^^ Illinois State Dairymen's Association. 



either red or alsike. If these cannot be succesfully grown, grow 

 soja beans or cow peas. There are few if any sections in Ilhnois 

 where none of these crops can be grown. 



If three tons of alfalfa can be raised per acre and two tons 

 of timothy and if timothy is worth $12.00 per ton, then one 

 acre of alfalfa is worth $41.49 more than an acre of timothy 

 when milk is worth $1.30 per hundred and $34.68 when milk 

 is worth $1.00 per hundred, if fed with corn stover, corn meal 

 and bran. 



$153.71, the difference in profit on the 18 cows would at 

 present prices buy enough fancy alfalfa seed to sow 54.9 acres 

 at the rate of 20 pounds per acre. 



Besides the greater returns in milk when a legume hay is 

 fed, the conditions of the cow counts for much. At the end of 

 each period the co\ys in the lot fed timothy were in poor condi- 

 tion. They had lost much flesh, the hair was rough and they 

 were otherwise in poor physical condition. 



A number of the timothy fed cows were off feed more or 

 less at different times. This did not occur with those getting 

 alfalfa. 



Those receiving alfalfa showed two or three slight cases of 

 garget, probably due to heavier milk flow. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



1. In this case alfalfa hay was worth $9.83 more per ton 

 than timothy. 



2. If milk had been worth $1.00 per hundred pounds, alfal- 

 fa would have been w^orth $7.56 per ton more than timothy. 



3. Cows fed alfalfa keep in much better physical condition. 



4. No one can afford to feed timothy hay to dairy cattle. 



5. The superiority of legume roughage warrants great 

 effort in its production. 



I want to call your attention to another experiment conduct- 

 ed at the station. The dairyman who grows the crops which he 

 can grow easiest has no right to complain if his cows do not 

 yield maximum returns when fed these crops. He may be sure 

 that his cows are working on the same plan that he is. They 

 are doing their work the easiest way and if he is careless in their 

 treatment they will give his returns accordingly. 



