WILL MORE FORAGE PAY? 29 



1 ton an acre every 5 years. Superphosphate at the rate of 250 pounds 

 an acre would be applied each year on the acreage seeded to oats and 

 the grass and legume mixture. Crop yields would be increased after 

 a few years by this crop-and soil-management program. Perhaps the 

 improvement would not be so rapid as under plan 2, as that plan car- 

 ried a slightly higher proportion of legume mixtures. An allowance 

 was made under plan 3 for an increase of from 55 to 68 bushels of corn 

 an acre and from 35 to 48 bushels of oats. 



By raising 100 spring pigs a year — production from 16 sows — ap- 

 proximately 99 hogs would be available for market (fig. 2). Eight 



r - 



SCS-IND-20.303 



Figure 2. — Good legume pasture, when used to a limited extent, saves concentrate 

 feeds and at the same time makes for faster gains on hogs. 



dual-purpose cows would be kept for milking. Calves from these 

 cows would provide for replacements and for 6 calves a year that 

 Avould go into a beef-feeding program built around the buying of 19 

 head of feeder calves. Feeder calves would be handled in the same 

 way as outlined for plan 2. 



To carry out plan 3, new investments would not only be required for 

 limestone and machinery, compared with the existing cash-grain plan, 

 but also for livestock. An additional investment of about $1,000 in 

 livestock, excluding feeder calves bought, would be necessary under 

 medium prices. But, compared with the present plan, there would 

 be an improvement in net cash farm income. With a medium level of 

 prices the increase would be approximately 75 percent, not allowing 

 for possible interest that might have to be paid on new investments 

 needed to get plan 3 established. Even though prices received tor 



