28 BULLETIN" 853, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



averaged 47 per cent of the total. One of the reasons for this lower 

 proportion of concentrates fed on the farms with silos is that good 

 silage itself contains some corn and is therefore partly a concen- 

 trate, and also that less concentrate is required, because of the 

 succulent nature of the feed. 



Although the cows on the farms having silos produced 18.7 pounds 

 of butter fat more per cow than those on the farms without silos, it 

 should not be assumed that this difference or the corresponding 

 difference in labor income is due wholly or even largely to the silo. 

 The farmers with silos were better all-around farmers than those 

 without. They had a larger average investment per farm, worked 

 more crop acres per man, and had more and better cows. The silo 

 was therefore only one of the several factors contributing to their 

 success. 



CROPPING SYSTEMS. 



A common rotation on many of the farms is corn or potatoes fol- 

 lowed by oats, and then by hay two years or longer. Where wheat 

 is grown, the rotation usually is corn, oats, wheat, hay two or three 

 years. Buckwheat is generally sown on the rougher land or land 

 that has become foul with weeds. On some farms buckwheat fol- 

 lows oats in the rotation and serves as a nurse crop for the grass 

 seed. On many farms the hay is cut as long as it gives a fair yield. 

 Some of the meadows do not run out in four or five years. A few 

 farmers are trying out a rotation of corn, wheat, hay, hay. 



Judging by the percentages of area devoted to each crop, it would 

 appear that the rotation most generally practiced is corn and pota- 

 toes, oats, wheat, rye or buckwheat, and hay three years. 



MAINTENANCE OF SOIL FERTILITY. 



One of the important problems of this region is that of keeping up 

 crop yields. The test of good farm management is not only the 

 earning of a good current net income, but the keeping up of the fertility 

 of the soil as well. To keep up this fertility, the farmer must rely 

 on the use of manure, lime, fertilizer, and legumes. Practically the 

 only legumes grown here are red clover and alsike. On the farms 

 where manure is produced in sufficient quantity, manure spreaders 

 were used with very satisfactory results. Too many farmers, how- 

 ever, still practice the wasteful method of throwing the manure 

 outside under the eaves of the barn and hauling it to the field but 

 once or twice a year. 



FERTILIZERS. 



Commercial fertilizers are quite extensively used. Fifty-one per 

 cent of the farmers concerned in this study used fertilizers on corn, 

 45 per cent on wheat, 47 per cent on buckwheat, and 36 per cent on 

 oats. Most of the farmers used less than 150 pounds per acre. 



