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Show Five-Grass Mixture Popular in Indiana Pays Off in Higher Quality Hay, Pasture Farmers in 12 northeastern Indi ana counties swear by a 5-gras! mixture that pays off in extra tons of high quality hay and pasture. The combination includes timothy brome, red clover, Ladino clovei and alfalfa, reports Walter Rusk county agent of Huntington county This legume-grass combination, hi said, could profitably be used bj farmers in other states. When plenty of fertilizer carryinj nitrogen, phosphate and potash is used at seeding time and plant nu trients are top-dressed each year this 5-grass mixture has yielded ai much as 3 tons of hay at the flrsi Five acres of the 5-grass mixture mix-ture on the Norman Thompson farm near Huntington, Indiana. cutting on many farms. One farmei in the area insists that 5 acres of the mixture provides more forage thar he previously got from about 6C acres of pasture. Norman Thompson, who farms near Huntington, Indiana, reports that he grazed 27 head of cattle, in eluding 16 milk cows and 11 calves, as well as 100 small pigs and 1C sows for 5 weeks on a 5-acre pasture seeded to the 5-grass mixture. Rusk points out that the well fertilized fer-tilized legume-grass mixture is doing do-ing an important soil building job, besides giving farmers a preferred position in forage supplies. The taproots tap-roots of the legumes drill dowr deep to keep the soil open and well ventilated. They add organic mattei to improve the soil's tilth and drainage. drain-age. Large quantities of organic matter in the soil mean increased water-holding capacity. They alsc make it possible to get the best possible efficiency out of every tor of fertilizer used. |