ECONOMIC USE OF FORAGES IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION 3 
Profitable production of forage does not depend on the way they 
are utilized if the grasses and legumes are complementary to grain. It 
pays to extend production of forage so long as an increase in acreage 
of forage is accompanied by an increase in total production of grain, 
even though no direct return is realized from feeding the forage. 
Forages can be turned under as green manure crops. When this is 
done income is greater than when a smaller acreage of grasses and 
legumes is produced. However, income can generally be increased 
even further if forages are utilized as feed. Farmers then have two 
sources of income from forages: That forthcoming from the nitrogen, 
organic matter, or erosion control which may add to total production 
of other crops; and that forthcoming from the sale of products from 
roughage-consuming livestock. 
Taste 1.—Complementary and competitive relationships in forage 
production for various crop rotations on & soil types 
WOOSTER AND CANFIELD SILT LOAMS, WOOSTER, OHIO, 1937-43! 
Use of 100 acres of land Total production Amount of grain 
india sacrificed for each 
Rotation 2 pound of hay 
Grain Hay Grain Hay, seco rotation 
Acres Acres Pounds Pounds Pounds 
ape, = eu ain paaeseriti: 100 QE oA Oa le lee ah eh a pee cat 
C—C—-C-—W-A________- 80 20 229, 776 128, 800 (3) 
Os WHAT Dun Sing Be 67 33 215, 480 203, 200 0. 19 
C—C-W-A-A________- 60 40 190, 672 316, 000 i222 
C-—W-A-A___________- 50 50 165, 928 363, 000 . 53 
CLARION-WEBSTER SILT LOAM, AMES, IOWA, 1945-484 
Gosta avis oti oy 100 OxN25180, BQO idea molrek ontonh 
WZOHO=Chei aie sake 75 25 | 217,360 | 85, 000 (3) 
C206 ee aia st 67 33 | 182,333 | 132, 660 0. 71 
1 See Yoder, R. E. (10). 
2 C=corn, O=oats, W=wheat, Cl=clover, A=alfalfa. 
3 Complementary. 
‘From unpublished data, Dept. of Agronomy, Iowa Agr. Expt. Sta., Ames, 
Iowa, 1915-48. 
If capital is so limited that investment in livestock is impossible, 
the only alternative for a farmer may be to use the complementary 
forage as a green-manure crop.!. A farmer who is less limited in 
capital has a more complex problem of utilizing forages. He may lack 
capital to invest in enough livestock to consume all forage produced 
complementary with grain. He will be concerned with the combina- 
tion of livestock and feed-utilization systems that will bring the larg- 
est income or will involve the smallest risk per dollar invested. This 
may not mean complete utilization of the complementary forage. 
Problems of production and utilization are more complex for a 
farmer who has ample capital. A farmer whose ability to utilize 
* Individual farmers in some areas may find it possible to lease pasture land 
to neighbors or to sell hay; often no such opportunity exists. 
