Show CUT YOUR ALFALFA EARLY 00 It pays pars to cut alfalfa early says Professor Geo Stewart of the Utah Agricultural cultural Experiment Station who issues the following statement Careful experimenting at the Utah Station has shown that more hay is obtained when alfalfa was cu cut at three different stages 11 1 l early bloom that is when about tenth one-tenth of the bloom i 2 when the crop was in full bloom 3 about two tw weeks later when the bloom had begun begun be gun to fall fali off Each of the three crops harvested during the season season was cut at the times indicated dif dif- different different ferent areas being used for early earty medium and late lat cuttings After five fhe years it was found that tha t the yield of the the hay cut just when n it was beginning to bloom was some eight to fifteen per cent higher than tha n ba hay cut at the other stages The hay from these cuttings was saved and fed to beef cattle and careful careful care care- ful data kept as to the value of each kind of hay for cattle feeding I Iwas It t was found that the early cut hay pro produced produced produced greater gains on beef both per pei r acre and per one hundred d pounds of hay This indicated that the quality of the hay as well as the quantity was increased by cutting e early The following table shows the relative rel reI value of cutting hay at tl this ls period per iod of bloom Early one Early one of bloom bloom bloom- Relative yield 3 per acre per cent Relative feed value per acre per cent Pounds of hay for one pound of gain 17 Medium Medium- full bloom Relative 92 per percent cent Relative f feed ee d' d t e 8 Vent Pounds of hay for one one po pound nd of gain 22 Late Late bloom bloom dropping dropping Relative Relative yield per acre 85 per cent Relative feed value Blue per acre 70 per cent Pounds of hay for one pound of gain 28 It is observable from the above that seventeen pounds of hay produces pro duces one pound of gain when early cut hay was fed to the beef cattle as compared with two twenty to twenty-eight twenty pounds of hay of later late r cuttings The fact that the quality as well wen wenas as the yield is increased ased makes it still stillmore stillmore stillmore more important that the hay be cu cut t almost as soon as it begins to bloom When hay Is fed to horses horses' it i inot is not so important to cut it early because because be cause rause they can make better use of th the e course stalks Beef cattle and dal dairy ry cattle however give much better returns returns re re- turns from fine leafy hay which it h s best made by early cutting before e it has had time to lose its leaves |