FARM ECONOMY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 May 1940, Page 9

FARM ECONOMY

MAKING FULL USE OF HAY

PREVENTION OF WASTE. NEED FOR CAREFUL PLANNING. Because it is produced on the farm and if often comparatively abundant, hay is very frequently wasted and misused. Yet on the great majority of dairy farms it is the food relied on to provide the greater portion of the bulky part of the ration. Whatever excuse there may have been for this carelessness in the past there are now cogent reasons for studying closely the methods whereby hay can be used to the best advantage and wastage avoided. Apart from the shortage of cakes, meals and gram, the decrease in the production of meadow hay which will occur in 1940, due to the ploughing-up campaign, is likely to be severely felt next winter, states the “Farmer and Stockbreeder” (London). For the remainder of the present winter nothing can be done to increase supplies, therefore attention must be directed to the economical use of the ricks remaining on the farm. The difficulties in obtaining regular deliveries of concentrates has tended to the more liberal use of hay on many farms, but even where hay is plentiful the quantities allowed to the different classes of stock should be controlled, with a view to carrying forward a reserve for next winter.

The practice of tying up hay in trusses when it is cut out of ricks has been repeatedly recommended as a means of controlling the allowances and avoiding waste.

Fortunately, the weight of an average truss of hay fits readily Into the scheme of things. The daily maintenance needs of a cow of average size are met by 17-181 b. a'verage quality hay, which means one truss to three cows each day; if you wish to give 141 b. per head, then one truss is allowed for four cows, or, if only 91b. can be given, then one trulss is allowed for six cows. Ob- . viously, where hay is fed twice daily, one truss will do six, eight or twelve cows at each feed. / VARIATIONS IN QUALITY. Where there is a shortage of labour,

a real objection exists to the tying up of trusses, but under these circumstances the need for controlling quantity is just as pressing, and other means, suitable to the conditions on the farm, must be devised and put into practice. Every farmer has his own interpretation of the type of hay meant by “av- • erage quality hay.” But no other food in common use varies so much

■ in quality. When this is studied with the aid of chemical analysis we find that the percentages of protein and carbo-hydrates rise, and the percentage of fibre falls, with an improvement in quality, whereas the changes in composition are reversed with a loss in quality. It is the protein content which is most subject to change—in average English hay there is some 8 per cent protein whereas in first-class hay it may rise to 12 per cent or even more and poor hay will contain only 4 to 5 per cent. When we are confronted with a definite reduction in our supplies of concentrates we must pay greater attention to quality in our hay. If we have first-class herbage, cut

it early and are fortunate enough to secure it without leaching by rain, we shall have hay of good quality, and this type should be used with a greater realisation of its value. SUPPLEMENTARY RATION. A daily allowance of 17-181 b. will be adequate not only for maintenance, but also for the first gallon of milk, and smaller allowances, supplemented by kale, cabbage and mangolds will have a similar feeding value. On the other hand, a poor type of herbage with a small proportion of leaf, cut late and unfortunately exposed to rain, will give a poor hay, which is little, if anything better than good oat straw. It will give bulk to a ration, but will have very little value for milk production or for the growth of store stock. The utilisation of hay during the winter should, as far as circumstances and supplies permit, take account of the variation in quality, and, in particular, really good hay should be used to replace concentrates for the first gallon of milk. Hay made from lucerne, sainfoin and red clover is definitely richer in pro-

tein than meadow or seeds hay, and where supplies are available it is advisable to use roots at the same time to provide sufficient carbohydrates to balance the high-protein hays. It is interesting to note that in the United States, where lucerne is considered of prime importance and is widely grown, a winter ration for up to two gallons of milk daily is frequently made up of lucerne hay and maize silage; in this country mangolds or other root crops

can adequately take the place of the maize silage. SILAGE AND OAT STRAW. At the present time silage is once more receiving special attention because it can be made under adverse weather conditions, will keep well and can be used to replace roots, or part of the hay and part of the concentrates in a ration for cows. The feeding value of silage will depend on the quality of the herbage or crop from which it is made, and also on the methods used in making, whether in a tower, pit. stack or portable silo. As a rule, 10 lb. silage is equal to 3 to 41b. hay. The value of straw as a fodder is often a subject of debate, but long experience has given oat straw the firs: place; yet here again climate and soil conditions affect the feeding quality. Investigations by Collins some years ago showed a wide range in the chemical composition; he concluded that oat straws grown after old leys or after well-dunged root crops were high in protein and that fine harvest weather increased the sugar content in the carbohydrates. He also stated that good oat straw has a higher feeding value than inferior hay. This should to some extent meet the objections of many dairy farmers to ploughing-up of grassland.

In planning our stock food production for lhe future we must pay more attention to the feeding value of our home-grown bulky foods, and to the utilisation of these to make up for the shortage of concentrates. Much can and must be done to this end.