July, 1933] Roughage Production in New Hampshire 15 



value of the greater yield of annual hay, .15 ton, when seeding is done 

 after the annual hay crop is harvested. A part of the increase in yield 

 is due to the larger proportion of Hungarian and soybeans used in this 

 group. This increase of about 8 per cent, in yields is obtained at an 

 increase of 28 per cent, in labor because of the extra fitting and seed- 

 ing. 



Conclusion : 



Where silo and machinery are already available, silage production 

 ■will undoubtedly increase the dairyman's income. With the advant- 

 ages to be gained in greater stock-carrying capacity per farm, in bet- 

 ter quality and larger amount of roughage, and in better use of labor, 

 it would be better for most dairy farms, where the climate does not 

 prevent, to raise silage. 



The permanent hsiy crop should furnish the bulk of the high pro- 

 tein rovighage. While timothy offers the cheapest and surest permanent 

 hay seeding, the low protein content of the hay and the short period of 

 harvest emphasize the need for early cutting, and the inclusion of the 

 clovers, red and alsike, in the mixture. Where soil conditions warrant, 

 alfalfa either in mixture or in clear seeding should constitute more of 

 the roughage. Besides the better quality, a better yield follows the 

 more frequent seedings necessary to insure a high proportion of legumes 

 in the permanent hay. This variety of crops extends the harvest pe- 

 riod so that the available labor is better able to put the crop in the barn 

 in good condition. 



So far as the annual hay crop is concerned, it should serve one of 

 two purposes, as an emergency crop or as a means of getting a perma- 

 nent hay crop. Any further extension of this annual production is 

 done at the expense of the regular seeding program and at considerably 

 higher costs per acre and per ton than the crop seems to warrant on the 

 basis of yield as shown in these records. The shift from oats grain to 

 •oats hay may well go one step further by the addition of a legume, peas 

 or vetch, to the seeding, a practice that will be more readily followed 

 when better adapted legumes or better methods are available, assuring 

 a more satisfactory mixed legume annual crop. This combination of- 

 fers one of the cheapest annual hay crop seeding mixtures and the low- 

 est cost method as well as a method that involves the least change in 

 farm practice. 



Suggested rotation systems: 



Any satisfactory roughage production program should meet sev- 

 eral conditions. It must first supply all of the roughage for the live- 

 stock now on the farm, and take into account possible future expansion 

 of the herd. It should include such forage crops as to provide a sat- 

 isfactory roughage ration, permitting economies in purchased grains. 

 It should provide for such a distribution of labor throughout the crop 

 growing season that most of the field work can be done with the labor 

 already regularly employed in caring for the stock. It should fit the 

 soil conditions on the farm. It should make possible greater net in- 

 come through reduced out-of-pocket costs. 



