﻿DRY-LAND PASTURE CROPS FOR HOGS. 



19 



The average for the five years from 1916 to 1920, inclusive, was 10.2 

 hogs per acre on peas from July 2 to July 19, a total of 17 days. At 

 the beginning of this period the total weight averaged 1,346 pounds. 

 An average increase in weight of 179 pounds was obtained. This 

 was at the rate of, 1.18 pounds per day for each pig. The supple- 

 mentary corn ration averaged 473 pounds, or 2.83 pounds of corn 

 for a pound of gain. 



The check plat of peas yielded nothing in 1919, because of drought, 

 and the crop was killed out by hail in 1921. The average yield of the 



Eeas from 1916 to 1920, including the zero yield of 1919, was 4.2 

 ushels per acre. 



At no time did the 1 acre of peas furnish sufficient forage to carry 

 the 10 pigs from the period of best grazing on the rye to that on 

 barley. 



Beardless barley (Success variety) has been pastured every year 

 since 1916 with the exception of 1919, when the crop was killed by 

 drought. The results are presented in Table 3. 



Table 3. — Results obtained by pasturing 1 acre of barley with fall pigs at Huntley, Mont. t 

 each year from 1916 to 1921, exclusive of 1919. 





Num- 

 ber 

 of 

 pigs. 









Weights of animals and feed (pounds). 





Year. 



Pasture period. 



Hog weights. 



Barley con- 

 sumed. 1 



Yield of 



check 



plat 



(bushels). 





Date on. 



Date off. 



Days. 



Initial. 



Final. 



Gain. 



Daily 

 gain 

 per 

 Pig- 



Total. 



Per 

 pound 

 of gain. 



1916 



1917 



1918 



1919 3 



M0 

 6 

 10 



July 20 

 Aug. 8 

 July 9 



Aug. 7 

 Aug. 22 

 July 23 



18 

 14 

 14 



1,780 



915 



1,420 



1,766 



975 



1,420 



-14 

 60 

 



-0.08 

 .71 

 



462 

 777 

 142 



12.95 



9.7 

 16.2 

 3.0 



1920 



19214 



15 

 10 



July 30 

 July 14 



Aug. 10 

 July 28 



11 

 14 



2,044 

 1,548 



2,179 

 1,569 



135 

 21 



.82 

 .15 



272 

 305 



2.01 

 14.52 



5.7 

 6.4 



Average, 

 5 years. 



10.2 



July 22 



Aug. 5 



14 



1,541 



1,582 



40 



.35 



392 





8.2 



1 Weight of grain from the check plat. 



* The weight of one of these pigs was calculated as was done for the rye pasture (Table 1). 

 3 The crop dried up before the pasture season, and no hogs were put on the plat. 



* Hogs were moved from the rye plat directly to the barley plat because of the destruction of the pea 

 plat by hail. 



The pasture period averaged from July 22 to August 5, a total of 

 14 days, for an average of 10.2 pigs. The average initial weight of 

 these pigs was 1,541 pounds, and the gains made averaged 40 pounds. 

 The daily gain per pig each year averaged 0.35 pound. 



The low gains were due chiefly to low yields of grain and the un- 

 palatability of the forage. 



Barley on the check plat averaged 8.2 bushels per acre for the five 

 years when a crop was produced. 



Using the yield of barley that might have been harvested as a basis 

 of calculation, it required from 2.01 pounds of barley in 1920 to 14.5 

 pounds in 1921 to make a pound of gain. In 1916 there was a loss 

 in weight on the barley pasture, and in 1918 no gains were made. 



No corn was produced in either 1919 or 1921. With these excep- 

 tions corn has been pastured each year. For reasons stated above, 

 the returns for 1915 have not been included in the assembled data 



