| Show 0 I 1 FARM FACTS I 1 j by S R BOSWELL LL I 1 I 1 county agent I 1 0 0 importance of feeding dairy cows too many dairymen uro are attempting to keep more cows than they have ample feed for says george B caine extension dairyman for the utah state agricultural college and they are half starving the whole herd and getting no profitable production last years returns from the dairy herd improvement work show too laig c a number of lowbred low bred cows in the utah herds in most sections the cows are well bred so the feeding and management of the cows must be faulty this year feeds are plentiful and cheap last year alfalfa was the most expensive feed and should have been saved by feeding grain but this year it is again in the cheap class therefore it should be the foundation of the ration feed all the good bright leafy alfalfa that the cows can be coaxed to take each day if they do not clean up all the stocks feed that to the horses or dry cattle so it will not be wasted give the cows a little chance to select the finer stems and leaves that contain the most nutrients and can be more readily assimilated in the body corn silage is an excellent succulent feed to go with alfalfa hay I 1 it takes two and one half to three i pounds of corn com silage to replace one pound of alfalfa in the ration this is a succulent and palatable feed and helps a great deal in keeping the body of the cow in good condition as well as replace ing hay bay these t two w 0 feeds should amply take care of cows that do not produce more than pounds of butterfat in a year the cow cows should be kept in good physical condition to show what production they can make and should not be allowed to get thin some grain should be fed to all cows in the herds producing more than pounds of butterfat As this is usually tho the most expensive feed it should be given only on a production basis As a general rule feed one pound of grain per day for each four to six pounds of milk produced daily when men a cows production gets below 20 to 2 25 1 pounds of 4 per cent milk dally daily she need not have any grain grain feeding costs slightly more but invariably the net profit is greater on the good cows thit that have grain added ration oats and barley mixed equal parts by weight will make a good ration for most cows an equal part of good bran added to this slightly increases both the palatability tabi lity and content and at the present price Is a good addition to the grain ration dried sugar beet pulp is equal in value to any of the farm grains and can be added to the above mixture or can take the place of any one grain in the mixture cows that are kept in dry lot over long periods often show a desire for more mineral in their rations especially if bran is not a part of the grain ration to take care of this they should have access to steamed bone meal which should be kept under a shed in a dry place the same as the salt box either bone meal or salt can be fed in the grain mi mixture as well as from a box as suggested the dairy men should keep records make a careful study of the same and cull their herds more closely on a production and breeding basis the balance of the herd can then be fed for more profitable production x wood as fuel the use of wood for fuel is being realized more this year than it has been for some time says professor paul M munn extension forester of the utah state agricultural college and a large number of utah families are benefit tin this practice according to figures recently compiled by forest officials at ogden over cords of dry wood have been taken from national forest land in utah for use as fuel this current year with an average of ten cords per family this means that utah families are being supplied in this in manner anner this has ben a direct s saving to many people who because of unemployment have been able to take advantage of this means of providing fuel for the home and who also might have been unable to pay for other fuel the privilege of obtaining wood for fuel on certain areas has been given free for individual use by the forest service but according 1 to the officers in charge there are many areas where there is no dry wood left within a reazo reasonable reach of a road this indicates that heavy use is depleting the supply in areas that can be readily reached if wood is good fuel and it is economy to drive from ten to sixty miles for a load of wood the question is asked by mr dunn might it not be good economy to plant a small area rca r of the farm to a woodlot and grow wood for fuel and other uses right at home most every utah farm has ground available that would grow a crop of trees that in five to ten years would be supplying the farm home there are forest tree seedlings growing in the forestry department nursery at the college in logan that will be available for planting on utah farms next year these young trees are of 13 varieties and include siberian elm russian olive ash and honey boney locust golden willow and black walnut which are all potential wood trees information regarding the planting of trees may be obtained through the extension service farmers urged to preserve carryover carry over hay it is not a calamity to have a carryover carry over of hay sava davs W W owens assistant director of agriculture of the utah extension service serice As a matter of fact it is good business to plan to have hay on hand when the new crop is harvested A reserve of hay is cheap insurance against the necessity of purchasing high priced hay save the hay which is stacked best or is under hay sheds to the lt last if the winter is normal there i will be many stacks of hay carried over to the next winter the I 1 manner in which it is stacked is a big factor in determining the value of holdover hold over hay stacks which show a small percentage of spoilage after six or eight months win will show a heavy loss after eighteen or twenty months if they have not been put up right ufah bah is very fortunate in having a large hay bay crop this year had the crop been below normal the small two per cent carryover carry over from the previous year would have offered little protection the five per cent carryover carry over from the 1930 crop was not enough to supplement the light crop of 1931 dry years and light crops will come again agian A ten per cent margin of hay is none too much protection against such years now is the time to select from your hay that which Is put pat up in the best beat shape to hold over |
