﻿DRY-LAND PASTURE CROPS FOR HOGS. 

 RESULTS IN 1916. 



The first season when the pasturing work was conducted according 

 to the outlined program was in 1916. Some difficulty in procuring 

 suitable hogs was experienced. Ten Duroc-Jersey pigs having a 

 total weight of 1,171 pounds 2 were purchased locally by the Montana 

 Agricultural Experiment Station and placed on the plat of rye on 

 May 6. At this date the rye was jointing and was generally some- 

 what farther advanced than was considered most desirable for pas- 

 turage. The crop grew too fast to be held in check by the pigs, and 

 by May 21 they were confining their grazing to small areas where 

 the rye had been closely pastured and new growth was continually 

 appearing. The unpastured rye was clipped with a mower to induce 

 new growth over the whole plat. Timely showers started this 

 growth, which was pastured until June 30, when the hogs were 

 transferred to the plat of peas. 



A total gain of 339 pounds was made by the hogs during the 55 

 days on rye pasture. While on the rye pasture a ration of corn 

 weighing 2 pounds for each 100 pounds of hogs was fed. The total 

 was 1,480 pounds of corn, or 4.37 pounds of corn for every pound of 

 gain in weight of the animals. The average daily gain per pig was 

 0.62 of a pound. 



The check plat of rye thrashed out 19.2 bushels of grain per acre. 



The results of the rye pasturing for the season indicated that the 

 forage is much more palatable while young. When the crop begins to 

 head the pigs will not eat it but will confine their grazing to areas 

 that have been kept pastured closely and where a new growth of rye 

 is continually appearing. If sufficient moisture is available, a new 

 growth of forage may be induced by mowing the rye when it gets 

 beyond the palatable stage. There seems to be little doubt that 

 the pigs were held on the rye pasture too long for the best results. A 

 2 per cent ration of corn proved to be about right as a grain supple- 

 ment for the rye pasturage. 



PEAS. 



From the rye pasture the pigs were moved directly to the acre of 

 field peas. The crop at this time was well advanced toward maturity, 

 the grain being in the hard-dough stage. As the crop appeared to be 

 insufficient to carry the hogs until the barley was ripe, the 2 per cent 

 ration of corn was continued. The peas with corn supplement carried 

 the 10 pigs for a period of 20 days, the lot being removed on July 20. 

 During this time a total gain of 270 pounds was made, and 636 

 pounds of corn were fed as a supplement. This feeding ratio is 2.36 

 pounds of corn for each pound of gain, while each animal made an 

 average daily increase of 1.35 pounds in weight. The plat was 

 completely bare of vegetation when the animals were removed. 



Peas on the check plat yielded 10.9 bushels per acre of grain of 

 poor quality. 



The experience of this year indicated that an acreage of peas 

 double that of rye could be used satisfactorily. This would permit 



* After the grazing was well under way it was found that one of the animals had been bred before she 

 was purchased. The actual weights of this animal while on rye, peas, and barley pastures have not been 

 used in the calculations, but a weight equal to that of the average of the other nine pigs has been substituted 

 for the actual weights of this animal. 



