Why not try 



J 



GRASSLAND 

 FARMING? 



By EVART VANDER MEULEN 



Director, Field Service Division, Producers Seed Co. 



A steep slope fled down with on excellent pasture of ladino 

 clover and timothy Is examined by Punk Anderson and Donald 



Davis. USDA Phoio 



iifTI' 



II lt\ KX.Ii \>SI.\M) I AI!\I- 

 INC now:: It is a way of 

 larmiii^ in wliicli level lielil> 

 are used lor niltivatol erops in 

 rotation with product i\c tor- 

 aues. IJolliiig fields are ke|)t iti j;ra» 

 as lonp as possilde. "Vl ashinji " hill- 

 sides are lield in grass all the time, aiul 

 tlie steepest slopes 

 ^^^^^^ are lett pertnancnt- 



{ m Grassland larm- 



/» | [Pj yfl| in,L' is a well hal- 



'^ aneed system ol 



"'*.. ^ larmiim. Its snci ess 



"^^tt/l^ depends upon lia\- 



1 '^d^^^^P aliundanci' 



■ J ^^^^W^ ,,(' economica 1 I V 



'" ' pniiluced and efTec- 



f. Vonder Meulen ^■^y^.\y „^pj ],ay j,nd 



pa-ture forage. This 

 rails for sound croppin'j and soil eon- 

 ser\iiig |ira<tii-e. plamied to avoid waste 

 of fertility hy erosion, leaeliing and e\- 

 eessixe ploninu. It aims not onlv to 

 maintain the lertility ol the soil. Iml In 

 inrreasi' and itupro\e it. 



(".ras> in llie comept of grassland 

 farming i- not limited to llie grasses: it 

 einliraee^ also their eorninon associates 

 of the leguiTie family the clovers. 



lf>spedeza. alfalfa, and manv others. 



Good legumes ami grasses mean good 

 farming. Little lieail-wav i an he made 

 in real soil improvenu-tit and conserva- 

 tion, or eflicienl dairy and live-stock 

 |irodu<tiou. without adeipiale acreage of 

 high yielding and liiuh (juality legumes 

 and legiimes-gra>s mixtures. 



F'.xeept for a few areas in the stale a 

 large percentage of farms fall far short 

 in both acreage and yield of legumes 

 and grasses. Tor the past decaiie we 



have heen taxing our soil.- to the utmost 

 and heyond the danger point. Illinois 

 farmers should look to the future and 

 consider again tlie land and its manage- 

 ment - this time as never before in 

 terms ol grass. For around grass, farm- 

 ers can organize general crop produc- 

 tion so as to promote effective practices 

 that lead to permanency in agriculture. 



Grassland farming by its very nature 

 must he plamied with a lotig time pro- 

 gram. It needs increa.sed acreage of 

 superior and well adapted ferage crops. 

 rhe>e should be combined when neces- 

 sary with proper soil and water con- 

 >er\ing practices. Grassland farming 

 in Illinois is a way of farming whereby: 



More laud is in grass most of the 

 lime, some land is in grass all of the 

 limi'. 



More consideration is given to in- 

 creased production and seeding of high 

 rpialitv forage, harvested at the right 

 time aiul with a minimum of loss. This 

 will re(|uire increased acreage of im- 

 proved pasture and hav fields. 



Cultivated crojis are restricted to the 

 less erodable soils and are planted less 

 fre<(uenllv in rotation. 



Gorn and grain when used in rota- 

 lions will be more i)roductive because 

 of the soil saving and soil improving 

 effects of prrcrding ( rops of jiroductive 

 forages. ' 



Good fanning |ira(ti(<'s are continu- 

 ously followed. These include longer 

 rotations, manuring, liming, fertilizing, 

 strip cropping, terracing, contour plow- 

 ing and (iiltivalion. and drainage where 

 necessary. In such a program, forage, 

 whether used for pasture, hay, grass 

 silage, or soil improvement, is worthy 

 of culture on good land. 



A reserve of organic matter will be 



built and maintained in the "soil bank"" 

 against llie day when more inten-ive 

 production of cultivating crops may be 

 necessary. 



Hesearch workers and nature have 

 given us improved varieties of grasses 

 and legumes. These varieties have a 

 definite place in our grassland farming, 

 with a |»articular feature of being more 

 productive, or more cold or heat-resist- 

 ant, or more disease-resistant, or more 

 tolerant to less fertile soils, or more 

 comjiatible with a companion crop. We 

 will innumerate only a few that have 

 been given to us in the past decade. 



.ilta and Kenlurky 31 Fescue -- Im- 

 proved strains of tall fescue adapted to 

 a wide diversity of soil and climatic 

 conditions. An excellent pasture grass 

 for use with legumes such as ladino 

 clover, lespedeza and other*. Kecom- 

 niended principally for the southern 

 half of the state on land where they are 

 not able to grow brome grass success- 

 fully. 



Brorne firas.s (soutlirni strains), 

 .'iuchenhnrli. l.inroln. Fischer and FJs- 

 lierry ~ - Strains well adapted to the 

 entire slate of Illinois having the fol- 

 lowing advantages over the northern 

 domestic or Ganadian strains: ( I ) more 

 resistance to summer heat, especially in 

 seedling stage. (2) spread more rapidly, 

 t'i) start growth earlier in the spring, 

 il) yield more forage, (5) more 

 drought resistant. 



Latiino Clover — A giant form of 

 White Dutch adapted to the more fer- 

 tile, moisture holding soils of the state. 

 It has proven to be an excellent pasture 

 legume and used principally with 

 grasses. 



(Cimlinued on page '2J) 



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I. A. A. RECORD 



