THE INTENSIVE CULTIVATION OF ALFALFA 



ALFALFA SEED 



For several years the yields of alfalfa hay were well maintained 

 upon this little field, being- for 1912. 10.00 tons per acre; for 1913, 9.47 

 tons; for 1914, 10.53 tons; and for 1915, 8.63 tons per acre. Follow- 

 ing the low yield of 1915, it was decided to reseed vacant spaces by 

 means of a seed crop the following year. The third crop, in 1916, was 

 therefore allowed to go to seed and this was harvested in July, yielding 

 6020 pounds of seed "in the dirt." 



The young alfalfa plants resulting from seed shattered from this 

 crop did not endure well the hot weather of August and September, 

 but the fourth crop, which was also harvested as'seed in late September, 

 gave a dense stand of young alfalfa in vacant spaces, besides yielding 

 2088 pounds of crude seed. The first seed crop gave 5746 pounds of 

 recleaned seed, most of which was sold for $16.35 per hundredweight; 

 and the second crop yielded 1677 pounds of recleaned seed which sold 

 for $13.00 per hundred. The total yield of recleaned seed was 1009 

 pounds per acre. 



Aside from the valuable crop of seed, incidental advantages are 

 that seed crops require less labor than hay, and also less irrigation, 

 thus economizing outlay on the part of the owner. 



Following is the financial statement for the year from the view- 

 point of a small farmer contributing his personal labor and team to 

 the crop ; 



Labor hired for harvesting hay and seed crops $ 46.63 



Labor of proprietor on crop 52 days; team 17% days, not charged 



Water, 10 irrigations ' 15.91 



Baling 7.92 tons at $2.50 19.80 



'ihreshing and recleaning seed 209.55 



Sacks, twine and weighing 11.20 



lools and sundries 3.90 



Telegraph and auto service 7.16 



Taxes 30.76 



Sales : 



20.54 tons of alfalfa hay $ 214.68 



10 tons of alfalfa straw 37.50 



5743 pounds recleaned seed at 16.35c 938.98 



1677 pounds recleaned seed at 13c 218.01 



Small farmer's returns for labor, and profit on 7.93 acres of 

 land . 1,064.26 



$1,409.17 $1,409.17 



The investor's profit, hiring all labor and teams but not deducting 

 interest on the investment, was $809.04. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The facts briefly submitted in the preceding pages clearly demon- 

 strate several things of importance both to the individual farmer and 

 to the region at large. First, the intensive cultivation of alfalfa pays. 

 By intensive cultivation is meant the complete occupation of the 

 ground, including borders and to the fence lines, with alfalfa; the 



