Forage Problem Demands Attention 



Farmers who are after the dollars should settle the ques- 

 tion of summer forage at once and for good. With the 

 increased value of land, larger pastures cannot be main- 

 tained without loss. Frequent droughts also help to make 

 them unprofitable. 



It has come to a point where owners of dairies, beef 

 cattle, horses, or any kind of live stock, frequently lose as 

 much money as a result of light pastures during three 

 months of dry summer weather as they can make in the 

 rest of the year. A total abandonment of pasturage 

 is not recommended, but the grazing fields should be 

 improved and silage and soiling crops made an auxiliary 

 for summer feeding. 



One reason why so many pastures become short or fail 

 altogether in summer is that they do not contain enough 

 variety of grasses for forage plants. The ordinary pas- 

 ture is a timothy meadow which has been run as a 

 meadow for several years. This one grass plant is soon 

 killed out, and nothing remains but chance grasses and 

 weeds, all of doubtful forage value. 



For a pasture to be good all through the season, it 

 must contain a variety of grasses and good forage plants. 

 Some of these will come in early in the spring, then 

 become dormant, to again revive and grow for fall and 

 early winter use. While these early grasses are dormant 

 in midsummer, other grasses will be at their best. 



The following makes a good mixture on ordinary soils : 

 Orchard grass, redtop, timothy, English and Italian rye 

 grass, red clover and alsike. 



It is important to seed or reseed the pasture every 



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