Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 May 1917 — MILK INCREASED BY PROPER FEED [ARTICLE]

MILK INCREASED BY PROPER FEED

Sorghum and Millet as Supplements to Pasture Will Add 50 Per Cent to Output. The totjil nqilk production in Indiana can be increased more than 50 per cent if suitable supplementary feeds can be secured for dairy cows during the hot summer period. Cows that freshen in the spring season are often forced to low production during the summer period, caused by short pasture. Blue grass pasture, when grown abundantly, forms an ideal material! for the production of milk. It, however, thrives best only during the cool, <lamp days of early spring and fall. As a result the period from July 15 to Sept.lrepresents the time that the'dairy cows should receive additioral feeds if they are to maintain >a profitable flow of milk during the dry season. Sorghum or sugar cane, is a crop not commonly grown in Indiana, although every neighborhood is acquainted with its growth. Its chief virtue is its ability to thrive during the hot, dry davs of summer. Its abundant yield is also worthy of consideration. In planting sorghum, prepare the ground as if corn wias to be planted, making sure that' the surface of the soil is well pulverized. It is also necessary to postpone planting until the soil is warm, as sorghum will not grow in cold around. The seed may be planted with a grain drill from one-half to one inch deep and at the rate of one buslhel per acre. This crop will provide a good pasture or soiling crop by July 15, if planted’ not later than June 1. A larger yield will be secured if the crop is cut and fed as a soiling crop, rather than used for pasture. Care must be exercised not to pasture sorghum that has not thrived well, as it may contain a deadly poison, prussic acid, when grown under unfavorable conditions: —’—— Millet, although not a high class pasture crop, may prove to be very valuable at a season such as we are now entering, due to the fact of the unusual importance of maintaining our cows at their maximum flow. The variety of millet uisuallyrecommended for this climate is the German millet, this producing a larger yield than the Hungarian, which is much finer in quality. The ground should be prepared as for wheat, and seeded at the rate of three pecks per acre. It may be sown from May 15 to July 15 and a very good yield secured. Its chief value is that of a hay crop.