44 



Under a single -cut harvest system, applications of nitrogen up to 50 

 pounds annually or the seeding of legumes into the sod are potentially 

 economical methods of increasing production of hay. This can be said also 

 for sod seeding and phosphate application under the two-cut harvest system. 



Which, if any, of these practices should be followed depends on the relative 

 shortage of feed, the local demand for feed, and the availability and amount 

 of meadowland capable of responding properly to the individual practices. 



Feed for Weaner Calves 



The hay of average quality produced on mountain meadow ranches probably 

 is slightly below the quality desired for weaner calves. No doubt, also, the 

 best hay produced on these ranches is sufficiently high in crude protein to 

 winter weaner calves properly without protein supplements. If a rancher 

 wants to make sure that enough high-protein hay is available to take care 

 of his weaner calves, he may decide to try growing some high-protein hay 

 on part of his meadowland. 



If so, what is the most economical way of producing hay having 10.0 to 

 12. 5 percent crude protein? Only hays that have average crude protein 

 contents higher than minimum requirements are considered to be sure that 

 the hay produced will meet the desired specifications under most conditions 

 encountered in hay harvesting. 



Normally, when a meadow is harvested twice, the first cutting's per- 

 centage of crude protein is less than the weighted average by approximately 

 1 percent. Therefore, on twice-cut meadows hay produced would need to 

 average at least 11 percent crude protein. The hay from the first cutting 

 would then average 10 and that from the second cutting 12 percent crude 

 protein. Maturity of the species in the sward is the chief determinant of 

 crude protein content. The more mature the species, the more susceptible 

 they are to damage from adverse weather. Hays high in crude protein 

 minimize quality losses during the harvesting period. 



Data from table 11 shows that more than 160 pounds of nitrogen must be 

 applied under a single -cut harvest to obtain hay of the desired quality. 

 Ordinarily any hay produced under the two-cut system will average higher 

 in crude protein content than minimum requirements. 



Data in tables 12 and 16 show that under a two-cut system, sod seeding 

 plus phosphate fertilizer gives the cheapest increase in yields. The protein 

 content of hay produced in this way averages 14. 7 percent, and the average 

 cost per ton for the increased production is $19. 08 (table 12). This cost is 



