IRRIGATED FIELD CROPS FOR HOG PASTURING. 
Table III.— Results secured with four lots of pigs on irrigated alfalfa pasture 
without supplementary feed on the ScottsMuff Experiment Farm and the 
Tieton Reclamation Project in 1914, 1015, and 1016. 
Location. 
Time. 
Num- 
ber 
of 
pigs. 
A verage 
initial 
weight. 
Area 
of 
pas- 
ture. 
Time 
of 
test. 
Gain (pounds). 
Aver- 
age 
Pigs. 
Total 
per 
acre. 
Per 
acre 
per 
day. 
Per 
Pig 
per 
day. 
carry- 
ing 
capac- 
ity 
per 
acre. 
Lotl 
Scottsbluff 
do 
do 
Summer, 1914 
Spring, 1915 
Summer, 1915 
6 
Lbs. 
59 
Acres. 
0.25 
Days. 
90 
408 
4.53 
0.19 
Lbs. 
1,620 
Lot 2 
Lot3 
3 
6 
108 
33 
.25 
.25 
60 
90 
308 
304 
5.10 
3.40 
.43 
.14 
1,450 
944 
do 
Tieton project. 
Lots 2 and 3 . 
.25 
150 
612 
4.10 
Summer, 1916 

.30 

Lot4 
60 
35 
18.00 
63 
The pigs in lot 4 had access to 18 acres of alfalfa, much more 
than they could consume, so that the only significant figure secured 
with this lot was the average daily gain per pig, which amounted to 
0.3 pound during the 60-day period. In lots 1, 2, and 3 the average 
daily gains were all low, considering the sizes of the pigs; and$ as 
will be seen later, the gains per acre and the carrying capacity were 
lower than those which are secured when the pasture is supplemented 
with grain. 
While the tests which have been conducted show that the best 
utilization of alfalfa pasture for hogs can not be secured without 
the use of some supplementary feed, irrigation farmers still pasture 
hogs in large numbers on alfalfa without supplements. It is true 
that hogs can be maintained in this way for some time, and that 
they frequently continue to make small gains for rather long periods. 
Continued pasturing without supplements, however, prevents good 
development, makes a hog pot-bellied and renders him incapable of 
making the most efficient use of concentrated feed later when he is 
being finished for market. Much of the disappointment experienced 
by irrigation farmers in finishing hogs for market is due to un- 
thriftiness in the hogs resulting from inadequate previous feeding. 
The fact that hogs on alfalfa pasture alone will make some growth 
and that for some time they may not show any signs of serious 
nutritional deficiency is likely to be very misleading. The serious 
effects of such feeding are not always noticeable until the finishing 
period, when it is too late to remedy any defects which may appear. 
The practice of pasturing alfalfa without supplements should be 
avoided whenever possible. On the other hand, if a farmer finds 
it impossible for a time to obtain any supplementary feed, this fact 
should not cause him to go out of the hog business. If no grain feed 
or other supplement is obtainable for a few weeks, the hogs can be 
