FIFTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 141 



Saves the Dairyman's Greatest Expense. 



That alfalfa supplies the protein so abundantly is re- 

 markably significant to dairymen in the corn belt, because 

 it is the common practice to buy protein feeds to balance 

 the ration. These are the high-priced feeds, and the dairy- 

 man's bill for bran, oil meal, cottonseed meal, gluten feed, 

 and various mixed feeds amounts to several hundred dollars. 



This large expense that reduces the dairyman's profit 

 may be greatly recuded by growing sufficient alfalfa. It is 

 not necessary to buy protein feed at all except for high pro- 

 ducing cows. Alfalfa supplies it and great yields of alfalfa 

 may be cheaply grown on the farm. To do this is one of 

 the greatest possible economies, and also one of the easiest 

 and most practical economies the dairyman can introduce. 

 Yet, from the meager amount of alfalfa, and even the small 

 percentage of combined acreage of clover and alfalfa 

 grown in the United States, it would seem that he has 

 scarcely yet begun to realize the absolute need and the 

 great value of these crops to feed with corn. To get this 

 precious protein, it is only necessary to utilize the free at- 

 mosphere and sunlight on every farm by growing legumes. 

 This failure to grow alfalfa and clover is a tremendous 

 waste. 



The only possible conclusion is that these facts about 

 alfalfa are not generally known today. The great economy 

 of this companion crop is not realized. We know that le- 

 gume hay is desirable and that there is not a better feed 

 for a cow than bright green alfalfa hay. But we do not 

 take in the meaning of these three links of economic dairy- 

 ing: milk cannot be made without a certain proportion of 

 protein ; clover and alfalfa are the only farm crops that are 

 rich enough in protein for high producing cows; clover and 

 alfalfa are the only farm crops that yield enough per acre 

 to match an acre of corn. 



It Takes Hald of Us Now. 



That is why the results of this demonstration are given 

 at this time. General dairy thought and practice have ad- 



