| Show FERTILE SOILS AID LIVESTOCK crops rich in minerals are valuable as feed by W n H PIERRE read head ol of agronomy Asto department lows state college of agriculture when we think of fertile soils we usually think of high crop yields soils however not only affect the yield of crops but they also aff affect act crop quality composition from the standpoint of animal feeding the three elements often found in too low quantities in crops are nitrogen calcium and phosphorus for this reason they are often added to animal rations as supple supplements meTts nitrogen as protein concentrates and calcium and phosphorus as mineral supplements the protein content of all grass or non leguminous crops is determined by the available nitrogen in the soil if the available nitrogen is low crops make poor growth and contain low amounts of nitrogen and of protein therefore the use of manure or nitrogen fertilizers on such soil often increases both the yield and feeding value of the crop grown legume hays are of course much higher in nitrogen and protein than grass hays moreover legumes when well inoculated get their nitrogen from the air they can also furnish nitrogen to non legume crops grown in association liming by promoting the inoculation and growth of legumes often results in an increased nitrogen ogen content in the crops of the elements found in low amounts in crops which are important in animal nutrition phosphorus is found in all parts of the animal body and together with lime forms the chief constituent of bone animals fed a ration deficient in phosphorus have been found to develop bone diseases one of the early symptoms of such a disease is bone chewing or the gnawing of wood this is usually followed by poor physical appearance poor appetite stiffness in the joints and sometimes fragile bones deficiency of phosphorus in the ration often exists however long before symptoms of extreme phosphorus deficiency are obtained and in balancing a ration for farm animals phosphorus in the mineral form is often needed in order to provide the necessary amount of this element |
