Are you using 
BIRDSFOOT 
TREFOIL in 
your pasture 
mixtures? 
YOU SHOULD BE! 
*X-YoLe Mls -¥%-¥at a’ Ze Mel aild (Somme lite. 
turn the page for more 
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BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL! 
then 
See your dealer 
aud place your order 
NOW! 
From APRIL 1, 1950 Issue of Wallaces' Farmer & lowa Homestead 
Birdsfoot Makes 
Tough Pasture 
New Legume Stands Winter, Drouth, 
Close Grazing; And Stock Likes It 
I OOKING for a pasture plant 
~ that will go far toward solv- 
ing your grazing problems? A 
plant that is winter-hardy, drouth- 
resistant, nutritious and highly 
palatable? 
Then try birdsfoot trefoil in 
your next pasture mixture and sit 
back and watch results. 
Farmers and Soil Conservation 
Service employes are hailing it as 
the best thing to hit this section 
since the arrival of hybrid corn. 
It promises to be exactly what the 
doctor ordered for sick and worn- 
out pastures, 
Talk to farmers like Harold 
Amundson, who operates a 400- 
acre farm in Goodhue county, Min- 
nesota, and’ to Edwin Goplen, also 
in Goodhue county, who is one of 
the four farmer members of the 
Minnesota State Soil Conservation 
Committee. 
They'll convince you that 
this legume with the strange 
name should be covering thou- 
sands of acres in the midwest. 
It probably will be when more 
farmers become acquainted 
with its value. 
Goplen, who is chairman of the 
board of supervisors of the South 
Goodhue Soil Conservation Com- 
mittee, has been testing birdsfoot 
trefoil on his farm for several 
years. Despite heavy grazing by 
both sheep and cattle, the legume 
has continued to grow and spread. 
Last year, Goplen had 30 head 
of sheep grazing in the pasture. 
They cropped down the trefoil, but 
it continued to grow. It has a 
habit of blooming from midway 
in June until late in the fall. This 
assures a constant supply of seed 
to be scattered over the pasture. 
Ed is looking forward to the day 
when the pasture becontes a’‘solid 
mass of birdsfoot trefoil. 
“This legume has all the ear- 
marks of being the answer to our 
pasture problem,” he says. “The 
cattle like it very much. In this 
country, our blue grass pastures 
fade out of the picture by the mid- 
dle of June. Alfalfa doesn’t work 
too well, and neither does clover 
for use in permanent pasture. 
“But birdsfoot trefoil does. In 
combination with brome, we have 
something that will keep our pas- 
tures green and nutritious from 
early spring until frost.” 
Goplen’s enthusiasm is shared 
by Robert Anderson, work unit 
conservationist with the South 
Goodhue district. In fact, Ander- 
son is largely responsible for the 
growing trefoil acreage in the 
southern half of the county. 
He became acquainted with the 
virtues of this legume while work- 
ing at the SCS’s nursery at Wi- 
nona. When he was transferred 
to the South Goodhue office five 
years ago, he began looking for a 
better pasture legume. He found 
it in birdsfoot trefoil. 
Today, you will find more 
birdsfoot trefoil in Goodhue 
county pastures than in any 
other county in Minnesota. 
And on the Amundson farm, 
you'll find the largest single 
planting—more than 13 acres. 
What’s more, Amundson plans 
to continue planting this legume 
until every foot of his pasture is 
covered with birdsfoot. 
Why does Amundson like this 
legume so well? One reason is that 
he credits it with hiking his herd’s 
butterfat production by almost 80 
pounds. He milks about 36 cows, 
and has a herd average of 397.3 
pounds of butterfat. 
Birdsfoot trefoil is relatively 
new in the United*States. Altho it 
was used for experimental plant- 
ings in the early 1900’s, only re- 
cently has it attracted much at- 
tention. Plantings in New York, 
Oregon and California demonstrat- 
ed its value for pasture and served 
as centers for increase of seed for 
additional plantings. 
Birdsfoot trefoil is variable, and 
regional strains show marked dif- 
ferences in growth and adaptation. 
