The Book of Alfalfa: History, Cultivation and Merits / Its Uses as a Forage and Fertilizer

The feeding value of alfalfa is largely in its chemical compound known as protein; its extreme digestibility is another desirable quality to be considered, and not least is its appetizing character. Not only do all animals like it, but when given in moderate quantities it seems to increase the general appetite for more fat-making feeds. Steers beginning to “fall off” on a heavy diet of corn will come to their appetites after being fed only a few pounds of alfalfa daily, and will eat and assimilate more corn than before.

Alfalfa alone is not a fat-making feed. Animals fed upon it grow in weight, but the weight is principally of bone, blood and muscle. It is without a sufficiency of fat and carbohydrates, and these should be added in such foods as corn, corn meal, Kafir corn, or Kafir corn meal; or to a limited degree even in corn stover, sorghum or millet. When alfalfa is fed alone all the protein cannot be digested, and, therefore, it is always economical to add some carbonaceous foods, if animals are fattening for market.

For several years feeders have been deploring the fact that fattening mainly with corn was becoming less and less profitable. When they began to figure the exact cost of each pound of gain on a steer or hog, they saw clearly that corn alone made the pound of gain cost too much; sometimes as much as it was worth in the market, leaving neither profit nor interest on the investment. The problem then became how to produce the pound of meat more economically.

Such a condition has prompted the state stations to make tests to determine the feeding value of various articles, and especially the value of alfalfa as a balance to the more carbonaceous foods. The tables here appended are worth studying:

FOOD VALUE OF SEVERAL FODDER CROPS

(From New York experiment station Bul. No. 118.)

ANALYSES OF FEEDSTUFFS

The following table gives the analyses of a number of feedstuffs, showing the percentage of digestible nutrients and fertilizing constituents in each:

(From Texas experiment station Bul. No. 66)

From the above table we find that five tons of alfalfa hay contains 1,100 pounds of protein, equal to this food element in

RELATIVE VALUES OF DIFFERENT CUTTINGS

The most interesting experiments comprehending tests of the comparative yield, composition and digestibility of early, medium and late cuttings of alfalfa, of the first, second and third crops; the relative feeding value of the various cuttings, and of the different crops, have been made at the Utah station, details of which are recorded in the station’s bulletins Nos. 31, 44 and 61. These tests and investigations extended continuously through a period of five years, and following are the more important facts developed and the conclusions that may be legitimately drawn from them, as summarized (Bul. No. 61) by Profs. Luther Foster and L. A. Merrill who supervised the work:

1. The largest annual yield of hay per acre is obtained by the method of early cutting and the lowest by the late, the average result standing as follows: early cutting, 100; medium, 92; and late, 85.

2. The early cut alfalfa contains the highest per cent of protein and fat, the most valuable food constituents, and the lowest per cent of crude fiber, the most indigestible portion. The former decrease constantly while the latter increases rapidly from early bloom to the full maturity of the plant.

3. The proportionate amount of leaves to stems is greater at early bloom that at any subsequent time, and both leaves and stems contain a greater per cent of protein and a less per cent of crude fiber at this time than at any later period in the growth of the plant. The relative proportion of leaves to stems in the different cuttings is as follows: early, 42 to 58; medium, 40 to 60; and late, 33 to 67.

4. Alfalfa leaves as compared with stems are very much richer in protein, fat and nitrogen-free extract, and they contain a much smaller proportion of crude fiber. The per cent of the protein and fat grows constantly less, and that of the crude fiber greater, from the time of early bloom to maturity. The average composition of all cuttings and crops shows the leaves to contain 150 per cent more protein than the stems, 300 per cent more fat, 35 per cent more nitrogen-free extract, and 256 per cent less crude fiber.

5. The more important nutrients, protein and fat, have the highest per cent of digestibility in the early cuttings and it grows less and less with the age of the plant.

6. In the feeding tests, the highest gains were made from the early cuttings and the lowest from the late, the results standing proportionately as follows: early cutting, 100; medium, 85; and late, 75.

7. The variation in the amount of the different cuttings eaten per day was very slight, being the highest for the early cutting and the lowest for the late, but the quantity of dry matter and also of digestible matter required for a pound of gain was decidedly lowest for the early cutting and highest for the late, the relative amounts of dry matter standing as follows: early cutting, 100; medium, 131; and late, 166.

8. The annual beef product per acre was largest from the early cuttings, not only in the general average but in each separate season’s test, and that from the late cuttings was smallest, the proportional products standing as follows: early cutting, 100; medium, 79¹⁄₂; and late, 69¹⁄₂.

9. Taking all points of comparison into consideration, both separately and collectively, including everything that pertains to the largest yield and the highest feeding value, the tests favor cutting alfalfa for cattle feeding when the first blooms appear.

CROP COMPARISONS

10. The first crop gave the largest yield in each of the five tests and in fourteen out of the fifteen cuttings, while the third crop gave the lowest for every test and in every cutting but one. The average acre yields for the five years, including all cuttings, stand in the following relation: first crop, 100; second, 78; and third, 39; for the early cuttings alone, first crop, 100; second, 83; and third, 66.

11. In the average composition of all cuttings for three years, the nutrients of the three crops vary but little. The second has slightly the highest per cent of protein and fiber; and the third the most fat and nitrogen-free extract.

12. The third crop has the largest proportion of leaves to stems; but the per cent of protein in the leaves is highest in the second crop; and next highest in the first. The leaves of the first crop contain the most fat and of the second, the least.

13. The third crop produced a higher average rate of gain in the feeding tests than the first or second and also higher than any of the separate cuttings. The amount eaten daily was also highest of all, but the dry matter and digestible matter for a pound of gain were the lowest. In a pound per pound comparison the gains stood as follows: first crop, 100; second, 81; and third, 126; dry matter for a pound of gain, first crop, 100; second, 115; and third, 69.

14. The beef product per acre, taking the average result of all cuttings for the five years, was very much the highest for the first crop and decidedly the lowest for the third, standing as follows: first crop, 100; second, 61; and third, 45. But taking the early cuttings alone they stand, first crop, 100; second, 80; and third, 69.

15. Pound for pound, taken as a whole, the results show the highest feeding value for the third crop and the lowest for the second.

16. The average annual beef product from early cut alfalfa was 705.61 pounds per acre; it required 9575 pounds of timothy to produce an equal weight; 11,967 pounds of red clover, and 10,083 pounds of shredded corn fodder.

Prof. John A. Widtsoe at the Utah station (Bul. No. 48) made a study of the nutrients of the alfalfa crop, and some of the facts gathered are given in the following table:

COMPARATIVE CROP AND FEEDING VALUES

The following is another table showing the average yield of alfalfa as compared with some of the more common fodder crops and hays, as found in New Jersey station Bulletin No. 148.

At the Colorado station (Bul. No. 26) Prof. W. W. Cooke compared an acre of dent (Golden Beauty) corn, planted May 16 and harvested September 21, with returns from an acre of alfalfa on an adjoining plat, three years seeded. The corn crop was a fair one, and including ears and stalks weighed 15,500 pounds, containing 35.62 per cent or 5539 pounds of dry matter. The alfalfa yielded three cuttings of hay weighing respectively 4600, 3350 and 3250 pounds, or 5.6 tons, containing 10,304 pounds of dry matter. But, as Professor Cooke says, this is not quite a fair comparison, for a pound of dry matter from the corn crop is more digestible and has a higher feeding value than an equal amount from the alfalfa. The corn crop contained 3605 pounds of digestible feeding material, while the alfalfa crop contained 5611 pounds, or a little more than half as much again. The corn crop per acre in feeding value was equivalent to three and a half tons of alfalfa hay.

The total digestible nutrients of the two crops are presented in the following table:

COMPARATIVE VALUES OF ALFALFA HAY AND OTHER FEED STUFFS FOR PROTEIN

It is seen that the alfalfa yielded nearly twice as many pounds of dry matter as the corn, with the digestible nutrients far in the lead, and the protein of the alfalfa was three times that of the corn.

THE BALANCED RATION

No feeder can learn to use alfalfa, or in fact any forage or grain, in the most economical way until he understands somewhat the compounding of a balanced ration. All foodstuffs for either man or beast are, as already stated, made up of three classes of substances—namely, protein or proteids, carbohydrates and fats. The animal’s digestive and assimilative organs are so constructed that it cannot use these three classes of substances interchangeably; in other words, an animal fed wholly upon any one of these three would be in process of gradual starvation. Given in the proportions needed to best supply the vital organs of the body, these substances become the sustenance for animal life and growth. The protein builds up the brain, nerves, muscles and other tissues in which the life force is active, and without protein there would be no life.

To balance a ration for domestic animals is to so adjust the quantity of digestible proteids, fats and carbohydrates it contains that the animal economy may use each without waste. The balanced ration means an economical ration, allowing the digestive organs to work at their highest efficiency; an unbalanced ration is one in which one of the three classes of food substances is in excess, or is deficient. Fed such a ration, the animal retaliates upon its owner by failure to digest the excess, which is worse than wasted; for the feeding of any class of substances in excess adds to the labor of the digestive organs and reduces their efficiency.

MAKING A BALANCED RATION

In Press Bulletin No. 12, from the Kansas station, the following is given to illustrate somewhat how a balanced ration would differ from others into which consideration of a proper balance had not entered:

“There are three important groups of substances in feeds—protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Protein includes all materials in feeds which contain nitrogen. It enters into the composition of milk, blood, muscle, hair and the brain and nerves; is necessary in the formation of these, and no other substance can take its place. Protein is also used in the body in producing heat, energy and fat. Carbohydrates include the fiber of feeds, the sugars, starch, and gums, and furnish heat, energy and fat in the body. Carbohydrates and fat can take each other’s places, one pound of fat being worth 2.2 pounds of carbohydrates for production of heat in the body.

“Extended investigations have shown that to obtain the best results, feed should be given which will furnish these materials in the following proportions:

“Dairy cow—protein, 2¹⁄₂ pounds; carbohydrates, 12¹⁄₂ pounds; fat, ¹⁄₂ pound.

“Fattening steer—protein, 2¹⁄₂ to 3 pounds; carbohydrates, 15 pounds; fat, ¹⁄₂ to ³⁄₄ pound.

“Growing cattle—protein, 4 pounds; carbohydrates, 13¹⁄₂ pounds; fat, 2 pounds.

“For a young animal (cattle) gradually decrease the proportion of protein until at the age of two years the proportions are similar to those for the fattening steer, but less in quantity. A pig two to three months old needs feeds containing seven and one-half pounds of protein to each thirty pounds of carbohydrates and fat, while a year-old pig needs seven and one-half pounds of protein to each forty-eight pounds of carbohydrates and fat. Feeds containing a greater proportion of protein than called for by these standards can be fed, because protein can take the place of the other materials. Carbohydrates and fat cannot take the place of protein, however, and no matter in how large quantities they may be fed, if protein is lacking, the growth or gain will be less.

“The weak point in feeding is that the average rations are greatly deficient in protein, and have too much carbohydrates and fat. Every feeder knows that good pasturage produces rapid growth, good gains, and abundant milk yields. It furnishes nutriment in the proportion of three pounds of protein, twelve pounds of carbohydrates, and one-half pound of fat. The proportions in some of our feeds in pounds per 100 pounds of feed, are as follows:

“It will be seen that none of these contain a sufficient proportion of protein to secure best results, and all combinations of these feeds will have the same defect.

“Some feeds have too great a proportion of protein to be fed alone, as shown below, the figures indicating pounds per 100 pounds of feed:

“Making a balanced ration is combining the feeds deficient in protein with those having an excess of it, to make a ration which will contain the right proportions for the animals fed.”

VARIATIONS IN ANALYSIS

Variations in the foregoing tables would indicate that the analysis is likely to vary with the product of different soils and different cultivations. In spite of variations it may be readily seen that alfalfa with its high protein value makes a very effective and economical balance for corn for heavy feeding. When it is taken into consideration that this forage so rich in protein can be raised at home, and that its growing is at the same time enriching the soil, the conclusion is easy that alfalfa hay may profitably constitute a part of all the fattening operations; it is also clear that the economical way to market alfalfa is through the farm’s live stock.