2 BULLETIN 68, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



CONTINUOUS CLOSE GRAZING. 



The method in most common use is to turn in all the hogs the pas- 

 ture ^^'ill support, leaving them in the field, during the entire season. 

 Usually the pasture is kept closely grazed. Too often it is overgrazed, 

 the plants being cropped so closely that the stand is soon ruined. 

 The pasture then becomes little better than a dry lot, and the hogs 

 make unsatisfactory gains. When the feed in the pasture becomes 

 scarce, either the number of hogs per acre should be reduced or other 

 forage provided. 



ALTERNATE PASTURING OF EQUAL AREAS. 



One of the most satisfactory ways of managing a pasture is to divide 

 it into two or more fields of equal area. These fields are then used 

 alternately, the hogs remaining in each about a week or 10 days. 

 In the case of clover and alfalfa the growth is allowed to become 



3 to 4 inches high before the hogs are turned in to eat it off quickly. 

 When the pasture consists of such crops as rape, kale, and vetch, 

 which will not stand close grazing, the growth is permitted to reach 

 a height of 8 or 1 inches before the hogs are turned in. 



Changing the hogs from field to field gives the pasture a period of 

 rest, during which the plants recuperate and grow rapidly. When 

 the stock is returned to the field the forage is clean, tender, and pala- 

 table and large quantities are consumed. Owing to the rapid growth 

 made while at rest, a pasture that is subdivided and the areas grazed 

 alternately is capable of carrying a much larger number of hogs per 

 acre, other conditions being equal, than one that is continuously 

 pastured. 



Hogs usually graze a pasture somewhat unevenly, some areas 

 being eaten off much more closely than others. To keep down the 

 weeds and make the growth come on evenly, the pasture is clipped 

 vnih a mower immediately after the hogs are removed. Hogs are 

 inclined to root when the surface of the ground is wet or damp. For 

 this reason the pasture, if under irrigation, is irrigated just after the 

 hogs are changed from one pasture lot to the next. This gives the 

 surface of the ground time to dry before the forage is large enough 

 to be grazed. 



PASTURING THE MEADOW. 



Many successful hog raisers prefer to use such crops as clover and 

 alfalfa for both pasture and hay at the same time. The number of 

 hogs turned into the field is so limited that the usual crops of hay are 

 made. The chief advantages of this method are (1) the presence of an 

 abundance of feed, (2) the meadow is not grazed closely enough for 

 the stand to be injured, (3) it is not necessary to subdivide the pasture 

 into smaller areas for alternate pasturing, and (4) the changing of 

 the hogs from one inclosure to another is obviated. 



