WILL MORE FORAGE PAY? 43 



second cutting of alfalfa. All alfalfa plantings include some grasses 

 and clovers. Yields run about 1 ton of hay and more than 3 tons of 

 silage per acre. 



In addition to the pasture of about Vk acres per cow, fresh-cut and 

 chopped alfalfa hay is delivered in boxes daily to the cows on pasture 

 at the rate of about 50 pounds per head. This practice is costly and 

 data are insufficient to determine its full economic implication. From 

 October 15 to May 15 the milk cows are fed hay at the rate of 10 

 pounds per head a day and grass silage at the rate of 30 pounds per 

 head. Heifers are fed 7 pounds of hay or 25 pounds of grass silage per 

 head a day from November 1 to April 1. Small calves get 3 pounds of 

 grain and all the hay they will consume, probably ?> or 4 pounds. 



This is an all-roughage dairy farm at present only from the stand- 

 point that no concentrates are home-grown. Commercial mixed dairy 

 feed is bought and fed at the rate of 1 pound to 5 pounds of milk. 

 But when milk prices drop, the operator plans to eliminate grain from 

 his feeding system, except for very high-producing cows, and small 

 calves. Purchased feed is his second largest cash expense. 



Farm A has not changed in size. Nor has the major land use 

 changed. It has about the same acreage of permanent pasture and 

 cropland it had 10 years ago. The numbers and kinds of livestock are 

 the same. too. What has happened and what is the significance of the 

 changes ? The 132 acres of cropland, a third of which was formerly in 

 corn and small grains, is now all in hay. Most of it produces high- 

 quality legumes and grasses that are utilized as silage, soiling, or 

 chopped and barn-cured hay. The low-yielding, low T -quality hays are 

 almost a thing of the past on this farm. 



The 137 acres of permanent pasture are in better mixtures of grasses 

 and legumes. Pastures and hay lands are liberally fertilized. Pas- 

 tures get an average of 750 pounds of 0-12-12 per acre annually and 

 are limed once each 5 years at a rate of 1 ton per acre. Alfalfa is fer- 

 tilized with 1,000 pounds per acre of 0-12-12 or 2-12-12 at seeding and 

 is treated annually with about 750 pounds of similar analysis fertilizer. 

 Mowing of pastures is now common practice on farm A. A field chop- 

 per and barn hay driers comprise the important changes in machinery. 

 The field chopper reduces labor requirements for harvesting hay and 

 this machine plus barn-curing of hay adds immeasurably to the quality 

 of the feed. Production of milk has been increased to about 9.000 

 pounds per cow. Land use has been improved, but there is no satis- 

 factory way to indicate the value of this gain in economic terms. 



Farmer A has demonstrated the technical feasibility of a grassland 

 farm. Has he gone too far? Should he grow his own grain? Is 

 his plan the most profitable one ? These are difficult questions. In 

 1946-48, the net cash farm income was between $4,000 and $6,000 per 

 year. If prices were at the medium level, receipts would be less than 

 expenses by more than $1,000, assuming continuation of the present 

 level of inputs and outputs. But according to the operator he would 

 not continue his present rate of grain feeding nor would he employ 

 as much labor, if prices were to drop. Perhaps he would also reduce 

 his fertilizer application. This would reduce expenditures for these 

 three items. His production would drop too, though not enough to 

 keep him from making a little profit. With prices received and prices 

 paid at the high level as defined in this study, net cash farm income 

 would be about $1,000. with no change in inputs or outputs, 



