408 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



management and the price of hogs. It may reach 

 anywhere between $10 and $35 per acre. The Kan- 

 sas experiment station realized $24.10 from an acre 

 of alfalfa pasture. 



In 1907 C. E. Quinn, a special agent of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, investigated the pasturing of 

 alfalfa with hogs in the west, giving especial atten- 

 tion to conditions in Kansas and Oklahoma. The 

 report is found in full in Farmers ' Bulletin 331. It 

 is so pertinent here that we quote freely : 



During the past summer (1907) about 150 of the most suc- 

 cessful swine growers and pork producers of Kansas and Okla- 

 homa were interviewed on the subject of the crops used for feed. 

 In Southern Oklahoma along the river valleys and in northern 

 Oklahoma and southern Kansas the farmers are favored with a 

 soil and climate that makes it possible to produce pork very 

 cheaply. The mildness of the climate makes it unnecessary to 

 build as expensive shelters for hogs in winter as are required 

 farther north, and the short open winters make it possible to 

 furnish pasture during a greater portion of the year, thus les- 

 sening the amount of grain which it is necessary to feed. The 

 main pasture crops for hogs in this region are alfalfa, wheat, 

 oats, and rye, ranking in importance in the order named. 



It is the testimony of 95 per cent of the farmers interviewed in 

 this region that there is no better forage crop for hogs than 

 alfalfa, where it can be grown successfully. 



Amount of pasturage. As to the amount of pasturage or the 

 number of hogs alfalfa will carry per acre without injury to the 

 crop, the estimates given by farmers very considerably, depend- 

 ing on the kind of soil, the fertility of the land, and the size of 

 the hogs pastured. The following, however, is a safe average esti- 

 mate as given by conservative men who have had much experience. 

 River valley and creek bottom land well set in alfalfa will carry 

 from 15 to 20 head per acre of 50 to 125 pound hogs. Upland of 

 fair average fertility will support from 8 to 10 head of the same 

 kind of hogs. There are fields that have supported 25 head per 

 acre all through the season for a number of years and are still 

 in good condition, and there are other fields that will not furnish 

 pasture for more than 5 head per acre; but these are extremes. 



