The most enthusiastic advocates of alfalfa are dairymen. The market price of milk is quite well fixed and the price of butterfat at the creameries remains, in the different seasons, pretty much the same year by year. Hence, the problem of increasing his financial returns must depend upon the dairyman’s being able to increase the volume of his product or to decrease the cost, or both. If he is selling butterfat at a profit of five cents and he cannot force the price any higher, it is the sensible thing to decrease the cost per pound and thereby enlarge his profit.

The dairyman who buys all his feed has but little margin. To raise enough clover calls for considerable land. Alfalfa will yield a large bulk of excellent feed from a few acres of well treated land. For profit he must raise more feedstuff and buy less. The Kansas station reported that with common scrub cows fed on alfalfa hay and Kafir corn meal it was possible to produce butterfat at a cost of seven cents a pound.

SOME MILKING TEST VALUATIONS

The New Jersey station as a result of a very painstaking milking test reported: (1) In a ration where alfalfa hay was tested against wheat bran and dried brewers’ grain the saving in the cost of milk was 12.7 cents per hundred, and 2.3 cents per pound of butter when alfalfa hay was used. This saving means a great deal when it is considered that the alfalfa is raised and not purchased. (2) That the milk value of one acre of alfalfa was $74.

A Kansas dairyman is reported to have kept ten cows through one summer on the alfalfa cut daily from a patch containing four square rods less than two acres.

Some dairymen believe that there is a great saving in the alfalfa hay by cutting it into two-inch lengths, and feeding it dry. It is also believed that it will always be a matter of economy to feed with the alfalfa, green or as hay, a small ration of carbonaceous food, even corn-stover serving such a purpose.

Former Governor Hoard, editor of Hoard’s Dairyman, says that with alfalfa hay at $10 and bran at $20 per ton there is a saving, by using alfalfa, of $2.80 for every 100 pounds of butter made, and a saving of 19.8 cents for every 100 pounds of milk.

In a section of New York where alfalfa has been quite generally introduced, dairymen claim an increase in their profits of 15 to 30 per cent by its use, besides the enrichment of their farms for other crops.

Prof. D. H. Otis, telling of experiments with the dairy herd at the Kansas agricultural college, states that, “it is usually recommended to feed a cow all the rough feed she will eat, and then balance up the ration with grain. The experience at the college indicates that much rough feed is wasted in careless feeding. The cow will eat the best first, and, if given too much, will pick the most desirable morsels, leaving what might be called passably good, which too frequently is treated as waste and thrown under foot. No more hay should be given an animal than it will eat up clean. This refers to first-class quality, however, as a cow could not be expected to eat poor hay clean.

“In feeding the rough feeds, the following table has been used by the college as a guide:

“Students working with the dairy herd were anxious to have the cows make the best possible yields, and were tempted to give all the good alfalfa hay the cows would eat. When we discovered the alfalfa hay going too rapidly we looked for the cause and found that the dairy cows had consumed an average of forty-three pounds per head daily, besides fifteen pounds of Kafir corn fodder. The quantity of alfalfa was reduced to thirty-three pounds and the Kafir-corn fodder to three and one-half pounds daily per cow, and we found that the daily yield of milk was slightly increased. The quality of the hay was the same in both instances. In the latter case it was eaten up clean, while in the former considerable was hauled away and fed to dry cows. Later records show a still greater reduction in the allowance of alfalfa without decreasing the flow of milk. This experience shows some of the leaks that may take place in feeding roughness, especially when those feeds are appetizing, like alfalfa and red clover.

“For ease of calculation the roughness is figured on the basis of alfalfa hay selling for one dollar per ton. When alfalfa is worth six dollars per ton the other rough feeds are worth six times the amount indicated in the table; when alfalfa is worth eight dollars per ton the other feeds are worth eight times as much, and so on. Usually we find that we can give practically all the rough feed that the cows can eat, although, as indicated above, with a good quality of alfalfa or clover hay more may be eaten than will be consumed at a profit. At this writing alfalfa hay is selling in Manhattan at seven dollars per ton. This would make the feeding values of the other rough feeds worth seven times the amount indicated in the table. Red clover, for instance, would be worth seven times seventy cents or $4.90 per ton; prairie hay would be worth $3.57 per ton; and millet hay would be worth $4.48 per ton. If the problem was to select the most economical roughness, we would select alfalfa at seven dollars per ton, in preference to red clover at six dollars per ton, or prairie hay at four dollars per ton, or millet at five dollars per ton. Knowing the cost of these different rough feeds and having this table before him, a feeder can tell which is the most economical feed to use. It will be noticed that the table is divided into two parts, the first part giving the value of the total nutrients, and the second one the value of the protein nutrients. It frequently happens that we have plenty of carbohydrates and fat, but that we are lacking in protein. In this case we would consult the ‘protein nutrients’ column in order to determine what feed to buy in order to furnish the protein most economically. If it be carbohydrates and fat as well as protein that is required, as was the condition in the dry year of 1901, then we should take the total nutrients’ column. When it is possible to get a rough feed containing a large amount of protein, we find that in feeding a liberal allowance of roughness the grain can be reduced. Hence, the importance of providing roughness rich in protein, like alfalfa.”

SELLING FARM PRODUCTS THROUGH THE COW

No other branch of agriculture presents more advantages than dairying—disposing of the products of the farm as milk and butterfat. When the latter may be sold to creamery stations and the skim milk fed to calves and pigs along with alfalfa the profits are greater than from almost any other form of agriculture. No other business tends so rapidly to build up the fertility of the farm, and, when judiciously conducted, no other branch of farming yields more satisfactory financial returns. Raising and feeding alfalfa will add from 15 to 30 per cent to the profits of dairying over the use of any other feedstuff that may be raised or bought. The profit problem for the dairyman is constantly to find the feed that will decrease the cost of his production.

The diagram below, prepared by the editor of the Nebraska Farmer, is to “represent the digestible protein or milk property contained in different kinds of roughness. Points represent the decimals of a pound, and the bars are an exact representation of the superiority of one kind of food over another for the production of milk. Each bar represents 10 pounds of roughness. The approximate yield is also given per acre:”

Approximate Yield Per Acre.

A. S. Hitchcock cites as an illustration of feeding alfalfa alone, the case of the dairy farms in the vicinity of Moneta, Cal., where the stock are ordinarily fed no other ration than alfalfa. As alfalfa is not a balanced ration, a number of local dairymen tried to replace a part of the alfalfa by sorghum, thus giving a more nearly balanced ration. The cows, however, did not give as much milk upon this combination as upon pure alfalfa. “This result may be assigned to the fact that the cattle were unable to consume a sufficient quantity of the mixture to produce the same results as the alfalfa alone. These dairymen find they can secure a larger yield by feeding a little grain; but the increased yield does not pay for the grain, which is high priced in this locality.”

AN ESSENTIAL IN MILK PRODUCTION

Oscar Erf, professor of dairying at the Kansas experiment station, writing for this volume, says: “Alfalfa is quite indispensable in successful dairy operations, being one of the cheapest sources of protein, that most essential compound in feeds for milk production. The Kansas station found that for milk 1¹⁄₄ pounds of well-leaved alfalfa hay, containing a high per cent of protein, is equal in feeding value to a pound of bran. In case the alfalfa is of a stemmy nature it requires 1³⁄₄ pounds to equal the feeding value of a pound of bran. Alfalfa hay is worth from $4 to $7 per ton on the farm, while bran costs from $14 to $20 per ton, hence it is far more economical to feed the alfalfa hay.

“Like other hays alfalfa varies in composition according to the time of cutting, the soil on which it grows, and its per cent of leaves. It has been found that three-fourths of a pound of alfalfa hay is equal in feeding value to a pound of clover hay of equal brightness and quality. A good stand of clover yields about 2¹⁄₂ tons per acre per year, while a good stand of alfalfa yields about 5 tons per acre per year. Hence, on an acre of land, 1100 pounds of protein can be produced by raising alfalfa while only 340 pounds can be produced by growing clover, the protein in the alfalfa and that in the clover being equally digestible. This comparison is chosen from the fact that clover is the next cheaper source of protein found on the farm.

“At the Kansas station the following experiment was conducted, and illustrates the low cost of a ration including alfalfa hay for roughness as compared with a ration in which prairie hay was used. The experiment was with ten cows. The first ration consisted of 21 pounds of alfalfa hay and 9 pounds of corn. While the cows were on this ration each produced an average 26 pounds of milk per day, the milk containing 3.9 per cent of butterfat. To formulate a ration from prairie hay and bran which had the same amount of nutrients, we were obliged to feed 19 pounds of bran and 15 of hay. Fed on this each cow produced only 24 pounds of milk per day, containing 4 per cent of butterfat. The 21 pounds of alfalfa hay at $7 per ton, which is rather a high estimate, and 9 pounds of corn at 70 cents per hundred weight cost 13.6 cents per day. At this rate it cost 3¹⁄₃ cents to produce a gallon of milk, or approximately 13.5 cents for a pound of butterfat. Estimating bran at $16 per ton and prairie hay at $5 per ton, the cost of the second ration was 18.95 cents per day, and milk approximately 7 cents per gallon, making the butterfat worth 19.7 cents per pound.

“The following two tables show the difference in cost between a ration in which alfalfa is used for part of the roughness and one which contains no alfalfa but has the same amount of digestible nutrients:

“As shown by the table a gain of 5.86 cents is made by feeding the alfalfa. Being a proteinaceous feed it can to a great extent be substituted for cottonseed meal, linseed meal or gluten meal, and will entirely substitute other leguminous hays and forages, such as soy bean hay, cowpea hay, clover hay and vetch hay, any one of which is more expensive, for nutrients contained, than alfalfa hay.

“The Kansas station has found it practicable, from results obtained in the past three years, to ensile green alfalfa for dairy cows. This is superior to dry alfalfa, owing to its succulent nature. In the eastern part of the United States ensiling alfalfa has another advantage in that all cuttings can be harvested in perfect condition. As a rule the first cutting throughout this whole territory is liable to be damaged more or less by rains. By putting the green alfalfa into a well constructed silo this loss can be obviated and the full value retained. For example: a man has 40 acres of alfalfa, from which he harvests for the first crop 1¹⁄₂ tons per acre. Estimating the price of good, clean alfalfa hay at $7 a ton, this would be worth $420. Should the hay be damaged by rain its value would be greatly reduced and, as has been the case for many years, such damaged hay could be purchased for $2 or less per ton. Accordingly this damaged hay would be worth $120. The loss caused by rain would therefore be $300. Put into the silo this first cutting would be equal in value to the best bright hay.

“The cost of a 100-ton silo is $250, hence the owner could not only save the first cutting, but money besides. Furthermore, it is not infrequently the case that alfalfa of the first cutting is of a stemmy nature, and it has been estimated that fully 28 per cent of such hay is wasted when fed to cows, as they do not eat the coarse stems. This loss can be entirely eliminated by the siloing, for cows will readily eat the stems as silage.

“The value of alfalfa silage in influencing the milk flow was indicated when a ration was fed to sixteen cows, in which 12 pounds of alfalfa hay, 20 pounds of corn silage, 5 pounds of bran and 4 pounds of corn meal were used; this ration was afterward changed by substituting alfalfa silage for the corn silage, and at the same time the bran was reduced to 1 pound, and the corn increased 1 pound. By these changes the milk was increased 10 per cent.

“With butterfat worth 23 cents a pound the value of a ton of alfalfa silage has been estimated at approximately $8. This silage solves the problem of feeding cows economically in summer, as well as in winter, under a system of intensive farming.”

W. J. Fraser, chief in dairy husbandry at the University of Illinois, says: “Corn silage and alfalfa, two of the best feeds for dairy cows, make practically a complete or balanced ration in themselves. Several years’ experience in supplying the university dairy herd with various kinds of soiling crops in midsummer has led to this high recommendation of corn silage and alfalfa.”

Alfalfa hay has much the same laxative effect as June pasture. An Elgin, Ill., dairyman, with fifty cows, says: “Every month I feed alfalfa in winter gives me a month in which I have practically pasture conditions. The cows show the pasture-effect in the glossy condition of their hair and in the yield of milk, and have never before looked quite so well.”