths acres or less 

 got only 1,507 pounds. On the average about one-seventh of the til- 

 lage land was seeded down each year, and 1,636 pounds of protein hay 

 were available per cattle unit. 



Seven of the operators began haying about June 20, and with good 

 weather had considerable hay in the bam by the 27th. Most of the 

 hay in this group of farms was harvested between July 1 and 10. 

 Only seven men had not finished by July 15. On these farms haying 

 dragged along for several weeks, three finishing about the middle of 

 August. Most of the hay on all but these seven farms was harvested 

 early enough to be of good quality. 



Field observations indicate that on the light soils, which constitute 

 about 90 per cent of the tillage land, short rotations with not over 

 three years in hay brought best results in quality of hay and yield. 

 More than three years in sod resulted in hay yields which were low 

 and poor quality. On the heavier soils, yields and quality held up well 

 for at least five years if the fields wei'e top-dressed with manure. 



On one farm with very light soil the operator has followed a five- 

 year rotation of com, oats and three j'ears of hay. Over a period of 

 years he has been able to build up hay yields so that in the season 

 1931, the average was 1.8 tons per acre. On a farm with similar soil, 

 a longer rotation resulted in lower average tonnage because the yields 

 were low in fields that had been in hay over four years. One operator 

 has been able to extend somewhat the period of good hay yields by 

 liberal application of commercial fertilizers. 



On eight of the sixteen farms without silos, little land is plowed and 

 seeded down each year. These have the lowest hay yields and are in 

 the low income group. On the other eight farms without silage, land 



