| Show 0 0 FARM FACTS by S R BOSWELL county agent 0 0 animal husbandman warns against over feeding alfalfa with an abundant alfalfa crop of excellent quality available it has been customary in utah to feed larger amounts of this valuable nitrogenous roughage than has been necessary or advisable for best results declares dean E J maynard extension animal husbandman of the utah state agricultural college when animals are fed all they will consume they eat cat much larger amounts of alfalfa than they need horses have been known to consume as much as 60 pounds daily and it is not uncommon for them to eat as much as 40 pounds daily experiments have shown that they will do well on a minimum ration of eight pounds of hay daiy if supplemented with some grain or even with low grade forage such as straw or fodder in the corn belt and other regions where alfalfa is scarce and often high priced it is customary to feed horses one per cent of their live weight dally daily of alfalfa in other words 14 pounds daily is considered an adequate amount for a 1400 pound work horse the amount of grain should be regulated according to the work done by the horse A one per cent grain ration is recommended for horses at hard work limit horses an dother livestock now so that a small ration of alfalfa may be fed through the entire winter 4 cattle should have their fiu fill of horses and other livestock now so falfa hay alone good results are secured by substituting any low grade carbonaceous roughage available by proper use of supplemental feeds dean maynard suggests it should be possible to double the nutritive value of alfalfa crop this year advises use of balanced livestock rations to save hay one good way to save alfalfa hay is to feed it with a suitable supplement in a balanced ration states E J maynard e extension animal husbandman of the U S A C hages that help to balance ancell alfalfa in livestock maintenance rations according to professor maynard are corn com fodder or silage straw or even weeds in case of emergency weeds cut while in a tender green condition when cured and stacked have a definite feed value concentrates include any of the small grains dried beet pulp or beet molasses it is still possible to plant corn or cane for forage which may be ensiled enfiled cheaply in trench SROS silos at any stage of growth says professor maynard hay made from unripe small grain crops is also a valuable supplement sup lement to alfalfa he states the lower value of the un ripe grain is offset by the higher nutritive value of the straw the important point is thi the use of any carbonaceous feed as a means for increasing the effectiveness of a limited alfalfa ration high prices paid for shipped in alfalfa may prove ruinous with present livestock markets but jhb stretching of a limited alfalfa supply by the use of cheap available carbonaceous hages to balance the ration is a worth while consideration |
