THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 18D 



feed containing more protein should be used in part, such as bran, 

 sduten meal, oats or cottonseed meal. 



Providing for Periods of Short Pasture. — As long as fresh 

 pasture grasses are abundant, the ordinary cow is about as well 

 provided for as she can be to produce milk economically. Un- 

 fortunately the season of abundant pasturage is often short. In 

 many localities, a dry period, often of several weeks, occurs dur- 

 ing the middle or latter part of the summer and the pastures be- 

 come short and is insufficient to maintain a full flow of milk. This 

 season is often the critical time of the year for the dairy cow. It 

 is probable that as much loss occurs one year with another by 

 lack of feed at this time as occurs from improper feeding during 

 the winter season. When the season of dry feeding arrives, the 

 farmer expects to feed his stock and is prepared for it. On the 

 other hand, as long as the cattle are on the pasture and the field 

 work is pressing, the tendency is to let the cows get along the best 

 way they can. 



Under average farm conditions in the West, cows are fresh 

 in the spring, give a good flow of milk while the pastures are 

 good, but when hot weather and short pastures come, the flow 

 drops one-half or two-thirds, and the cows are almost dry at the 

 beginning of winter. It is almost impossible to restore the flow 

 of milk to the original amount after it is once allowed to run 

 down from lack of feed. To make large returns from the cow, 

 a large yearly production must be had, and to do this, the flow 

 of milk must be kept up ten or eleven months in the year. 



Summer Soiling Crops — Where the farmer can grow alfalfa 

 and corn, there is no reason for allowing the cows to suffer for 

 feed during this period of short pasture. Green alfalfa is the 

 best summer soiling crop that can be grown. The only thing that 

 is better might be a combination with green corn. These two fit 

 together especially well. Under most conditions the most diffi- 

 cult season of the year to get green crops available for feeding 

 supplementary to pastures, is in the earlier part of the summer 

 before corn is mature. Alfalfa is at its best during this season 

 and serves the purpose remarkably well. In the latter part of 



