SYSTEMS OF FARMING ON DAIRY FARMS 225 



199. Home-grown Grain. In the corn-belt it nearly always 

 to raise more corn than the cattle eat. Since there is 



an ibundance of corn, it should be fed as liberally as possible 

 am yet have a good ration. In the Eastern States and 

 nor:h of the corn-belt farm-grown oats are often ground for 

 cov feed. Oats are nearly always too high in price to be a 

 proitable feed to buy, but the costs of marketing the oats 

 am hauling other feeds to take their place are often enough 

 to ] aake it pay to feed the oats that one has. 



CROPPING SYSTEMS ON DAIRY FARMS 



200. Principles of a Good Cropping System. The great 

 majority of the dairy cows are in the northeastern quarter 

 of ihe United States (see Fig. 68), east of central Nebraska 

 am; north of Washington, B.C. Most of this region is 

 adapted to timothy, blue-grass, and clover. Permanent 

 pastures of blue-grass and white clover are common. The 

 usual cropping system is : 



Corn or other tilled crops on sod land for one or more 

 years. 



Small grain for one or two years with timothy and clover 

 seeded in the last year. 



Hay for one or more years, or hay followed by pasture. 



This is an ideal cropping system for the dairy farm. The 

 three different classes of crops supplement each other in the 

 control of weeds. The corn furnishes silage or grain or both. 

 The small grain gives its best yield and at least cost when 

 grown after a tilled crop. The grasses and clover are started 

 by seeding in the small grain at very low cost. If the land 

 is adapted to clover, this helps to supply the protein that 

 is not provided in sufficient quantity by the other feeds grown 

 in the rotation. 

 Q 



