Show The County Agents Report Duchesne County Farm News by Lloyd Smith and Norris POULTRY Your Chickens comfort be given prime consideration when temperatures soar this if you wish them to keep laying at a maximum rate during hot advises Lloyd Duchesne County Extension Agent with Utah State make sure that the chickens have an adequate water supply and arc not crowded at the watering Although 18 linear feet of water trough per layers is normally recommended for year-round it is advisable to provide more water space during periods of extreme It is also advisable to provide plenty of feed hopper space and area for each When all feed is provided in a minimum of 40 linear feet of feed hopper space per layers is When grain is fed in the or when mechanical feeders are provide 35 or more linear feet of hopper space per Normally each bird should have a minimum of 6 to 7 inches of roosting depending upon Its This allows 50 to 58 feet per In extreme it is wise to increase this to 75 feet per Proper insulation and ventilation arc important in assuring the chicken's comfort during the summer Ec particularly sure to ventilate the In many it is also advisable to paint the roof with reflective roof Research has proven that this will reduce ceiling temperatures as much as 20 A combination of water and moving air in mist form has been particularly successful in lowering temperatures Inside poultry report as much as 5 to 10 degrees Equally as important as temperature control Is the control of poultry mites and other To prevent their annoyance to the Extension leaflet Poultry is available from your county extension GREEN GROWS THE GRASS Mountain Meadows Classified by Soil Conservation In this column last week you were given a brief review of the size and location of the area classified as Mountain Most ranchers arc quite familiar with in a breakdown and brief discussion of the major components of meadowlands will help to establish our viewpoint that all meadowlands can not managed and still give maximum Meadows can be classified into two or more The first which is the most valuable and is irrigated or naturally wet to some degree throughout the year and relatively salt These meadows are usually found around the outer fringes of the within the floor and have fair to good This al- 1 lows most of the salts to be leached out and carried to areas that are not well drained or into local Normal Irrigation practices have kept meadows of this type too Too much water for too long a time each season has permitted the low-yielding sedges and rushes to gradually invade and crowd out the better quality and more productive Forage yields from most of these meadows are now far below what they could be with good cultural and management plus to improved species of grasses and legumes adapted to the Use of these practices can again make them as productive or more so than they were The Soil Conservation Service Plant Materials Center is testing plants for their and culture on this kind of The second group is also but usually so because of a high water table which has developed as a result of poor They are by their high salt As the water moves in it carries salt leached from soils at higher elevations around the As the water evaporates or is used by the plants the salt is deposited In the This excess accumulation of salts within the root zone very limits the amount of water that Is available for plant growth and restricts the plant population to salt-tolerant Often these meadows are wet in the spring and early summer but dry during late summer and Where the dry season is ex- drouth tolerance also becomes an important plant Most of the resident native grasses that meet these qualifications are very poor forage They produce only enough green leaf surface to manufacture some food to maintain root supplies and produce a few seed heads As could be forage quality is very Renovation and of meadows In this group is Satisfactory results are dependent upon conservation irrigation to leach existing salt accumulations and prevent new to improved adapted grasses and and cultural and management practises to stimulate and maintain maximum growth of the planted Most valleys do not have sharp lines of demarcation between the two general types of meadowlands discussed There arc large transition areas that exhibit some of the qualities of each of the two Fluctuations in elevation and changes in soil types markedly influence formation of the two major Every ranch is characterized by its own individual meadow Solutions to based upon a soil survey and through critical evaluation of each individual the most permanent type of The application of sound conservation practices through a basic farm plan with your Soil Conservation District deserves earnest Technical help from people trained to cope with such problems can be extremely valuable in any improvement These services are available through your local Soil Conservation or County |