Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 140, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 June 1911 — Dairymen Should Prepare for Late Summer Drought By P. H. Crane [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Dairymen Should Prepare for Late Summer Drought By P. H. Crane

By P. H. Crane

Dairy Department, Purdue University Experiment Station

P. H. Crane, Dairy Department Purdue Experiment Station. This is the season of the year that dairymen should make preparation for the annual shortage In pasture that almost Invariably occurs in late summer. Too frequently in the spring when there Is plenty of spring rains and the grass is growing up luxuriantly, that many times in the past their milk flow has been cut down very low during the latter part of July, August and September by the drying up of their pastures. To be prepared for the reoccurrence of such conditions will mean an increased production and profit and may, hr" some cases, prevent the necessary disposal of a part of the herd which sometimes occurs when shortage of feed is experienced. It is in May and June that we usually get the largest returns from our cows, this can be credited largely to the succulent June pasture. It is logical to conclude that we can approach results of this season if we Imitate the conditions of this season. To do this we must first supply succulent feed. In the fall when the pastures are dried up, we should have some soiling crop or silage to feed in connection with the short dry pasture. If thought was not taken last fall of this summer’s feeding, It Is very probable that silage is not available for this coming summer, but now is the time to prepare for next summer. Under general conditions if one silo is

being used for winter feeding and its entire capacity is required for the winter months it would be well to erect another for summer feeding. If this is done the silo for summer use should be of a smaller diameter than would be erected for the spring feeding of the same sized herd. This is true because of the fact that a thicker layer must be fed off the top daily tn summer time than is necessary in winter to prevent the silage from spoiling. If a small herd is to be fed and it is not practical to have a winter and summer silo, summer silage can be provided by building the silo small enough in diameter to prevent the silage from spoiling during the warmer months and of sufficient height to accommodate the herd for both winter and summer. ' If we are not in a position to provide silage to supplement our fall pasture, it would be well to prepare to feed some soiling crop such as field peas and oats, alfalfa, sorghum, red clover, sweet corn, early corn or cow peas. In the seeding of these crops, it is necessary to estimate about the quantities of feed that will be required and seed the necessary areas at different times to keep up the supply of green feed as long as needed. If it should happen that there is plenty of rain to keep the pasture up, most of the above named crops can be allowed to fully mature and be used for hay or grain as the Case may be. It is a good practice to be prepared for the worst —prepare for a fall drought.

Preparing Silage Which Is Good Supplement to Dry Fall Pastures.