July, 1933] 



Roughage Production in New Hampshire 



17 



thirds of the days are suitable for haying so that 50 working days 

 would elapse before haying would be finished. In order to obtain a 

 good quality of roughage, it would be necessary, therefore, to hire two 

 extra men for 25 days each or 50 days of extra labor. 



Table 14. Suggested rotations. 



Various modifications of this all-hay program may be made. Rais- 

 ing crops which require spring or fall plowing and in which a legume 

 may be included, such as oats and peas, oats and vetch, Hungarian and 

 soy beans, for annual hay will supply more roughage and larger 

 amounts of digestible nutrients as well as a better labor distribution. 

 See Figs. 6, 7, and 8. Each additional legume assists in all three ways, 

 particularly in the matter of labor distribution. 



For instance, including in the rotation 5 acres of a legume mixture 

 such as oats and peas results in a somewhat better distribution of labor 

 with a little shorter period in permanent hay and eventually in larger 

 average yields. This would increase the total digestible nutrients to 

 87,097 pounds and total yield of roughage to 88.6 tons. The early 

 plowing, fitting and seeding, and later harvest after the permanent hay 

 crop was cared for would require a period of 45 days ; or the extra hired 

 labor could be reduced by 5 days. The extra seed cost would be about 

 $15 but would result in a cash saving in labor of $12.50 and an increase 

 in yield of 3 to 5 tons of hay. Hungarian and soy beans as the annual 

 hay crop would accomplish the same results in added hay yield but 

 would reduce the outlay for labor by 10 days or a saving in cash of 

 $25, since all of the harvest would occur after permanent hay harvest. 

 This reduces the July peak to about 25.5 per cent, of all hay roughage 

 labor. 



