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Show Farm News-Notes By LEW MAR PRICE County Agent Pasture Cheap Dairy Feed Turning cows to pasture, i. e., before be-fore the grass is four or five inches high seriously retards the growth. I is only the exposed surface of the leaves that enables the grass to make rapid growth, hence too early clipping materially affects total yield. Very frequently cows turned to pasture pas-ture too early will actually starve themselves rather than take dry feed, and the younger the grass the more likely is this to be true. Pasture grass is undoubtedly the cheapest dairy feed we have if proper pro-per utilized, but the general practice is to turn onto it too soon thereby burning the fat and vitality out of the cow as well as materially reducing the season's yield of feed. Returns from a given area in pasture can be greatly increased, also, by dividing di-viding it up into two or more fields, then pasturing them in rotation instead in-stead of on the entire area at all times.' tim-es.' This is definitely proven on the large dairy experimental farm owned and operated in Beltsville, Maryland, by the federal government. The extra ex-tra butterfat produced on the average pasture will pay in one year for the expense of fencing. Early Planting Proves Best It is not an unusual practice in our county to hold off planting corn in order that it will not be up when the expected June frost occurs. This puts the crop into late September before the crop- reaches the best stage for silage. What actually happens is that the corn never gets to that best stage because it is either frozen or necessarily neces-sarily harvested before that time. Some of our farmers who have test-continued test-continued on Page Four) FARM NEWS NOTES BY LEW MAR PRICE (Continued from page one) ed it out say they would rather have it frozen twice in the spring than once in the fall. Even if it is frozen at the time of the June frost, it will come back immediately from the root system sy-stem already established, and is far ahead of the plant that is just starting start-ing from the seed. The early planted crop is much more resistant to disease, requires less late water, invariably makes better bet-ter tonnage of a superior quality of silage, or reaches maturity at a much earlier date. Riding to a Fall "If the present standard of living of farmj folks is to be maintained and improved, as it should be, ways and means of producing crops and livestock live-stock at less cost per unit must be found. This is not a debatable proposition. propo-sition. The man who doesn't or won't find a way to lower costs is riding to a fall. It constitutes a question that the individual must study and decide for himself." The above quotatio is by "Senator Capper who says he will continue to do all he can in Washington for agriculture, agri-culture, but the greater part of the burden still rests on the individual farmer. Following is an example in our own county: In our Beaver Valley Val-ley Dairy Herd Improvement Association Associa-tion we found one herd producing fat at 14c per poud while it was cost 32c per pound in a neighboring herd of apparently equally good breeding: One man last year produced 420 bu. of potatoes per acre while his neighbor with the same kind of soil, same amount of water, etc., produced 180 bu. on the same area. Such variations varia-tions cannot be handled by legislation. The individual farmer must decide for himself the standard his dairy cow must meet in order to occupy a stall in his barn; the kind of seed he will 1 plant, the state of fertility in which he will keep his soil, the cultiation and care he will give. Greater yields at lower costs are . entirely possible, and it is one way to ', assist in maintaining an adequate in- ' come during such times as the pre- sent. The season of off flavored milk and cream is approaching now. Bad flav- ors usually come in the spring more tnun later wnen temperatures are ; much higher. This is usually due to ; more than one cause, but much of it ' can be avoided if care is exercised in j starting the cows to pasture gradual- ; ly, and giving, the dairy utensils pro- per sterilization. It is better, anil i: uch more satisfactory, to do this be- ' fore a shipment or two has to be returned re-turned from the creamery. Surface diseases of potatoes such as scab, rhizoctonia, etc., can be effectively effec-tively controlled by proper treatment of the seed before planting. Acre yields can be materially increased if growers will take the time to give their seed any of the treatments now recommended by our experiment stations sta-tions where they have been repeate lly tried and found to be effective. Hang Abortion Disease in Cattle (By W. II. Hendricks, Veterinarian) Perhaps the most serious disease from au economic standpoint, which we have to contend with today is Bang Abortion Disease. Our chief concern is in regard to the spread of the disease among cattle, although other animals are sometimes affected. affect-ed. It is conservatively estimated by the United States Department of Agricultural Ag-ricultural that the annual loss due to this disease is in excess of fifty million dollars. If this estimate is applied to cattle in Utah, it means about three-quarters of a million dollars annually in our state. The livestock owners are suffering this loss and a great many of them are unmindful of it. Unless the disease breaks out seriously in a herd and causes enormous losses, the owner usually does not get very excited about it. This condition should not exist, because it is a rather strenuous strenu-ous task and sometimes an expensive expen-sive one to clean up or eradicate the disease from a herd. It is much better bet-ter to keep your herd clean and free from disease than to have to control it after it gets started. The State Department ot Agriculture, Agricul-ture, in connection with the laboratory labora-tory at the Experiment Station in Logan,, Lo-gan,, are assisting the cattle owners to control this disease and if possible prevent its further spread. This is a big task, and in order to make effective ef-fective headway it is absolutely necessary nec-essary that we have the full support and cooperation of the livestock men. Herd management and sanitation are the basis of a control plan, and the owner of livestock is the one most vitally concerned and the one who can give us the greatest assistance. assist-ance. The disease seems to be pretty well distributed over the state as disclosed dis-closed by blood tests that have already al-ready been made. Some few sections that are comparatively free from it should guard their herds jealously against infection and they should be mindful about unnecessarily exposing expos-ing their neighbors. It may return to them. The disease is spread by the discharges dis-charges from infected animals, particularly par-ticularly at the time of calving and for sometime after, getting on the feed, water, pastures, etc., and in this way being taken in by other animals in their feed This means that infected in-fected animals should be kept apart from susceptible animals. It takes the cooperation of each and every cattle owner to do this. One man may get a clean herd and then get the infection from some careless neighbor. Unless a man is located I on a ranch where his cattle can be kept entirely separate from all other animals, it is a very difficult job for him to clean up this disease alone, tlrkt is, without the cooperation of the cattle owners neighboring with him. This means then that in Utah the majority of cases must be handled hand-led by groups, or communities, etc., working cooperatively so that each reaps the benefits of the other fellow's fel-low's efforts. Unless this is done, it is going to be a very difficult job to eradicate the disease from your cattle. cat-tle. It is a community cooperative proposition and should be attacked as such. Do not allow your clean animals to mix with infected animals, and do not let your infected animals mix with someone elses clean animals. Be chartiable. You may ask: How do I know they are infected? In answer to this, let me state that it requires a blood test to determine the infected cattle. The laboratory at college is equipped equip-ped to make these tests, and we ask that you call in your local deputy state veterinarian and have him take the blood samples from your cattle and send them to the labortory. He will then report the results to you and advise you how to handle your herd to control the disease. It will cost you comparatively little to test your herd and prevent it from becoming be-coming infected, while on the other hand it will be an expensive experience experi-ence to be careless and let the disease dis-ease get into your herd and then have to fight it continually. Consult your veterinarian and learn more about the disease and the methods of controlling it. Then cooperate with us and help us help you eradicate the disease from your herd and pr-event it spreading to the other herds. It will mean profits to you that are now being lost. Let's start now and keep our infected cattle cat-tle from exposing others. Let's cooperate co-operate and work together. |