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UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Miscellaneous Publication No. 194
Washington, D.C.
Issued April 1934
Slightly revised September 1946
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
By
A. T. SEMPLE
Formerly Associate Animal Husbandman, Animal Husbandry Division
Bureau of Animal Industry
H. N. VINALL
Senior Agronomist. Division of Forage Crops and Diseases
Bureau of Plant Industry
C. R. ENLOW
Formerly Associate Agronomist, Division of Forage Crops and Diseases
Bureau of Plant Industry
and
T. E. WOODWARD
Senior Dairy Husbandman
Division of Diury Cattle Breeding. Feeding, and Management
Boreau of Dairy Industry
With a Foreword by
HENRY A. WALLACE
Secretary of Agriculture
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C.
Price 15 cents
From the collection of the
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ibrary
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2008
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Miscellaneous Publication No. 194
Washington, D. C.
Issued April 1934
Slightly revised September 1946
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
By A. T. Semple, formerly associate animal husbandman, Bureau of Animal
Industry; H. X. Vinall,* senior agronomist, and C. R. Enlow, formerly associ-
ate agronomist, Bureau of Plant Industry; and T. E. Woodward, senior dairy
husbandman. Bureau of Dairy Industry
With a foreword bj' Hexry A. Wallace, Secretary of Agriculture
CONTENTS
Page
Foreword 1
Establishment, maintenance, and improve-
ment of pastures 3
Considerations in establishing pastures 3
Kinds of pastures 5
Tame pastures 5
Natural or native pastures 6
Permanent pastures 7
Climatic adaptation of pasture plants. _ 7
Grasses desirable in permanent pastures. 7
Legumes desirable in permanent pas-
tures 13
Plant mLxtures for different sections of
the United States 17
Establishing permanent pastures 22
Maintenance and improvement of
pastures 24
Supplemental pastures 31
Crops for summer and early fall
grazing 35
Crops for late fall, winter, and early-
spring grazing 38
Aftermath of meadows 41
Amiual pastures 42
Calendar of seedings 42
Vitality of seeds of pasture plants 42
Utilization of pastures 44
Pastures compared with harvested crops in
cost of feed. 44
Pastures compared with harvested crops in
yield of nutrients 45
Quality of meat from livestock fattened on
grass 46
Influence of pastures on health of live-
stock 46
Feed value of immature pasiui age 47
Preserving immature pasturage 48
Changes in feed value as plants mature 48
Mineral content of pasturage 49
Page
Utilization of pastures — Continued.
Proteins and other nutrients 51
Vitamin content of pasturage 52
Palatability a factor in pasture manage-
ment 52
Grazing practices 53
Shade, shelter, and water 54
Rotation grazing 55
Hohenhelm system of pasture manage-
ment 55
Use of permanent pastures in winter 58
Precautions against diseases and parasites.. 59
Stock-poisoning plants 59
Plants sometimes injurious 63
Prevention and treatment of bloating. 65
Pastures for beef and dual-purpose cattle 65
Breeding cattle on pasture 67
Creep feeding suckling calves 68
Fattening cattle on grass alone 68
Fattening cattle on grain and gras5 69
Pastures for dairy cattle 71
Requirements of the dairy cow 71
Quantity of grass a cow will eat 71
Supplementing permanent pastures 72
Supplementary feeds. 7!
Pastures for dairy calves and heifers 74
Pasture for the dairy bull 74
Pastures for horses and mules 74
Pastures for sheep and goats 75
Avoiding stomach worms 76
Rotating pastures to control parasites.. 77
Schedule of temporary pastures 77
Rotations with permanent and tem-
porary pastures 78
Fencing sheep pastures 79
Pastures for goats 79
Pastures for swine 80
Pastures for poultry 83
Index 86
FOREWORD
Encouraging the conservation and building of the Nation's soU
productivity has become a definite and important national policy.
Preservation of the resources of the land upon which the 5sation
depends, now and in the future, for its food and clothing prompts such
*Mr. Vinall died February 1937.
2 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGEICULTURE
a policy. Greater security and a better living standard for the dwell
ers on the land who produce the Nation's food and clotliing are other
considerations leading toward the same objective of general pubhc
welfare.
Advancement in the management of pastures, meadows, and ranges,
and reahzation that these crops contribute to soil conservation and to
efficient farming, have been salutary developments in the farm pro-
gram of recent years. The right use of pasture and of roughage crops
is of basic importance in a national program of efficient farming, in
the control of erosion, and in the building of soil fertility.
Under the encouragement of the agricultural-adjustment program
that was in effect from 1933 to 1935, the greater part of more than
30 milUon acres of land was shifted from the growing of basic com-
modity crops that had been produced in excess of domestic and foreign
requirements, and was planted to grasses and legumes for pasture and
hay or was devoted to other soil-conserving uses.
The programs developed imder the Soil Conservation and Domes-
tic Allotment Act, begiiming in 1936 have more directly encouraged
the planting of soil-conserving grasses and legumes, and the improve-
ment of pastures and meadows.
Farmers' experiences in recent times of severe drought have em-
phasized the importance of established pastures and meadows and
of emergency forage crops in more effectively meeting the shock of
severe drought, preventing damage from wind erosion, and combating
damage from floods which often follow severe droughts.
Each farmer should examine for himself the possibihty of devoting
more of his land to pasture and meadow crops. Many farmers will
thus be able to reduce production costs and thereby increase the net
gains from their farms. Experiments by the Soil Conservation Serv-
ice and the State agricultural experiment stations have shown the need
for increased use of grasses and legumes in rotations carefully planned
to protect soil that is subject to erosion. Such rotations, together with
the shifting to permanent pasture of land that is not suited to cultiva-
tion, help to maintain and improve productivity and to reduce the
cost of producing milk and meat.
We are revising some of our thinking about pastures. We usually
find them on the poorest parts of our farms. Compared to the pastures
of other countries they are, as a rule, of low productivity. We must
make them more productive, eventually, in order to justify our going
further into a grassland agriculture. Marked improvement in methods
of pasture management has already been made, but this field offers
opportunity for further development.
Farmers who wish to make their pastures and meadows more pro-
ductive by growing adapted grasses and legumes, by properly fitting
seedbeds, and by liming, inoculating, and fertihzing, will find helpful
information in tliis handbook. Additional help may be obtained from
the State agricultural experiment stations and the State agricultural
extension services.
H. A. Wallace,
Secretary oj Agriculture.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
ESTABLISHMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND IMPROVEMENT
OF PASTURES
B}' H. N. ViXALL, senior agronomist, and C. R. Enlow, formerly associate
agronomist, Division of Forage Crops arid Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry
CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTABLISHING PASTURES
In planning for pastures on the average farm a number of things
should be taken into consideration. The principal object, of course,
is to provide feed for livestock, and most of the following discussion
is centered on this phase of the subject. However, there are other
advantages to be derived from pastures, some of which are of special
importance under present agricultural conditions, as indicated in the
foreword. The importance of pastures in livestock production,
including their effect in reducing the cost of feed and promoting the
FiGUEE 1.— An example of good land practically ruined by the long continuation of improper methods of
management. Such conditions can be prevented by proper cultural methods or by keeping the land in
pastiu'e and avoiding overgrazing.
health of the ammals, is discussed elsewhere in tliis publication
(see pp. 44^7). It is desirable to point out here briefly some of the
favorable reactions on the soil which accrue from pastures, all of
which have a direct bearing on the C|uestion of what and how much
land should be seeded down to grass.
Recent activities of the United States Department of Agriculture
and the State experiment stations have pro\dded some very significant
data in regard to the losses of soil on land in cultivated crops as
compared with that on similar land protected by a cover of grasses
or legumes. It has been found that land planted to cotton on a
7 percent slope in Oldahoma or Texas (fig. 1) loses annually from 14
to 17 tons per acre of the best topsoil. ^Yhere this land is in grass,
the annual loss is only 0.04 to 0.5 ton per acre. The run-off (rainfall
loss) on the cotton land is 13 percent, while on land in Bermuda
grass it is less than 2 percent. The decaying grass roots keep the
soil porous and create a favorable condition for the absorption of
moisture.
Land planted to corn on an S- to 10-percent slope in Missouri and
North Carolina loses 15 to 17 tons per acre of soil annually, while
4
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
that growing bliiegrass or lespedt^za loses less than a ton per acre.
Similar results were obtained in a comparison of the native-grass sod
and clean-tilled kafir in central Kansas. The loss from the land
growing kafir was 21 tons per acre of soil and 12 percent of the rainfall.
On natural-grass sod the loss was 5 pounds per acre of soil and 0.5
percent of the rainfall (fig. 2).
These results, obtained by actual measurements in different sec-
tions of the United States, indicate the usefidness of grasslands not
only in preserving soil resources but also in protecting storage reser-
voirs from destruction through the gradual accumulation of silt.
Many such reservoirs have been constructed for irrigation purposes
and power development. The capacity and consequent usefulness
of these expensive public utilities is lessened each year by the move-
t,, VP\ »i -sf>^>-»»^'
Figure 2. — Steep hillsides in southwestern Virginia, showing perfect control of soil erosion by pasture.
Where phosphate has been applied, clover is abundant.
ment of soil from the surrounding watershed. Any increase in pas-
ture acreage \\ill tend to extend the period during which these reser-
voirs will fulfill their purpose.
In addition to losing less soil by erosion than cultivated land, well-
managed grazing land loses less fertility because less is taken from
the soil by pasture plants and part of that which is removed is restored
directly through the excrement of grazing animals. Theoretically,
the soil should lose only the fertilizing constituents contained in the
carcass or in the milk that has been produced. However, if the
grazing is not well managed the losses of fertilit}^ on grazed land may
be much greater than is at first apparent. Observations show that
on good pasture cattle spend only about one third of their time
grazing. Therefore, if most of the remainder of the time is spent in
barns, in lots, at watering places, in lanes, under trees along streams,
or in brush or wooded places, as much as two thirds of the manure
may never be returned to the pasture.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 5
In producing 100 pounds of beef per acre annually, approximately
3 pounds of nitrogen, 0.94 pound of phosphorus, and 0.17 pound of
potassium are taken from the soil and are retained in the carcass.
Estimating that only half of the manure is returned to benefit the
pasture, there is an additional loss of 12 pounds of nitrogen, 0.87
pound of phosphorus, and 9.96 pounds of potassmm. If about 35
percent of pasturage is legumes, the nitrogen content of the soil,
under ordinary conditions, would be maintained. To maintain the
phosphorus and potash in the soil by applying superphosphate and
muriate of potash once in 10 years would cost $6.60 per acre, or 66
cents per year, at 1932 prices in the eastern part of the United States.
If it were necessary to replace all the nitrogen lost there would be an
additional cost of $1.90, or a total cost of $2.56 per acre per year.
The amount of soil nutrients removed by pasturing is small in
comparison with the amount removed in growing some of the common
cultivated crops. According to Warington^ a 30-bushel-per-acre
crop of wheat removes 48 pounds of nitrogen, 9.22 pounds of phos-
phorus, and 23. 91. pounds of potassium; a 30-bushel corn crop, 43
pounds of nitrogen, 7.86 pounds of phosphorus, and 30.13 pounds of
potassium; and a mixed-hay crop of 1}^ tons per acre, 49 pounds of
nitrogen, 5.37 pounds of phosphorus, and 42.25 pounds of potassium.
Forests are even more effective than grasslands in controlling soil
erosion and conserving the rainfall. Trees are also able to grow on
soils that wiU not support the grasses. This is particularly true of
the conifers. Most of the land that has been under cultivation is
sufficiently fertile, however, to grow pasture plants, and under such
conditions grass is preferable to trees. This is true because it is less
expensive to establish grass and easier to return the land to cultivation
if later that is found desirable. Trees should be planted only on land
which it seems reasonably sure ought never to be used again for cul-
tivated crops. There is, however, some land that experience has
shown cannot be cropped profitably even under more favorable
marketing conditions than those prevailing at this time, and other
lands once cropped profitably that have been ruined by erosion. The
latter can be redeemed, if at all, only by being planted with the
hardiest kind of trees.
The proper use of land as between crops, pasture, and forest depends
on several factors, such as climate, topography, productiveness of the
soil, distance from market, the cost and abundance of farm labor,
and prevailing economic conditions.
In the follo\\dng pages the various kinds of pastures are discussed,
together with the type of pasture plants best suited to each kind in
the various sections of the country. The discussion is confined
chiefly to tame pastures, and as such is concerned almost entirely
with cultivable lands.
KINDS OF PASTURES
TAME PASTURES
Tame pastures are lands once cultivated that have been seeded
wdth and are now occupied largely by domesticated pasture plants
and used chiefly or entirely for grazing livestock. They include the
following main tj^pes.
' Warington, R. the chemistry of the farm, pp. 64-65. London. 1894.
6 MISC. PUBLICATIOK 19 4, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Permanent pastures. — Grazing land occupied by perennial pasture
plants or by self-seeding annuals, usually both, which remains un-
plowed for long periods (5 years or more).
Rotation pastures. — A field used for grazing which is seeded to
perennials and (or) self-seeding annuals, but which forms a unit in
the crop-rotation plan and is plowed within a 5-year or shorter
interval.
Supplemental or temporary pastures. — Fields used for grazing
when the permanent or rotation pastures are unproductive and do not
supply enough feed for the livestock kept on the farm. Supplemental
pasture may be provided by the aftermath of meadows, small-grain
stubble, seedling small grains, annuals like Sudan grass, lespedeza,
and crimson clover, or biennials like sweetclover.
f^: ^Mtsm^mim #
<«f»- - •*«.«» n . *v.»*
Figure 3. — Natural bluestem pasture in eastern Kansas. Such pastures are among the most productive
native-grass pastures in the United States.
Annual pastures. — The term ''annual pastures" is usually applied
to pastures that are seeded each year to take the place wholly or in
part of permanent pasture. Such pastures may include a series of
crops like winter rye, Sudan grass, soybeans, and rape, which com-
bined will furnish pasturage nearly all of the year.
NATURAL OR NATIVE PASTURES
Natural or native pastures are uncultivated lands occupied wholly
or mainly by native or naturally distributed introduced plants useful
for grazing (fig. 3). They include the following main types.
Range. — A very extensive natural pasture.
Brush pastures. — Pastures covered largely with brush and shrubs,
where a considerable portion of the feed obtained by the livestock
comes from browsing woody plants.
Woodland pastures. — Wooded areas with grass and other grazing
plants growing in open spaces and among the trees.
Cut-over or stump pastures. — Land from which the trees have been
removed but on which there are stumps and new growth.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
PERMANENT PASTURES
CXIMATIC ADAPTATION OF PASTURE PLANTS
The United States is divided naturally into five main pasture regions
(fig. 4), in accordance \\T.th the varying climatic relations of pasture
plants. The larger regions have been subdivided into sections
(shown by dotted Unes) in order to indicate more definitely under
what conditions each of the tame grasses or legumes is useful in
pastiu-es. There is, of course, some overlapping of the types of
pasture plants at the boundaries of the different regions and sections.
Bermuda grass is found in the southern part of section 1-b, and redtop,
Kentucky bluegrass, and orchard grass are gro^\^l successfully in
some localities, especially at the higher altitudes, south of the 60°
5-b ty/A/rf/e >>/y//^^/.j-
FiGTTRE 4. — Map showing types of pasture plants that provide the majority of the pasturage in each
part of the United States.
isotherm, which, however, most nearly approximates the line of
separation between the winter-hardy and the nonhardy perennial
plants. Region 5, the narrow strip along the Pacific coast, is humid,
with a %\inter ramfall in section 5-a. The pasture plants recom-
mended for region 1 can be gro\vn successfully in section 5-a, and in
addition, because of the mild winter climate, certain of the winter
annuals which are valuable in region 2 succeed there. In section 5-b,
which includes the interior San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys and
the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains up to an altitude
of 1,500 feet, winter rains are less abundant than in section 5-a, and
the summers are too dry for all but the most drought-resistant peren-
nials. Here most of the pasturage is supplied by winter annuals of
Mediterranean origin, except on irrigated land.
GRASSES DESIRABLE IN PERMANENT PASTURES
The more important tame grasses wliich occur in our productive and
permanent pastures are listed in table 1 and are discussed in the text
that follows. The table also gives information on the climatic and
soil adaptations of these grasses, their palatability, time and rate of
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
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seeding, the season of the year when they may be expected to furnish
grazing, and other pertinent facts affecting their grazing value. No
attempt has been made to include native grasses the seed of which
is not available commercially.
NORTHERN PASTURE GRASSES
There are a great many grasses to choose from in planning pasture
mixtures for the humid areas of the Northern States. Those commonly
used are bromegrass, Canada bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, meadow
fescue, orchard grass, perennial ryegrass, redtop, tall oatgrass, and
timothy. In the more arid regions, bromegrass, crested wheatgrass,
and slender wheatgrass are most useful in tame pastures.
Bromegrass ranks high in palatability and is in extensive use in the
northern part of the Corn Belt. It wdll withstand summer droughts
and is an ideal grass to grow with alfalfa for either pasture or hay.
The origin of the seed may affect its growth habits and stand main-
tenance. Northern-grown strains are not so well adapted to the
central latitudes as local strains.
Canada bluegrass is particularly well adapted to the poorer soils
of section 1-a, where it constitutes a valuable addition to pasture
mixtures for such soils. It makes a thin, wdry growth, but is readily
grazed and appears to be very nutritious. It will not withstand
close, continuous grazing.
Kentucky bluegrass is the most important of all the introduced
grasses from a pasture standpoint; and, because of its use on lawns,
it is most widely distributed. In many sections of the Northern
States it appears spontaneously in fields that are not cultivated for
several years. Advantage may be taken of this characteristic to omit
seed of it from pasture mixtures in natural bluegrass areas, if soil
conditions are favorable.
Meadow fescue is a desirable pasture and hay plant in section 5-a,
in the mountain meadows of section 4-a, and in the western part of sec-
tion 1-b. It can be grown almost anywhere in region 1, but seedings
east of Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota are generally short-lived.
Taller growing strains are being developed which are longer lived and
appear to be more drought resistant. One of these new strains, Alta
fescue, is being increased in commercial quantities in Oregon, and it
may prove to be of value in sections 1-a and 1-b.
Meadow foxtail is not so well known as the other grasses recom-
mended for pasture seeding. It has been found most useful on wet
soils in section 5-a. It thrives in the high altitudes of section 4-a, and
its extensive use on wet soils in region 1 is justified.
Perennial ryegrass is common in section 5-a where most of the
domestic-grown seed is produced. It is adapted to the Northeastern
States for permanent and rotation pastures, and to humid regions
where summer temperatures are not excessive. It is not adapted
to the Central and Southern States with long dry periods and high
temperatures. This grass gives good grazing and will make desirable
hay.
Reed canary grass is an excellent grass for wet lands, especially
those subject to overflow. It is a northern grass and probably will be
of most value in sections 1-a and 5-a.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 11
Tall oatgrass is valued for early spring grazing. It is useful only
in mixed seedings, and is best adapted in sections 5-a and 1-b.
SOXJTHEKN PASTURE GRASSES
The southern grasses that contribute most to pastures are Bermuda,
carpet, and Dallis grasses. Those less commonly found in pastures
are Johnson, Rhodes, Napier, rescue, and Vasey grasses. Para, Bahia,
Guinea, and molasses grasses are hardy only in the subtropical belt
along the Gulf coast, indicated on the map as section 2-b. They can
also be grown on irrigated lands along the Mexican border in sections
3-b and 4-b.
Bahia grass is most promising for poor sandy soils. Formerly its
extended use was limited to the subtropical regions. More cold-
resistant strains have been found and are being increased to extend
the range.
Bermuda grass has spread naturally on loam, clay, and silt soils
over most of the Cotton Belt. Growth starts late in the spring and
ceases at the first frost in the fall. In the irrigated sections of 4-b
and 5-b Bermuda grass produces ^dable seed and spreads as a nuisance
into cultivated fields. In region 2 it is propagated mostly by planting
pieces of sod.
Carpet grass is persistent and aggressive on moist sandy soils and
often appears spontaneously in region 2 when the land has been
cleared and grazed hea\41y. It endures close grazing very well, but
is not very productive, is only fairly nutritious, and makes such a
close turf that it is very difficult to keep legumes in it.
Centipede grass, a rather recent introduction from China, is much
like carpet grass in its tendency to form a very compact turf, which
gradually excludes other grasses and legumes. It is low in produc-
tivity and nutritive qualities. Centipede grass will grow on soils of
most types but does best on sandy soils. Because it is propagated by
scattering pieces of sod or stolons, it is rather expensive to establish.
It is not generally recommended for pasture but offers promise for
lawns or turfs on droughty soils of low fertility.
Colonial (Rhode Island) bentgrass and creeping bentgrass are found
in many pastures in the New England States, and a form of creeping
bent known as "seaside" bent is abundant on moist soils in section
5-a. These are all more valuable in lawns than in pastures.
Crested wheatgrass is used extensively for regrassing land in the
northern Great Plains that has been put in cultivation. It furnishes
pastures in early spring and late fall thus making an ideal plant to
supplement the forage on native range lands.
Dallis grass, a long-lived perennial, while less abundant than carpet
and Bermuda grass, is becoming increasingly important as a grazing
plant in region 2. It is a bunch grass, and the turf is more open than
that of the other two. The growth of basal leaves is luxuriant, and
Dalhs-grass pastures are both productive and nutritious. A good
stand is difficult to obtain. The presence of a fungus (Clanceps
paspali) in the seed heads, which if eaten in any quantity by cattle
causes a disease, characterized by nervous symptoms (p. 64), may
be controlled b}^ preventing seed head formation b}^ heavy grazing
or mowing. It is best adapted to clay, loam, and silt soils.
12 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) is a large, coarse bunch grass
which is ver}^ drought resistant and one of the most dependable
pasture grasses of the West Indies. It should be valuable in southern
Texas where Rhodes grass has succeeded.
Johnson grass is best known as a pest in cultivated fields, but is
also found in pure stands, where it is utilized as a hay crop and to a
lesser extent as pasture. When grazed closely and continuously it
gradually becomes unproductive and is not very desirable in pastures.
Molasses grass (Melinis minutijiora) is one of the most productive
pasture grasses in Brazil and Colombia, South America, where it is
known as Gordura. It has fine stems and makes a very dense leafy
growth about 2 feet deep over the ground. The leaves and stems
exude a sticky sweetish fluid which gives the grass an odor. Cattle
dislike the grass at first, but later appear to relish it and thrive on it.
It can be grown only in practically frost-free localities, such as the
southern half of Florida.
Natal grass (Tricholaena rosea), introduced from South Africa, has
become naturalized in southern Florida and has spread to citrus groves
and uncultivated land including the roadsides. It is well adapted
to the climate and the sandy soil of this part of Florida, but as it is
unpalatable to livestock, it is of httle value as pasturage.
Orchard grass unless closely grazed is not so palatable as several of
the well-known grasses, but contributes materially to pasturage be-
cause it endures shade better than most grasses and is more productive
on soils of low or moderate fertility. It begins growth early in the
spring, and the excess growth in the fall provides considerable winter
grazing. In the central latitudes where Korean lespedeza is adapted
a combination of orchard grass and Korean lespedeza is an ideal mix-
ture for rotation pasture or hay. In the Northeastern States (section
1-a) orchard grass-ladino clover mixture is showing much promise for
pasture, hay or silage.
Para grass has long trailing stems and grows rapidly under favorable
conditions. It is very sensitive to low tempertures and is of most
value on wet lands. It is propagated vegetatively.
Quackgrass or couch grass {Agropyron repens) is common in section
1-a, where it occurs as a persistent weed in cultivated and abandoned
fields. It is difficult to eradicate because of its rootstocks, but it
may be grazed and is both palatable and nutritious.
Red fescue (Festuca rubra) is a fine-leaved, persistent, turf -forming
grass which is a poor pasture grass as it is unpalatable to cattle.
It grows best in the shade and is valuable in lawn mixtures.
Redtop is not relished by livestock, but is generally included in
pasture mixtures because it grows on poorly drained acid soils.
Rescue or arctic grass is a winter annual wliich often reseeds
naturally in southern Texas. It appears usually at the end of the
dry summer and provides grazing after Bermuda grass becomes
dormant.
Rhodes grass has been tested in most parts of region 2 and sections
3-b and 4-b but has achieved importance only in southern Texas,
where a drought-resistant plant is required. It will grow on moder-
ately alkali soils but is less palatable under such conditions. Domestic
seed production has reduced the cost of seed.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 13
Sheep fescue (Festuca ovina) is a near relative of red fescue, but
is a small bunch grass very drought resistant and of some value on
sheep ranges.
Slender wheatgrass is perhaps better suited for use as a hay plant
than for pasture. However, until the introduction of crested wheat-
grass, slender wheatgrass and bromegrass were the only grasses
available that could be gro^\^l successfully under the unfavorable cli-
matic conditions prevailing in the northern Great Plains and adjacent
areas in Canada. Mixtures of slender wheatgrass and sweetclover
are usually preferable for grazing to pure stands of either.
Timothy is distinctly a hay grass, and from the time of its introduc-
tion until recently, when automobiles supplanted horses and mules
in the cities, timothy was the leading tame hay on the markets. Its
use in pasture mixtures is warranted, because it grows rapidly from
seed and is leafy and palatable, providing abundant, excellent pas-
turage wliile the slower growing turf grasses are becoming established.
Vasey grass resembles Dallis grass very much but has fewer basal
leaves and is less valuable for pastures. It comes in spontaneously on
the rice and sugarcane lands of southern Louisiana.
LEGUMES DESIRABLE IN PERMANENT PASTURES
The legumes which alone or in mixture with the grasses (table 1)
previously described contribute most to the productiveness of our
permanent pastures are Usted in table 2 and discussed in the text.
The table supplies information respecting the climatic and soil adapta-
tions of these legumes, their palatability, the time and rate of seeding,
and the season when available for grazing. No attempt has been
made to include the native legumes the seed of which is not available
commercially, nor introduced species that are of only minor impor-
tance in pastures.
CHARACTERISTICS OF VARIOUS LEGUMES
Alfalfa. — While alfalfa has been used extensively for grazing in
California, it has not been much used in the Eastern States because of
frequent losses of livestock by bloating and because of the injurious
effect of grazing on the stand. If the crop is allowed to become quite
mature before being grazed, both troubles are avoided to a large
extent, but the full feed value of the crop is not reaUzed by such a
practice. The most profitable practice appears to be to cut the first
crop for hay and to graze during the rest of the season. Apparently
the stand of alfalfa may be maintained if not grazed too severely and if
the animals are removed sufficiently early in the faU to allow the
alfalfa to restore the exhausted food reserves in the root system.
Alsike, red, and white clovers are too well known and commonly
used for grazing to need discussion. The first two are included in the
majority of pasture mixtures recommended in those sections where
adapted, but generally they do not last more than 2 years. White
clover seldom provides much grazing until the second season, but if the
14
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
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A PASTURE HA]ST)B00K: 15
pastures are kept fairly well grazed it is quite permanent, although it
is much more prevalent some years than others. All are very respon-
sive to phosphatic fertihzers, and red clover in particular requires
neutral or only shghtly acid soils. On strongly acid soils red clover
should be omitted from seed mixtures for pastures, and from central
Indiana south lespedeza should be substituted for the clovers on such
soils. Ladino is a large, highly productive variety of white clover
which has proved its value under irrigation in the West and on the
more fertile soils in the northeastern part of region 1 .
Bur-clover is used mostly for winter pasture in the South and the
far West. In Arizona and Cahfornia the burs and dry herbage are
eaten in summer. In the South it succeeds very well with Bermuda
grass or Dallis grass, as it furnishes grazing in the fall, winter, and
spring, while Bermuda grass furnishes summer grazing. It is advis-
able to graze bur-clover lightly in May in order to allow it to reseed.
New seedings of bur-clover should be inoculated if hulled seed is
used, but generally sufficient soil adheres to the burs to carry inocula-
tion if seeded in the bur.
The low and least hop clovers are important in some parts of the
South and the northern Pacific slope. They furnish early grazing
but disappear in June. They combine well with carpet, Dallis, and
Bermuda grasses, and with lespedeza in the South; also with bluegrass
and redtop in section 1-b. Seed of Trijolium dubium is available in
quantity and that of T. procumbens in hmited amounts in Tennessee.
Cluster clover {Trijolium glomeratum) is a winter annual which
has done weU at McNeiU, Miss., where it is called McNeill clover.
The seeds germinate in the fall, and the plants grow rapidly in early
spring so that grazing can begin in late February and lasts till June.
Cluster clover fits in well, therefore, with Bermuda and carpet grasses
and materially lengthens the grazing season.
While experimental data are incomplete, there is reason to believe
that cluster clover is not rehably hardy much farther north than the
cut-over pine area in the Coastal Plains and that its chief place will be
on such lands in the southern half of region 2.
Persian clover {Trifolium resupinatum) is a winter annual suited to
moist rich land wherever winters are mild. Its value is still much in
doubt, since where it thrives best white clover also does well as a
winter and early-spring grazing crop, and Persian clover has not
shown any superiority over white clover. Persian clover makes its
greatest growth about May, at which time it is high enough to cut for
hay; soon after that it matures seed and dies.
Ladino clover is a giant strain of wliite clover that is best adapted to
irrigated sections in the West and to the humid Northeast. \Miere
soil moisture is abundant Ladino clover is one of the most productive
pastures known, but it should not be grazed continuously, and there
is some danger of causing livestock to bloat. It prefers a rich soil and
on the poorer soils responds markedly to phosphate fertihzer.
16 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Sour clover or annual melilot is an annual legume which, like
lespedeza, reseeds in pastures each year and thus becomes more or less
permanent. It is very sensitive to soil acidity and therefore is found
growing only on soils of limestone origin or those but slightly acid.
Its distribution and value are confined to the southernmost States.
Strawberry clover is a perennial legume with about the same habit
of growth as w^hite Dutch clover. It is reported to be grown as a
regular farm crop in Australia and New Zealand, where it apparently
thrives on excessivelj'^ wet soils and yet is able to resist drought. In
the United States it is growTi only locally in sections 3-a, 4-a, and
5-a, and so far has not proved useful in the humid Eastern States.
Its chief recommendation is its ability to grow on very wet soils.
Yellow trefoil or black medic is a winter annual like the hop clovers
but more widely distributed and usually making a larger growth.
It is most abundant on the black prairie soils of Alabama and Missis-
sippi, where it occasionally furnishes a considerable part of the
pasturage in early spring. Its abundance varies greatly from year to
year, and it cannot therefore be depended upon for grazing.
Common or Japanese lespedeza, a self-seeding annual, is widely
distributed, being naturalized as far north as southern Iowa. Because
of its abihty to reseed under most conditions, it is useful in pastures
from southern Indiana and Illinois south to the Gulf of Mexico. It
is a standard hay and pasture plant everywhere in section 1-b and
region 2 except on very sandy lands, and even on sands it does fairly
well unless they are quite dry.
Kobe lespedeza is a variety similar to Common lespedeza, but it
makes a larger growth of stems and leaves than Common and has
larger seed. It has about the same range of distribution as Common,
but sometimes fails to reseed in the northern part of section 1-b. It
is preferable to the Common in region 2 on account of its higher
yields of hay and pasture. Like Common, its growth is low and
spreading except in thick stands.
Tennessee 76 lespedeza is a selected strain of Common lespedeza
originated by the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station. It is
characterized by an erect growth, heavy yields of hay, and rather
late maturity. It is most popular in western Tennessee and parts of
North Carolina. It should succeed throughout region 2 also, but
authentic seed of Tennessee 76 is rather difficult to obtain in quantity.
The seed is not distinguishable from that of Common lespedeza.
Korean lespedeza is an annual also, but belongs to a different
species from Common. It is earher, coarser, and usually a heavier
producer than Common, but its production is ordinarily less than that
of Kobe or Tennessee 76 in localities where these two varieties are
grown successfully. Korean is of most value in section 1-b but has
promise in some parts of 1-a as far north as southern Michigan. In
the southern part of section 1-b its early maturity is of some dis-
A PASfrURE HANDBOOK 17
advantage for pasturage, as there are usually 30 days or more of grazing
weather after Korean matures. An early strain of Korean called
Early Korean lespedeza has value still farther north than the original
Korean.
All the annual lespedezas are valuable in permanent pastures
because they reseed each year. They may also be used as supple-
mental pasture and are discussed under that topic (p. 36). They
begin growth late in the spring, and it is usually May 15 to July 1,
depending upon the latitude, before they are ready to graze. The
season for grazing ends for Korean about September 30, but that of
Common, Kobe, and Tennessee 76 may last until frost comes.
Inoculation is not necessary in the South, but in the northern part
of section 1-b and in 1-a inoculation is advisable unless lespedeza has
been grown on the land previously. On poor soils applications of lime,
phosphates, and other fertilizers, are usually profitable.
The prospective planter should consult State authorities in regard
to source of seed, especially in case of alfalfa and red clover.
Bird's-foot trefoil {Lotus corniculatus) is a good legume for pastures
in localities where it is adapted. It is a perennial plant with many
stems from a single crown similar to alfalfa. In parts of the North-
eastern and Pacific Coast States, it is used in grass mixtures for both
hay and pasturage. It stands trampling well, is long lived, and is
especially valuable for furnishing feed in the summer when most other
plants are making but little growth.
There are other possible permanent legumes but their value has not
been sufficiently established to warrant general recommendation.
PLANT MIXTURES FOR DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
It is seldom advisable to seed land intended for a permanent pasture
to one grazing plant. A mixture of several kinds, especially of grasses
and legumes, has many advantages, among which are the following:
(1) Legumes in pasture mixtures help to maintain the nitrogen
content of the soil and reduce the need of nitrogen fertilizers.
(2) Mixtures result in a more uniform stand and higher production,
because several soil conditions are often represented in a pasture, and
pi'ovide plants adapted to each soil condition.
(3) Mixtures provide a more uniform seasonal production because
the periods of flush growth and dormancy vary in different plants.
(4) Mixtures of grasses and legumes provide a better-balanced
ration, as legumes are richer than grasses in protein and minerals.
The following mixtures are recommended for each section of the
United States (fig. 4) where permanent pastures of the highest produc-
tivity are desired. The cost of the necessary seed may seem an extrav-
agance, but this investment is usually returned within tlie first 2 years
because of the higher productivity of pastures thus seeded.
7104:i.S° — 46
18 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
NORTHEASTERN STATES (SECTION 1-a)
Good, well-drained soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Kentucky bluegrass 5 or 6
Orchard grass 4 or 5
Timothy 4 or 5
Redtopl 2 or 3
Alsike clover 2 or 2
Red clover 2 or 2
White clover lor 2
Total 20 or 25
Poor, well-drained soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Orchard grass 8 or 10
Canada bluegrass 5 or 6
Redtop 4 or 5
Alsike clover 2 or 3
White clover lor 1
Total 20 or 25
In Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, bromegrass may be substi-
tuted for orchard grass in these mixtures.
Wet, poorly-drained soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Timothy 4 or 6
Redtop- 8 or 10
Alsike clover 3 or 4
Total 15 or 20
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Reed canary grass 5 or 8
Redtop 4 or 4
Alsike clover 1 or 3
Total 10 or 15
Reed canary grass may be sown alone at the rate of 8 to 12 pounds
per acre on land likely to be submerged for a part of the year, and
excellent pasture obtained thus from land other^\'ise unproductive.
EAST CENTRAL STATES (SECTION 1-b)
Good, well-drained soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Kentucky bluegrass 5 or 6
Orchard grass. _•_ 4 or 5
Timothy 2 or 3
Redtop 2 or 2
Lespedeza 6 or 7
White clover lor 2
Total 20 or 25
Poor, well-drained soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Orchard grass 5 or 6
Canada bluegrass 4 or 5
Redtop 4 or 5
Lespedeza 7 or 9
Total 20 or 25
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 19
Wet, poorly drained soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Timothy 5 or 6
Redtop 8 or 10
Alsike clover 3 or 4
Total 16 or 20
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Meadow foxtail 4 or 5
Redtop 8 or 10
Alsike clover 4 or 5
Total 16 or 20
In the northern part of this section the Korean lespedeza should be
used; in the southern part, Common, Kobe, or Tennessee 76 are best.
The latter two varieties are usually more productive than the Common,
but good results are obtained from a mixture of Common and Korean
in Tennessee and North Carolina.
SOUTHEASTERN STATES (REGION 2)
Moist, sandy soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Carpet grass 5 or 6
Dallis grass 3 or 4
Lespedeza 12 or 15
Total 20 or 25
Clay, loam, or clay or silt loam soils
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Bermuda grass 5 or 6
Dallis grass 3 or 4
Lespedeza 10 or 12
White clover 2 or 3
Total 20 or 25
Common, Kobe, and Tennessee 76 lespedezas are the varieties to
use in region 2. Bermuda grass is usually started by planting pieces
of sod rather than seed.
GREAT PLAINS AND INTERMOUNTAIN REGIONS (REGIONS 3 AND 4)
In the Great Plains (region 3) and in the Intermountain regions
(region 4) the cUmate varies from semiarid to arid or desert condi-
tions, and pastures are chiefly extensive areas or ranges occupied by
native grasses, legumes, woody shrubs, and other plants of some value
for grazing. This is true with two exceptions, the irrigated districts
and the mountain valleys at high altitudes. In the Great Plains the
herbage consists mostly of "short grasses" such as the gramas,
buffalo, and mesquite grasses, wliile in the Intermountain region
bunch grasses and desert shrubs predominate at the lower altitudes.
This native flora is the main source of pasturage, and proper methods
of grazing designed to protect and encourage the most valuable
grazing plants are more important than the improvement of grazing
conditions by seeding tame or introduced plants (fig. 5).
In the northern parts of these areas (sections 3-a and 4-a), when it
is desired to restore to grazing condition land that has been cultivated,
crested wheatgrass, bromegrass, or western wheatgrass may be seeded
in localities that are favorably situated as to rainfall. All are drought-
resistant, nutritious, and palatable. Their value for grazing is about
in the order named. Mixtures of slender wheatgrass and sweetclover
are also recommended.
20
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
The productiveness of pastures in the high mountain valleys may
be increased b}^ seeding timothy, redtop, Kentucky or Canada blue-
grass, meadow foxtail, and red, alsike, and white clovers, alone or in
Figure 5.— Sheep grazing on a mounluii -loiic m lUc lliunboldt National Forest (Nev.)- Thiis region,
besides producing wool, provides feeders for finishing in the Corn Belt.
mixtures. Crested wheatgrass, bromegrass, and slender wheatgrass
will also thrive under these conditions.
NORTHERN PART OF REGIONS 3 AND 4
For irrigated lands
Morton's mixture (modified) :
Smooth bromegrass
Orchard grass
Timothy
Meadow fescue
Yellow sweetclover
Pounds
per acre
Total 30
Pounds
Montana mixture: P^'^ cere
Smooth bromegrass 3 or 4
Kentucky bluegrass 4 or 6
Orchard grass 4 or 6
Meadow fescue 3 or 4
White clover 1 or 2
Alsike clover 1 or 2
Total 16 or 24
Alfalfa or sweetclover seeded alone at the rate of 12 to 15 pounds per
acre is used by many farmers on the irrigation projects A\ith good
results where care is observed to prevent bloating. The mixtures
and also the legume pastures on well-drained soils ordinarily have a
carrying capacity of two or more animal units per acre for 4 to 6
months, depending upon the latitude.
On wet or poorly drained soils a mixture consisting of redtop 10
pounds, timothy 6 pounds, and alsike clover 4 pounds ordinarily gives
the best results.
In the South (sections 3-b and 4-b) the pastures on irrigated lands
are largely either Bermuda grass or alfalfa. Dallis grass, another
perennial, is adapted to these two sections and makes a more produc-
tive pasture on irrigated lands than Bermuda grass.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 21
NOKTHKKN PACIFIC SI.OPE (SECTION .J-a)
On the Pacific slope in section 5-a where rainfall is fairly abundant,
especially during the winter season, the rv^egrasses and bents thrive,
and rather complicated mixtures are recommended.
,,. For moist bottom land „
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Italian ryegrass 3
Perennial ryegrass 3
Meadow fescue 4
Kentucky bliiegrass 4
White clover 2
Red clover 2
Alsike clover , 2
Total 20
For fertile uplands
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Italian ryegrass 4
Tall oatgrass 4
Orchard grass 4
Kentucky bluegrass 4
White clover 2
Red clover * 2
Alsike clover 2
Total 22
For land subject to floodinq for short periods
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Seaside bent 5
Meadow foxtail 5
Italian ryegrass 4
Alsike clover 4
Total 18
For land subject to flooding for lonq periods
•' •' ^ •' " ^ Pounds per acre
Reed canary grass 8 to 12
or
Seaside bent 8 to 10
The principal disadvantage in using seaside bent and meadow
foxtail is in the excessive cost of the seed.
On irrigated lands in section 5-a the mixture recommended for
moist bottomland is perhaps the best pasture for irrigated lands.
Both alfalfa and Ladino clover seeded alone have been found to make
unusually productive pastures for dairy cattle. There is, however,
grave danger of losing some of the animals from bloating when either
of these legumes are grazed.
In the southern part of the Pacific slope in section 5-b the summers are
quite dry and the rainfall during the winter is light so that natural pas-
tures consist largely of winter annuals which reseed each year. On the
irrigated lands a large part of the pasturage is obtained from alfalfa
fields. Ladino clover, Bermuda grass, and Dallis grass also do well here.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC SLOPE (SECTION 5-b)
Irrigated lands ^ ^
Mixture: Pounds per acre
Dallis grass 5
Italian ryegrass 5
Alfalfa 5
Ladino clover d
2 Oarthwaite, E. L. a survey of madeua county pastures. Pacific Rural Press 125:256. 1933.
22 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
This mixture, requiring a total of 21 pounds per acre, is seeded in-
the spring. Such a pasture is much less likely to cause bloating than
alfalfa or Ladino clover alone ; it pro\ddes a longer grazing season and
a better balanced ration, makes better use of the irrigation water, and
is less expensive to maintain. Harding grass, sweetclover, and or-
chard grass are sometimes added to this mixture, but the simpler one
as given, is on the whole more satisfactory.
ESTABUSHING PERMANENT PASTURES
Many permanent pastures are simply worn-out or unproductive
meadows. Others are the result of the occupation of uncultivated
fields by certain pasture plants that are sufficiently aggressive so that
they spread without the help of man, as Kentucky bluegrass and
white clover do in some sections of the humid Northern States, and
as Bermuda grass, carpet grass, and lespedeza have spread in the
Cotton Belt. This undirected and unaided establishment of improved
pastures requires many years for its full development and thus results
in immeasurable waste of potential resources. The low production of
average pastures in the United States at the present time is due to
lack of planning and the prevailing disposition to avoid as far as
possible any initial expense for labor, seed, and fertilizer in starting
the pasture. The increased expense of thorough preparation is usually
balanced by an increased production the first 2 years.
SEED-BED PREPARATION AND SEEDING
Most of the plants recommended for permanent pastures have
small seeds, and the young seedlings are weak. It is necessary, there-
fore, to prepare a good, firm seed bed and to cover the seed lightly.
A general practice is to seed the grasses and legumes in small grain,
which is considered a nurse crop. In defense of this practice it is
claimed that the wheat, oats, rye, or barley takes the place of weeds
and is less harmful to the pasture plants than are weeds, and in
addition there is a crop of grain or hay which pays for the labor
expended. Numerous experiments have shown that pasture mixtures
like those recommended (pp. 17-21), if sown in the fall or early spring
without a nurse crop, will be highly productive the first year, and if
grazed properly will provide a larger net return than the grain crop.
The land to be seeded should be plowed long enough before seeding
time so that it will become settled and firm. Just before seeding it
is profitable, except on especially productive soil, to apply 400 to
600 pounds per acre of a complete fertilizer that is known to be
successful on small-grain crops in that vicinity. Fertilizers having
approximately a 4-12-4 formula are generally effective. A light disking
after the fertilizer application will put the soil in condition for seeding,
which is usually accomplished by broadcasting. If a cultipacker is
available, running this over the land after seeding is the best method
of covering the seed. If there is no cultipacker available, then an
ordinary spike-tooth or drag harrow with the teeth sloping slightly
backward should be used. Where the seed is such as will flow through
a drill the seeding and covering may be accomplished in one operation,
and usually a better, more uniform stand results if the seed is drilled
than if it is broadcast. It is best to sow grasses, except a few like
carpet and Bermuda, in the fall, and seed the legumes on the surface
in the spring,
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 23
Early spring seedings are frequently successful, but often it is diffi-
cult to get on the fields sufficiently early in the spring in the Northern
States. Much earlier grazing is possible from fall seeding, wliich is
very desirable. In the Southern States, where the permanent grasses
are distinctly summer grasses, early spring seeding is advisable. This
is also true in the Northern States on extremely heavy soils where
heaving causes a severe loss of seedlings during the winter.
Clovers and other legumes should be broadcast on the grass seedings
in late winter or very early spring. This is particularly desirable on
heavy clay soils, as generally the loss of legumes from heaving is
much more severe than that of the grasses, if seeded in the fall.
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES
The amount and distribution of rainfall are often limiting factors
in the estabhshment and maintenance of pastures. Before a good
sod is formed, the loss of rainfall by run-off may be so great that the
soil moisture becomes deficient for growth during periods of drought.
Even on old pastures drought effects are first apparent on the slopes
where a considerable part of the rainfall is lost as rim-off. To con-
serve the rainfall by reducing the run-off and thus provide better
conditions for seed germination and subsequent plant growth, small
contour ridges may be used.
To establish contour structures on land that is being prepared for
seeding to pasture, one should first establish contour lines with a
level or a surveying instrument. A satisfactory method of con-
structing contour ridges consists in making a series of bacldurrows
with a gang plow or some other breaking plow, leaving strips (fig. 6)
about 6 to 12 inches wide to be cut with a disk. The crests of the
ridges or centers of the backfurrows should be the width of a double
disk apart or wider depending on the slope of the land. The narrow
ridges and broad, shallow, flat-bottom furrows resulting from this
method of seedbed preparation do not interfere with mowing. Such
plowing, disking, and rolling in preparing the land for seeding can be
done ordinarily at the rate of 1 acre in 2 to 3 hours and cost but little
more than the ordinary methods of seedbed preparation. Following
the first heavy rain some hand work may be necessary to repair
breaks in the low places. After the grass becomes better estabhshed,
damage from overtopping during heavy rains will diminish. During
the first year there may be some sliifting of soil from the crests of the
ridges to the troughs between them but with a complete sod the
second year, this sliifting should be almost entirely stopped.
24 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
TREATMENT OF NEWLY SEEDED PASTURES
Considerable care should be exercised in grazing a new seeding.
The young seedlings must have time to develop a good root system
in order to withstand drought, freezing weather, and the strain of
being cropped by cattle. If many weeds appear in spring seedings it
may be necessary to clip the weeds 4 to 6 inches high before grazing
is begun. At all events the grazing should be rather light the first
year. On heavy soils, rolling early in the spring compacts the ground
Figure 6. — Small, closely spaced ridges following contour liues. >Sul-1i ndges ou hilly ur lulling pastures
hold the rainfall until it soaks into the ground, thereby checking erosion and storing more water to carry
the pasture through dry spells.
and tends to reset plants that may have been heaved by frost. Mod-
erate grazing is usually beneficial after the grass is well started.
MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF PASTURES
CAUSES OF UNPRODUCTIVE PASTURES
After a permanent pasture has become firmly established, proper
methods of management and control of grazing, with an occasional
application of fertilizers to replace the plant food removed from the
land in the form of animal products, will keep the pasture in good
condition and productive for a long period. In many instances, how-
ever, the producti\^ty of a pasture is much lower than is warranted
when the soil and climate are considered. The cause of this poor
condition may be due to one or all of the follo^^'ing reasons: Poor
stand of desirable pasture plants; low fertility of the soil; poor drain-
age; the presence of undesirable plants such as weeds and brush;
and the lack of proper pro\asion for shade during the sumrner season.
Measures useful in overcoming these faults are described in the fol-
lowing sections.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 25
CULTIVATIOX AND RESEEDING
Cultivating an old pasture does not improve grazing unless it is
also reseeded with especially adapted legumes or fertilized or both.
Lack of desirable grazuig plants m a pasture that formerly produced
well is due generally to either a decrease in soil fertility or improper
grazing. Cultivation alone cannot overcome either of these condi-
tions, but cultivation in connection with fertilizing and reseeding has
given excellent results in Vermont and Iowa by eliminating weeds,
covering the seed, and mixhig the fertilizer with the soil. Quick-
growhig grasses and clovers seeded on old-pasture sod that has
been well disked and fertilized will give grazing in surprisingly short
time, and \\'ill continue to give it wliile slower growing, more perma-
nent grasses are becoming established.
Reseeding alone may be desirable in some instances in connection
with the improvement of old pastures, but it is not often a complete
remedy. If legumes are scarce in the stand of grass, broadcasting
seed on the surface in late winter or early spring is advisable. Such
seeding cannot be expected to succeed, however, until fertilizers have
been appUed.
USE OF LIME, COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS, AND BARNYARD MANURE
The majority of pasture soils in humid sections of the country are
deficient in calcium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and many are deficient
in potassium. Very little work has been done in determining to what
extent these elements can be added to pastures on a paying basis, but
it has been definitely shown that all are valuable in increasing the
stand and production of desirable grazing plants when not present in
the soil in sufficient quantity. The minerals — calcium (lime), phos-
phorus, and potassium — must be supplied before much response can
be expected from the application of commercial nitrogen. Barnyard
manure has given good increases in the production of pasture plants;
and, where available, it can well be used on pastures.
It is folly to expect fertilizers to produce a good growth of grass on
extremely poor soils or soils that have never been productive. Such
land had better be returned to timber production. On soils of fair nat-
ural fertility, much can be expected from fertilizing, particularly where
the land has never been fertilized, or has been neglected for several
years. Applications of superphosphate alone are usually the most prof-
itable, because it costs less than other mineral fertilizers and, by en-
couraging the legumes, supplies through them nitrogen for the grasses.
If a fair stand of desirable pasture plants is present, the fertilizer
treatment shown in table 8 is siu-e to result not only in a larger growth
of these plants but also in an improvement of the stand, especially of
stoloniferous plants, thereby enabling them better to compete with
weeds.
Table 3. — Fertilizer treatment for growth -promotion and improvement of stand
Element
Carrier
Rate per acre
Calcium -
Ground limestone
1 ton.
Phosphorus.
SuperphosiJhate
300 to 500 pounds.
Potassium..
Muriate or sulphate of potash
100 pounds.
Nitrate of soda
100 to 200 pounds.
Nitrogen
or
or
Barnyard manure ,...
5 to 10 tons.
26 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, TJ. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
In case of calcium deficiency, an acidity test should be made to
determine the requirements of ground limestone. \^Tiere an excessive
amount is required, such as 2 or 3 tons, however, a lighter appHcation
will probably give greater returns on the investment. Applications
of ground hmestone are often expensive, and since the principal effect
desired is to encourage the growth and abundance of legumes, this
effect may often be obtained by increasing the quantity of phosphate.
In sections where lespedezas thrive (p. 36), these legumes, which are
not sensitive to acid soils, may well replace the clovers and make the
application of lime unnecessary. Both Ume and phosphate are
believed to be more effective when they are worked into the soil rather
than appUed on the surface.
In case of a deficiency of nitrogen, barnyard manure will furnish
considerable nitrogen if apphed at the rate of 5 to 10 tons per acre,
Figure 7.— Shade trees properly located at the top of a slope in a pasture.
and the effect of such applications continues for several years. The
effect of applications of commercial nitrogen is soon exhausted, and
they are of doubtful value for improvement of pasture grazed with
beef cattle or sheep at present prices. Many dairy farmers are using
commercial nitrogen and applying small quantities from 1 to 3 times
a season. Some prefer, however, to make one heavy application of
nitrogen in the spring and rely on supplementary grazing crops for
midsummer. This system seems much more practical. Frequent
or heavy appHcations of nitrogen usually result in a gradual disap-
pearance of the legumes.
The mineral fertilizers, hmestone, and barnyard manure can be
applied in the fall, winter, or very early spring. Commercial nitrogen
should be applied about 2 weeks before increased growth is desired,
as it results in a quick stimulation of the growth and is lost rapidly
from the soil by leaching. Early applications may make it possible
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 27
to begin grazing about 2 weeks earlier than could be done on unfer-
tilized pastures. Applications of nitrogen are rarely effective, except
in the presence of adequate soil moisture. Hence the returns from
midsummer applications are often unsatisfactory.
When barnyard manure is used for pastures it should be spread
lightly and uniformly on the whole pasture, preferably in the fall.
Spreading some phosphatic fertilizer with each load of manure is a
good practice.
Shade trees and shelters (p. 54) should be set on the higher portions of
the field, and not along the banks of rumiing streams, as they so often
are (fig. 7). With good grass, the animals do not graze more than one
third of the time ; the rest of the time is spent lying down or standing
in the shade fighting flies. Hence, much of the manure of grazing
animals is not voided on the land that produced the grass. If the
manure produced while the animals are not grazing is deposited on
the tops of the hills, its beneficial effects on the grass may be noted for
several rods down the hillsides.
On old pastures where there are relatively few desirable pasture
plants it is often better to plow, fertilize, and reseed the land than to
attempt to renovate the pastures by applying fertilizers alone.
USE OF CONTOUR FURROWS
On established pastures single contour furrows may be made with
a lister or plow, preferably a two-way plow, throwing the sod down
the slope. The furrows should be approximately 4 to 5 inches deep.
Shallow furrows closely spaced produce grass more quickly, distribute
the rainfall more evenly, and interfere less with mowing than large
contour ridges or terraces. Such furrows have proved to be very
effective and valuable in reducing run-off and increasing forage
production in many parts of the Great Plains.
Contour bedding or furrowing has another important use in hiU
pastures where annual legumes such as lespedeza and hop clover
are used as a part of the pasture mixture. Lespedeza especially has
a light seed, and on hill slopes the seed is washed by hard rains into
depressions so that it is a problem to maintain even stands on the
slopes. Closely spaced furrows reduce the velocity of the surface
water, and moving seeds may be stopped in the furrows instead of
being washed away.
CONTROL OF WEEDS AND BRUSH
The application of fertilizers is one of the best means of weed con-
trol, as generally grasses will dominate when they have favorable soil
conditions. Mowing weeds at the proper time is another good means
of control. In general, this is when the weeds are starting to bloom
and before the seed has formed. It is necessary to mow twice during
the year to eradicate some weeds.
Sheep and goats are very efficient in keeping down many trouble-
some weeds, and many farmers have found it profitable to keep a few
sheep in their cattle pastures because of their tendency to eat weeds.
Shrubs and tree sprouts can best be controlled by being cut at the
proper time. Buckbrush and sumac can be eradicated if cut while
they are in flower. Work at the Connecticut Agricultural Experi-
28 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
ment Station shows that July is the most effective time to mow brush
such as soft maples, alders, birch, and blackberries. In the Northern
States apparently the "critical period" for brush is when the roots
contain the smallest amount of starch. Generally, this is at time of
bloommg.
jThe eradication of sprouts and shrubs in the Southern States
appears to be much more difficult than in the North. Grubbing them
out or killing them with chemicals has so far seemed the only sure
way to eradicate them. Both these methods are expensive unless
labor is very cheap.
Figure 8. — Arrangement for feeding cattle on pasture in New York State. Supplemental feed given on
the pasture conserves fertility.
EFFECT OF METHODS AND INTENSITY OF GRAZING
It should be borne in mind that there are striking differences in
methods of grazing. Where beef cattle or sheep are grazed, much of
the manure is left on the pastures, and the land is enriched if the
animals are given additional feed on the pasture during the winter (fig.
8). This is usually not the case on dairy farms, where the cattle spend
much of the time in yards or stables. It is often remarked that "the
pastures are robbed to keep up the fertility of the plowed fields."
Pastures should not be grazed too early in the spring in the Northern
States. At this time the soil is usually soft because the snow and froBt
have so recently disappeared, and in many localities rains are frequent
at this time. In addition, the plants must have an opportunity to
produce leaves and strengthen their root systems, otherwise their sub-
sequent growth will be reduced. In the South early grazing is not so
harmful. Grazing pastures closely in the late fall, thus preventing
any surplus growth of the plants before they enter their dormant
period, is harmful also, because they require some food reserves in the
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 29
roots and a fair cover of foliage to protect them from injury when
their vitality is low and conditions are unfavorable.
In the humid parts of the United States forests are the climax type
of vegetation and trees will dominate over grass if not interfered with
by man. In such regions fairly close grazing is helpful in maintaining
a grass cover. Trampling as well as grazing by cattle and sheep assists
in the production of a good turf. Sheep are believed to be especially
beneficial in compacting the soil, and goats help by browsing to prevent
brush and trees from occupying grazing lands. In general, reasonably
heavy grazing favors plants that require light and that grow best on
a compact soil. Most stoloniferous plants hke bluegrass, redtop,
bentgrass, and white clover are of tliis type.
On the other hand, in arid and semiarid country, where grasses are
the climax form of vegetation and may even conquer such hardy
plants as sagebrush, continuous heavy grazing is destructive rather
than helpful. The plants have a short period of growth, on account
of the brief rainy spells and the lack of soil moisture during a greater
part of the year; thus they cannot perpetuate themselves by seeding
or storing plant food in their subterranean parts if they are closely
cropped throughout their growing period each year.
Cattle alone graze more miiformly and will keep a pasture in better
condition than horses or sheep alone, but mixed grazing frequently
provides a more uniform utilization of the forage. In the case of any
class of livestock, the inclusion of some good pasturage and some poor
pasturage witliin the same boundary usually results in poor utilization
because the stock will overgraze the good pasture and undergraze the
poor pasture. Consequently, improving a part of the pasture and
neglecting the rest may eventually result in reduced rather than in-
creased carrying capacity.
The bad effects of understocking a pasture may occur when animals
are fed heavily with supplemental feeds and do not have to rely much
on the pasture for feed. Therefore, they may graze very selectively,
avoiding the plants that have become too mature and allowing the
less desirable plants to grow and crowd out the more palatable and
closely grazed plants. In such cases young stock and breeding ani-
mals that are not receiving supplemental feed should follow to clean
up what has been left.
Where grazing is confined to one kind of animals it is likely to affect
the quality of the pasture adversely on account of the selectivity of
their grazing. Horses are quite likely to graze certain areas very
closely and to leave other areas wholly untouched. On the other
hand, they may be used to graze down a pasture that has rather com-
pletely grown up to coarse herbage. Such rough herbage as they will
not eat can be removed by mowing late in the summer. Sheep, too,
are much inclined to select the more tender grass and the tender tips
of weeds and bushy plants. One of the rules for maintaining a uni-
form turf is to graze it all down close at least once a year. In England
it has been found that rolling is the most effective means of eradicating
moss from old pastures.
EFFECT OF BURNING PASTURES
No general statement can be made regarding the advisability of
burning over pastures or ranges, except that indiscriminate, uncon-
30 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
trolled burning is usually harmful. Much depends upon the kind of
vegetation, the time of the year, and the soil and weather conditions
when burning takes place. Pastures and ranges are burned over for
various reasons such as: To destroy dead herbage which was uncon-
sumed the previous season and remains to interfere with the grazing
of new growth; to control weeds and brush which otherwise might
replace the desirable pasture plants; and to destroy pine needles and
other forest litter wliich tend to smother out the forage plants on cut-
over timber land. When fire is so used, much care should be exercised
to prevent its spread to adjacent fields, forests, and farmsteads where
the flames might destroy timber or other valuable property.
Experimental evidence indicates that good tame pastures of
introduced grasses are usually injured by burning at any time of the
year. At the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station a bluegrass
pasture burned over March 9 when the soil was frozen produced 52
percent less forage the following summer than unburned areas, and
an adjacent area burned May 11, when the soil was thawed out,
produced 71 percent less. Weeds were much more abundant on the
burned than on unburned areas.
Native grasses apparently are not injured as much by fire as the
introduced grasses. Annual burning of the native bluestem pastures
of Kansas, March 20, reduced the yield of grass about 32.5 percent,
but when burned in alternate years the reduction in yield was only
3.5 percent. Burning in late spring was also effective in destroying
the herbaceous weeds and the coralberry or buckbrush. These ex-
periments of the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station indicate
that burning bluestem pastures in alternate years or less often may
result in more uniform grazing, especially on rough land, by removing
the dead grass, weeds, and brush.
The Colorado Agricidtural Experiment Station found burning an
effective and economical method of clearing range lands of sagebrush.
Land thus cleared of sagebrush increased its production of forage
grasses 238 to 336 percent in two years. That the grazing value of
cut-over lands in the Gidf Coast region, especially longleaf pinelands,
is increased by burning at the proper time of the year has been
demonstrated in both Florida and Mississippi. At McNeill, Miss.,
the average seasonal gains for an 11-year period of cattle grazing
about 8 months of the year were 46 percent larger on burned than on
unburned pastures.
DRAINAGE
Unless pasture land is exceptionally productive, the expense of tile
drainage over any considerable area is rarely warranted. There are,
however, many instances where seepage from the higher land renders
unproductive small areas on the slope above water courses or ditches.
In such areas sedges, rushes, and other undesirable grazing plants
predominate. Short lines of tile laid above this wet spot and opening
into the ditch below may be justified in the increased productiveness
that results. Often open ditches may be constructed to catch the
subsurface water as it comes dowTi the liill. Such ditches, however,
are more or less unsatisfactory because of their danger to the grazing
animals and the possibihty of their developing into guUies.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 31
DAMAGE BY RODENTS AND INSECTS
On range lands of the Western States prairie dogs, ground squirrels,
jack rabbits, and other rodents sometimes become a serious problem.
In years of severe drought, especially, some control of rodents may be
necessary to lessen their competition with livestock for the little range
forage produced. Pocket gophers sometimes damage pastures by
covering the forage with numerous mounds of earth thrown out in the
excavation of their underground tunnels, and their burrows may inter-
fere with the proper distribution of water in irrigated pastures. The
Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior
has developed and demonstrated methods of controlling rodents.^
In some sections insect pests, notably those of subterranean habit,
cause considerable injury to permanent pastures. In Iowa, Wis-
consm, northern Illinois, and some Northeastern States especially,
white grubs have in some years done great damage to pastures.
Seeding legumes, such as sweetclover or alfalfa, in such pastures has
been found to be an effective way to restore their productiveness.
The sod webworms and some kinds of wireworms may be partially
controlled by similar measures. Leafhoppers are apt to do consider-
able damage to pure legume pastures, but are of no great importance
on pastures which contain a considerable percentage of grass. Close
grazing or clipping the pasture at the tune when the hoppers are im-
mature will reduce their numbers. This benefits the turf by compact-
ing the sod as well as by crushing many of the larvae. Chinch bugs
sometimes cause damage to supplemental pastures such as Sudan
grass but rarely trouble permanent pastures. A full discussion of
methods of control for various possible insect pests of pastures is not
warranted in this publication. Individual cases are best handled by
reference to the Bureau of Entomology, United States Department
of Agriculture, or the entomological department of the State experi-
ment station.
SUPPLEMENTAL PASTURES
While the hardy perennial grasses and legumes have a value that
cannot be denied for seeding pastures to pro\ade a turf that wdll keep
animals out of the mud and require but little attention after it is once
established, their inclination to be unproductive when it is too hot or
too cold makes it desirable to grow annual or biennial crops suitable
for grazing. Such crops as rye, wheat, barley, oats, Sudan grass,
rape, ryegrass, sweetclover, or soybeans are recommended because
they have 2 to 4 times the carrying capacity in early spring, mid-
summer, and late faU of the average permanent pasture on soils of
equal productivity. Larger yields, together with the advantage of
having pasturage to replace barn feeds when permanent pastures are
unproductive, offset the expense of preparing the ground and seeding
such crops each season.
For a temporary pasture it is important to have level or nearly
level land and a soil that vnR not erode badly, as the plowing and
seeding require that the ground be bare for short periods each year.
The seasonal production of permanent pastures in the North and in
the South is shown in figure 9.
3 Further information may be obtained from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior,
Washington, D. C, or from the representatives of that Service in your State.
32
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, V. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Information regarding plants useful for supplemental pastures is
given in table 4 and in the text following. In the North it is usually
eoo
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Figure 9. — Monthly yields of pastures in Vermont, Maryland, and northern Florida. /"Vermont data
are the average of 17 pasture records in 1925-26 from table 5, Vermont Experiment Station Bulletin 295;
Maryland data are average yields for 1929, 1931-33 by T. E. Woodward, Bureau of Dairy Industry;
Florida data are for 1928-32 from annual reports by G. E. Ritchey of the Bureau of Plant Industry.)
impractical to graze supplemental pastures with dairy cows in the
3arly spring or late fall on account of weather conditions. This is
not true, however, in the Southern States.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
33
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A PASTUEE HANDBOOK
35
CROPS FOR SUMMER AND EARLY FALL GRAZING
SUDAN GRASS
Sudan grass leads the list of crops suitable for supplemental pasture
in the summer months. Although not introduced into the United
States until 1909, it is now grown in almost every State in the Union.
Sudan grass can be seeded any tmie after the ground is warm in the
spring until midsummer ; and if the soil has a fair amount of moisture
at seeding time, grazing may begin witliin 4 or 5 weeks and continue
until frost. Sudan grass also makes a very palatable hay and will
jdeld several tons per acre. The crop may be seeded with an ordinary
FiGUEE 10.— A sweetclover field used as pasture for dairy cattle in Michigan. Such a field properly man-
aged makes excellent supplemental pasture.
grain drill. The seed is inexpensive, and failures to get a good stand
are rare.
Sudan grass has one weakness that occasionally mars its excellent
record. After very severe drought or after frost, Uvestock grazing
on it may suffer from prussic-acid poisoning. It is ad^dsable to re-
frain from grazing Sudan grass that has been noticeably injured by
drought or frost. The grass so injured can be fed as hay without
any cause for worry, since curing seems to remove the danger.
SWEETCLOVER
Sweetclover is more truly a rotation pasture than a supplemental
pasture. Its greatest use is in the Com Belt and the Great Plains
as far south as Oklahoma and as far north as Saskatchewan, Canada.
It is a biennial. The first year's growth furnishes grazing in the late
summer and fall, except where the summers are too dry to permit
adequate growth. The second year's growth develops rapidly in
the early spring and may be heavily grazed till about July (fig. 10).
36 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Sweetclover will tolerate a reasonable amount of salt or alkali in
the soil.
There may be a few weeks between the time the old growth becomes
too woody to graze and the time the new crop is large enough to
graze, but under favorable conditions stock can go from one field to
the other. Since the first year's growth has only half the carrying
capacity of the second year's growth, twice as many acres should be
seeded each year as are contained in the 2-year-old field. The
excess acreage is commonly turned under for corn the following
spring.
Bloating may occur, but there is not so great danger of it as with
red or alsiJke clover or alfalfa. Allowing the animals access to a stack
of hay or of straw will go far toward solving tliis difficulty.
Sweetclover is commonly seeded on winter grain or wath spring
grain. Unhulled seed may be used if sown in. winter; for spring seed-
iQgs scarified seed should be used. In Kansas the best stands are
obtained following Sudan grass or sorghum.
Sweetclover is so important as a grazing crop in the Great Plains
that special combinations of rape and sweetclover have been recom-
mended by the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, and a
rotation pasture including rye, Sudan grass, and bluegrass has also
been suggested for eastern Nebraska wherever sweetclover is not
desii'ed.
LESPEDEZA
In addition to its value in permanent pastures (pp. 16-17), lespedeza
has great possibihties as supplemental pasture when grown in rotation
with one of the small grains. Tliis use has been demonstrated on
many farms in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and North
Carolina. Korean, Kobe, and Tennessee 76 are used more in this
way than the Common. Wheat, oats, or barley are seeded in the fall
at the customary seeding date, and in the spring one of these varieties
of lespedeza is broadcast on the surface. The small grain may be
grazed or harvested either for hay or as a grain crop, after which the
lespedeza grows rapidly, and within 2 weeks, generally less, it is
ready to be grazed. From the middle of July to the middle of October,
depending upon the variety and the latitude, the lespedeza will
provide grazing for from one to two mature cattle per acre. When
seeding time for the small grain arrives, a seed bed is prepared, usually
by merely disking the land. In some cases a subsoil plow is run
through the field, at intervals of 3 or 4 feet, prior to the disking.
By this method the lespedeza reseeds yearly, and no further expense
for seed of lespedeza is entailed. Ordinarily the yield of grain is
increased by this double cropping with lespedeza. Tliis plan of
growing lespedeza with grain as described here is successful only with
varieties of lespedeza that wfil mature seed before the seeding tune
of the fall grain. Kobe and Tennessee 76 should be used only in
region 2 and the extreme southern part of section 1-b. North of
that, Korean lespedeza is the only variety that can be depended
upon to reseed yearly in such a cropping system.
Lespedeza is commonly seeded on winter grain, but may follow
such crops as corn and cotton. Use 25 to 30 pounds per acre if a
fuU stand is wanted the first season. If a fight stand for reseeding
is wanted, use 5 to 10 pounds. It may be seeded on a thin grass
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 37
pasture very early in the spring, without preparation, or the pasture
may be hghtly disked. Korean lespedeza used in tliis way has given
good results as far west as eastern Kansas. North of the Ohio River,
too few trials have been made to determine whether such practice will
prove succt^ssful. In la5dng down new pastures, a few pounds of
lespedeza seed per acre in the mixture will increase the grazing in
midsummer.
SOYBEANS
Soybeans make excellent supplemental grazing, either seeded alone
or in combination with Sudan grass. The best time for seeding in
region 1 is unmediately after corn-planting time, but the grazing
season may be extended in region 2 by making successive seedings at
intervals of 1 month from March 15 to June 15.
Less waste in grazing occiu-s when soybeans are grown in cultivated
rows than when they are drilled or broadcast. An excellent method of
using soybeans for grazing is to seed them in rows, and after the first
cultivation of the soybeans, seed a row of Sudan grass between the
rows of soybeans. Such a combination supphes more grazing than
the soybeans alone.
In order to obtain the full value of soybean pasture the field must be
divided into sections by temporary fences, and these sections grazed
in rota'tion in order to allow the beans time to recover between
grazing periods. Much more grazing can be obtained in this manner
than by continuous grazing. If dry weather intervenes the soybeans
will not recover if heaA^ly grazed, but under favorable soil and rainfall
conditions the Biloxi variety has been grazed tliree tunes diu-ing the
season. This variety is said to be especially successful in producing a
new crop of leaves after having been partially defohated by grazing.
Soybeans are recommended particularly for dairy cows and sheep.
However, the animals should be left on the soybeans for only a few
hours in the forenoon and for a Hke period in the afternoon, being
removed after each grazing period to a grass turf on which they can
he down.
Soybeans are usually ready to be grazed 60 days after being seeded.
At that time they should be 12 to 18 inches tall and will not have
begun to bloom. Grazing may continue until late fall, because they
are less susceptible than Sudan grass to injury from light frosts.
The Biloxi is a late-maturing variety and other varieties would be
preferable in section 1-a and the northern half of 1-b. Locally
adapted varieties recommended by the State agricultural experiment
station or extension service should be used.
Cowpeas are best suited for use as hay or green manure, but in the
Cotton Belt they are often seeded in alternate rows with corn and
grazed in the same manner as velvetbeans after the corn has been
harvested. Some farmers prefer the cowpea to the velvetbean for
interplanting with corn because the vines are not so heavy and inter-
fere less in gathering the corn. For young hogs especially cowpeas are
an excellent grazing crop, and but little additional grain is needed to
bring them to market weight if the cowpeas are grazed when the
majority of pods are mature. The hogs feed mostly on the pods and
leave the vines and leaves, which may be grazed off by cattle or sheep
after the hogs have been removed.
38 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
When cowpeas are grown alone the best time to begin grazing with
cattle or sheep is when the first pods are mature. There is some
danger from bloating, but this danger is much less than in grazing
alfalfa or clover. Gains of 2 pounds per head per day for 90 days have
been obtained by grazing cowpeas with steers and giving them a light
ration of cottonseed meal.
NAPIER GRASS
Napier grass is an imported plant, known in the West Indies and in
Africa, its original home, as elephant grass because of its large size. In
habit of growth and the method of planting, it resembles sugarcane
very much. It is a perennial, but will not endure continuous grazing,
and is therefore most useful as a supplemental pasture and for silage.
It is more or less tropical in its climatic adaptations, being grown prin-
cipally in the Gulf States and in irrigated districts of New Mexico,
Arizona, and southern California.
The stems of Napier grass are coarse, and the leaves are long and
harsh. Notwithstanding this, cattle appear to relish the grass, and be-
cause of its vigorous growth and adaptability to a wdde variety of soil
types it excels most plants in the quantity of feed produced during the
summer months. The stems grow to a height of 10 to 12 feet in clumps
of 30 or more. After it has been grazed heavily for a few weeks the
animals should be removed so that the Napier grass maj" renew its
growth. The best method of propagation is planting seed canes 3 feet
apart in furrows about 6 feet apart. The cuttings or seed canes may
also be pushed into freshly prepared land in rows at the intervals
indicated.
KUDZU
Kudzu is a perennial leguminous vine suitable to the South. The
vines make an annual growth of 30 to 50 feet but are commonly killed
by the first freeze, except where they have rooted at the nodes. The
foliage is palatable, and kudzu may readily be overgrazed. Unless
the plants are allowed to store reserved food in the roots they wiE
decline in productivity and finally die. Kudzu is therefore especially
suitable for supplemental pastures on to which cattle may be turned
for several days at a time. Constant grazing is sure to kill it. Hogs
will destroy kudzu by feeding on the roots.
CROPS FOR LATE FALL, WINTER, AND EARLY SPRING GRAZING
ITALIAN RYEGRASS
Italian ryegrass is a leafy, short-lived grass, usually an annual.
When seeded in the spring, late summer, or early fall it makes rapid
growth and furnishes grazing in a remarkably short time. It is tender,
very palatable to livestock, and has excellent carrying capacity; the
plants grow from 2 to 3 feet in height and make excellent hay. When
not seeded too thick, it makes an excellent nurse crop for spring-
seeded permanent pastures and lawns. In the South, Italian r^^egrass
is used extensively for fall-seeded winter pastures. It is not so winter-
hardy as many other grasses, including timothy and orchard grass,
and is grown principally in sections 5-a, 1-b, 2-a, and 2-b. Heavy
pasturing is quite desirable, as it keeps the grass in a succulent condi-
tion and utilizes aU the forage produced during its short period of
growth.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 39
SMALL GRAINS
Small grains such as rye, oats, barley, and wheat, are reUshed by all
kinds of livestock, and since seed is usually available on the farm it is
convenient and inexpensive to provide additional pasturage in this
way. In the winter-wheat belt a month of excellent grazing is often
afforded in late faU or early winter by the regular wheat seedings. In
many cases where the fall growth is abundant a reasonable amount of
grazing often increases rather than diminishes the grain yield. The
double cropping of land to lespedeza and some small grain has been
explained under lespedeza. This small grain may be grazed if pasture
rather than a grain crop is needed. Grazing results in no injury to the
lespedeza unless the animals are allowed on the field when the ground
is too wet. It may be necessary to remove the animals for a short time
in the spring after the grain crop has been consumed, to allow the
lespedeza to get started.
Locally adapted varieties of these small grains should be used ia all
cases. In the southern half of section 1-b and in region 2 Abruzzes
rye is much preferred to the ordinary kinds. Barley, although not
grazed as much as oats and rye, is well suited for use as a grazing crop.
Heavy seeding of aU these small grains at a rate at least twdce that
customary in seeding for grain production is a profitable practice. A
thick stand produces a heavy turf wliich protects the soil better from
trampling in wet weather and also provides a greater quantity of
feed. Outside of the spring- wheat belt early -faU seeding is recom-
mended to provide fall grazing.
CRIMSON CLOVER
Crimson clover is especially valuable for supplemental grazing in
late winter and early spring. Under favorable conditions it may be
grazed more or less all wdnter and by March can be heavily grazed.
Crimson clover is commonly seeded for soil improvement, but a great
deal of early grazing can be taken without loss of its value as a green-
manure crop. It is most successful along the Atlantic seaboard from
New Jersey south, but also does fairly well in many places south of the
Ohio River and as far west as Kansas,
RAPE
Rape, a plant closely related to kale, is useful as a supplementary
pasture, being almost equal to alfalfa as a grazing crop for hogs.
Cattle and sheep also make good gains on rape pasture, though there
is some danger of bloating. Dwarf Essex is the variety usually sown.
Rape is not adapted to poor land. It should be sown on productive
soU from late March to the middle of July in the North and from
August 15 to October 15 in the South. It is ordinarily ready to graze
in 7 to 10 weeks or when 12 inches high. The seed may be broadcast
and covered lightly with a harrow, or it may be sown with a grain drill.
Four to eight pounds of seed per acre are recommended. It is some-
times sown at the rate of 2 to 3 pounds per acre in rows 18 to 40 inches
apart to permit cultivation.
In pasturing rape, it is advisable to divide the field with temporary
fences to permit of moving the animals progressively to ungrazed
portions or to graze two fields alternately.
40 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, CJ. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
VELVETBEANS
Velvetbeans are legumes which at one time occupied several million
acres in the Cotton Belt and are still being grown on many southern
farms, almost invariably as a companion crop with corn. This is
due to the fact that the most productive varieties are vining types
which require an upright support of some kind to keep the pod
clusters off the ground. While very resistant to fungus and insect
attacks, the pods and beans often become moldy if they are in con-
stant contact with damp soil. The beans are usually seeded in
alternate rows with corn, the corn rows being from 4 to 6 feet apart,
according to the productivity of the land. Some prefer to seed the
beans in the same row with the corn, thus having the corn rows the
customary distance apart. Bush types of velvetbeans are being
developed which will not require support and may be grown without
a companion crop. At present the vining types are more dependable
and better yielders than the bush type.
The grazing value of the velvetbean is confihed largely to the
mature beans, which are grazed off by cattle or hogs after the corn
crop has been harvested. Both the corn and the beans may be
"hogged off" and thus the labor of gathering the corn avoided.
Velvetbeans are of no importance except iri region 2.
The principal value of peanuts as pasturage is for hogs, because
they will root out the peanuts, which grow undergrouind. While
hogs make rapid and generally cheaper gains on peanuts, where they
grow well, than on other feeds, the fat is so soft and oily that hogs so
fed sell at a considerable discount. Peanuts should not be grazed
until they are nearly mature because the trampling reduces the yield.
As there is more foliage than hogs will use to advantage, part of it
should be grazed by other hvestock or cut for hay before the hogs
are turned in. As the peanuts will spoil or sprout if they are left too
long in moist ground, they should be grazed within 1 to 3 months
after they mature, depending upon the variety, the water-holding
capacity of the soil, and the climate. Good yields vary from 30 to
40 bushels per acre. With the foliage, 10 to 12 bushels should make
100 pounds of gain on thrifty shotes.
In order to obtain carcasses of satisfactory firmness from hogs fed
or pastured on peanuts it is necessary subsequently to make them
gain about tliree times as much on a ration such as 7 parts of corn
and 1 part of cottonseed meal as they have gained on peanuts.
Vetches {Vicia spp) of numerous varieties and species are grown
principally as green manure for soil improvement purposes, but in
case of need they may be grazed in the early spring with good results.
Their use as a grazing crop is confined chiefly to region 2 and section
5-a, and the kinds best suited to this purpose in region 2 are hairy
vetch and smooth vetch (F. villosa), wooly pod vetch (T^ dasycarpa),
and Monantha vetch (V. monantha). These and in addition purple
vetch {V. atropurpurea) and common vetch (V. sativa), are grown
successfully in section 5-a. When intended for hay or grazing, vetch
is usually sown at the rate of 30 to 40 pounds per acre from September
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 4:1
15 to October 15, with a nurse crop of winter rye, oats, or barley.
Grazing may begin in late February or early March and lasts ordi-
narily till about May 15 or June 1. Vetch is not relished as much as
most legumes, and the injury from trampling is considerable, but it
is nutritious and provides pasturage in region 2 before growth begins
on the permanent pastures.
WINTER PEAS
The gray winter pea, or Austrian winter pea as it is commonly
known, is grown for the same purposes and in the same way as the
vetches in region 2. Section 5-a is the principal source of domestic
seed of this variety of field pea, and most of the acreage in that section
of the Pacific slope is harvested for seed, very little being grazed.
The winter pea is more palatable than vetch, but the vines are very
tender and the injury from trampling greater. The grazing season is
the same as that of vetch.
RESCUE GRASS
Rescue grass, also known as arctic grass, is a winter annual which
ordinarily begins its growth at the end of the hot summer season and
thrives only during the cool weather of late fall, winter, and early
spring, at which time it produces seed and ceases growth for the year.
This grass is not well known or much used, perhaps because the
winter small grains are available for grazing at practically the same
season of the year and are much more productive. It is grown most
in eastern Texas, where some sow it on Bermuda turf in the late
summer with little or no cultivation and thus provide some winter
pasture after the Bermuda grass and lespedeza become unproductive.
It normally produces abundant seed crops, and under favorable
conditions will reseed naturally after becoming established.
Rescue grass is useful only in sections which have mild winters,
such as those along the Gulf coast and in southern California. It is
fairly palatable and perhaps deserves more consideration than it
receives.
AFTERMATH OF MEADOWS
On the ordinary farm there are usually some fields devoted to the
production of hay. In the Northeast and in the Corn Belt these mead-
ows consist largely of timothy and clover or alfalfa; in the central
West there are many meadows of native grasses and of alfalfa. In
most hay meadows there is a considerable growth after the hay crop
is removed, and except in the case of alfalfa these meadows are not
injured by a reasonable amount of grazing. There is usually a
considerable proportion of clovers in the aftermath of timothy-and-
clover meadows; thus the animals are supplied with a diet rich in
protein and minerals. The carrying capacity of these hay lands is
high for the short periods in which the}^ are utilized as pasture, and
much feed that would otherwise be wasted is put to excellent use.
When meadows, especially alfalfa fields, are grazed in this way it
is unwise to allow the animals to remain on them late in the fall.
They must be removed in time to allow a sufficient growth to restore
root reserves and produce enough foliage to protect the plants during
the winter; otherwise the yield of hay the following year will be
lessened and the productive hfe of the meadow shortened.
42 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
ANNUAL PASTURES
A succession of annual crops chosen from those described under
supplemental pastures may be so managed that they will provide
pasturage for all 12 months of the year in region 2, and for a consid-
erable part of this period in region 1 and the irrigated districts of the
Western States. Such pastures are of special value to the dairy farmer
and the producer of sheep and swine. The expense of preparing the
land and seeding these crops is in most cases more than offset by the
greater productiveness of such pastures and certain favorable reac-
tions upon the animal, such as a greater degree of freedom from
internal parasites and the more adequate supply of mineral nutrients.
Some of the advantages of annual pastures are a greater production
per acre, so that less land is required; a longer grazing season, which
reduces the feed cost; less trouble from internal parasites; better
maintenance of the productivity of the soil; and less danger from
obnoxious weeds.
There are also certain disadvantages which cannot be overlooked,
such as a much larger labor requirement; more expense for seed,
fences, and macliinery; greater danger of erosion; the impracticability
of grazing such crops on clay soils in wet weather; and the frequent
impossibility of obtaining good stands of necessary crops.
CALENDAR OF SEEDINGS
Advice as to a sequence of annual crops that are suited to the
climate and soil of a particular locality as well as to the kind of
animals that are to graze them can usually be obtained from the
State agricultural experiment station or the county agricultural
agent. An effective arrangement of annuals used successfully in
southeastern North Carolina to provide pasturage for dairy herds
is given as an example:
Abruzzes rye, sown in September and grazed from November 15 to March
15; crimson clover and hairy vetch, sown August 15 to September 1, and grazed
from March 1 to May 15; Sudan grass, sown April 1 and grazed from May 15 to
November 15; and Biloxi soybeans, sown March 15 and grazed from June 1 to
November 15. Several progressively later sowings of soybeans, or soybeans and
Sudan grass in alternate rows, usually furnish pasturage for the entire herd
during the season indicated, thus leaving the pure Sudan grass for night grazing
or to be cut for hay as circumstances demand.
Similar combinations of annual crops have been devised for other
sections of the United States, not only for dairy cattle, but also for
hogs and sheep. While the possibility of having grazing available
for each month of the year decreases as one goes northward, a proper
combination of annuals usually results in a longer grazing season
than is possible on permanent pastures. Advice regarding desirable
crop combinations for any particular locality should be obtained
from the local county agricultural agent or the State agricultural
experiment station.
VITALITY OF SEEDS OF PASTURE PLANTS
There is always a question as to whether seed of grasses or legumes
that has been in storage for several years is in condition to germinate
and produce a good stand when properly seeded. This question is
answered for the most important of the pasture plants in table 5,
A PASTUKE HANDBOOK
43
which shows how much the germination of the seed of each decreases
yearly and how many years elapse before the seed ceases to be viable.
Lespedeza seed, not included in the table, may safely be used the
second spring after harvest. In subsequent years the germination is
likely to decrease seriously.
Table 5. — Percentage of germination in relation to the age of the seeds of certain
pasture plants
[From South Australia Dept. Agri., Bull. 261.]
Percentage of germination each year
Pasture plant
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98
99
99
100
91
99
99
95
100
96
90
98
96
100
93
91
96
87
91
9?,
87
70
82
52
9?
61
33
68
10
91
31
23
63
4
80
26
19
55
2
50
21
20
42
1
44
18
15
38
3
3?
14
17
18
1
17
13
19
12
4
4
10
16
12
\
10
15
7
8
Alsike clover ^
13
Alfalfa »
4
..-|_-_.
K'i
79
79
65
57
40
m
15
6
?
90
85
88
88
71
59
?7
16
1
78
94
87
85
7?
44
3?
1?
10
1
9?
89
89
87
67
41
?4
10
98
95
91
79
53
1?
4
1
89
98
84
94
66
88
66
83
30
.50
10
16
4
6
1
98
49
94
29
96
20
81
2
42
66
I Seed stored at 64° F. at Danish State Seed Testing Station. The germination percentages include
viable hard seed. These results are reported in the following publication: Dorph-Petersen, K. how
LONG DO THE VARIOUS SEED SPECIES RETAIN THEis GERMINATION POWER. Internatl. Rev. Sci. and Pract.
Agr. (n.s.) 2 (2): [283J-301. 1924.
UTILIZATION OF PASTURES
By A. T. Semple, formerly associate animal husbandman, Animal Husbandry
Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, and T. E. Woodward, senior dairy
husbandman, Division of Dairy Cattle Breeding, Feeding, and Management,
Bureau of Dairy Industry
PASTURES COMPARED WITH HARVESTED CROPS IN COST OF FEED
After the establishment of permanent pastures the labor require-
ment is small. In a number of typical cases it varied from 1 to 3
Figure 11.— A good pasture of mixed grasses and legumes. Such a pasture lessens or eliminates the need
for supplemental feeds.
hours of man labor and less than 1 hour of horse labor per acre per
year for fence repair and replacement. The principal other labor
requirements are for occasional jobs such as the application of fer-
tilizers and weed and brush cutting. On many pastures, however, the
use of more labor would pay well. Other charges are interest and
taxes which are fully as low as on any similar acres of the farm.
Although annual and other temporary pastures may cost as much to
produce as grain crops, they are harvested by livestock with practically
no labor cost.
In seven districts where studies were made by the United States
Department of Agriculture concerning requirements for the produc-
tion of market milk, pastm"age furnished nearly one thu-d of the total
44
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 45
annual sustenance for the cows. On these same farms the pasture
cost was only one-seventh of the total feed cost.
Records obtained on 478 Corn Belt farms which produced beef
calves showed that the breeding cows obtamed practically their entire
living from pasture for 200 days and from roughage and concentrates
for 165 days. The pastures furnishing more than half of the total
sustenance were credited with one-thii'd of the feed bill.
A survey on typical farms in southern Indiana shows that those
with half of their farmed area in pasture and half in crops made more
profit than those which devoted one fourth to pasture and three
fourths to crops. Thirty-sLx percent of the total feed for dairy herds
on those farms was obtained from pasture, and such feed furnished
nutrients at one fourth the cost of nutrients in harvested feeds.
PASTURES COMPARED WITH HARVESTED CROPS IN YIELD
OF NUTRIENTS
In general, fair comparisons of the quantities of feed produced
by pastures and b}^ harvested crops are difficult to obtain on farms,
because the poorer lands are used for pastures and because there is no
practicable means of determining the quantity or composition of the
pasturage consumed.
According to calculations based on census data (table 6), lands in
harvested grain crops, as they are produced generally on farms of the
United States, supply fully 50 percent more nutrients for livestock
than similar land in pasture. A comparison of yields of harvested
crops with calculated yields of pasturage on good Corn Belt land,
where grain yields are usually higher than elsewhere, shows that a
5-year rotation of corn, corn, oats, wheat, and red clover produces
practically twice as much nutrients as pasturage on the same land.
As previously shown, however, pasturage is commonly produced and
utilized at a much lower cost, particularly of labor, (fig. 11).
In general, closely grazed pasture produces about two thirds as
much dry matter as the same plants would produce if they were
allowed to grow nearly to maturity and then cut for hay. However,
since grass is eaten directly, animals obtain all the nutrients it contains
particularly vitamins and minerals, that may be lost in part in the
process of drying. Furthermore, immature grasses contain a high
proportion of leaf, less fiber and more protein and are more digestible
than hays made from mature grass. Pasturage produces about
three-fourths as much digestible nutrients as the hay.
Table 6 shows a comparison of the quantities of digestible nutrient
produced from various harvested crops and pasturage.
46
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Table 6. — Comparison of the quantities of digestible nutrients produced from
harvested crops and pasturage at the yields indicated
Crop
Cereals:
Corti ears... ._
Corn, whole plant as silage.
B arley '. _ . .
Oats
Wheat -
Forage plants:
Alfalfa
Sweetclover
Lespedeza
Clover and timothy
Grains cut green
Yields per acre of-
Concen-
trates
Bushels
28.4
22.7
31.7
14.0
Roughage ^
Tons
0.85
5.64
.82
.94
.63
2.07
1.19
1.04
1.25
1.05
Total digestible nutri-
ents 1 when-
Harvested
Pounds
1,908
1,974
1,551
1,588
1,111
2,252
1,226
1,086
1,200
1,029
Grazed
Poundt
1,666
907
804
1 Based on analyses of feeds and the coefficients of digestibility by Ellis, Kauflman, and Miller.
Yearbook of Agriculture, U. S. Departnient of Agriculture.
' 60 percent edible.
1939
QUALITY OF MEAT FROM LIVESTOCK FATTENED ON GRASS
Results of studies on the effects of grass in the ration, on meat
quahty, point strongly to the possibility of cheapenmg production
costs by making greater use of pastures in the fattening of livestock.
A summary of 10 experiments conducted for several years in cooper-
ation with the Louisiana, Virginia, and West Virginia Agricultural
Experiment Stations showed that beef from 2- and 3-year-old cattle
fattened on good pasture alone was very similar in palatability to
beef from cattle fed grain while on grass. The greatest differences
were in aroma, flavor of fat, and in richness and quantity of juice, the
beef from the grain-fed animals being superior, but the differences were
small. The grain-fed cattle had a higher dressing percentage and
w^ere somewhat fatter. The similarity in tenderness and general
palatability of the beef from the two methods of feeding indicated
that grass as a feed does not necessarily produce beef of low grade.
It appears that lack of finish or gain due to poor or insufficient pas-
ture is often the cause of the low^ quality that is sometimes attributed
to the use of grass. In another series of experiments conducted in
cooperation wdth the Virginia station, the yellower fat of cattle finished
on good bluegrass pasture was found to have a higher vitamin A
potency than the fat of similar cattle finished on corn with cottonseed
meal and mixed hay.
The meat of suckling lambs produced on good pasture has been
found as satisfactory from the standpoint of both fatness and palata-
bility as that from suckling lambs which received a supplement of
grain on pasture.
INFLUENCE OF PASTURES ON HEALTH OF LIVESTOCK
Fresh green pasturage grown on fertile soil provides in a palat-
able form most of the substances required for perfect nutrition.
Pasturage is rich in protein, minerals, and vitamins. It is valuable
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 47
therefore in maintaining the health and productivity of Hvestock.
Pasturage permits the animals to replace the stores of minerals or
vitamins which may have been used up during the winter and also
enables them to lay up a supply for use durmg a period of inadequate
nutrition. Good pasturage appears to be a perfect feed for all her-
bivorous anunals except those doing hard work, giving very large quan-
tities of milk, or bemg fattened rapidly. On the other hand, long-
continued feeding of herbivorous animals on poorly cured roughages
is injurious to both production and reproduction. Among other
reasons, such feeds are deficient in carotene from which vitamin A
is made in the animal body.
Although certain parasites and diseases may be largely avoided by
keeping livestock in dry lots or barns, animals generally are better off
on pastures. A clean pasture not only provides natural conditions
but it reduces the labor of caring for stock and also the danger of
mineral and vitamin deficiencies.
The benefits of pastures over dry lots or barns are much greater
in the case of breeding animals than of fattenmg anunals because
of the plentiful supply of nutrients necessary for reproduction which
may not be present in dry feeds. While fattening animals need about
the same nutrients as breeding animals, some of the nutrients are
needed m lesser amounts or do not have serious effects during the
relatively short time involved, on the development of the fattening
animal. Work stock must be maintained in health for long periods
of time and hence are benefited by the supplementary nutrients of
pasturage.
FEED VALUE OF IMMATURE PASTURAGE
Immature pasturage, includmg both grasses and legumes, has feed-
ing properties similar to those of high-protein concentrates, such as
the oil-mUl byproducts and also contains other nutrients necessary
for health. It is especially well supplied with protein, minerals, and
vitamins. One hundred pomids of young leafy grass, containmg 25
pounds of dry matter when grazed, will provide enough carbohydrate
to produce about 50 pounds of milk and enough protein to produce
about 70 pounds, not including the requirements for maintenance.
Therefore, if young grass is to be supplemented it should be with a
feed rich in carbohydrates, such as the grains.
The grass from high-yielding pastures generally contains more water
than the grass from low-yielding pastures. The minimum quantity
of dry matter contained in pasture grasses is approximately 15 per-
cent and occurs early in the season. Grass from an hrigated pasture
clipped four times in the season of 1929 at Huntley, Mont., averaged
23.8 percent of dry matter. The dry-matter content of grass from
six pasture plots at Beltsville, Md., clipped 7 or 8 times from the early
part of May to the early part of October, varied on an average from
24 percent in May to about 44 percent in August. The variations
in the average dry-matter content are shown m table 7, together with
the variations in the nutrients in both the green and dry material.
Although the samples gathered for analysis during the latter part of
the grazing season contained some mature plants, the pastures were
so closely grazed that most of the forage was immature and hence the
percentages of crude protein and crude fiber were fahly constant.
48
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Table 7. — Average composition, in percentage, of pasture clippings at intervals
throughout the growing seasons of 1929, 1931, and 1932 at the United States
Dairy Experiment Station, Beltsville, Md}
GREEN MATERIAL
Approximate date
Starch
Dry
matter
Ash
Crude
protein
Crude
fiber
and sugar
(Nitro-
gen-free
extract)
Fat (ether
extract)
Calcium
25.8
1.9
4.8
6.1
11.9
1.1
0.15
23.7
1.9
4.0
6.9
10.0
.9
.12
26.8
2.2
4.8
7.2
11.5
1.1
.13
28.8
2.6
5.0
7.7
12.2
1.3
.17
30.5
2.8
5.7
8.1
12.4
1.5
.18
36.4
3.5
5.7
9.4
15.8
2.0
.25
43.5
3.5
7.1
11.8
18.7
2.4
.31
34.0
2.9
6.3
8.1
14.8
1.9
.23
Phos-
phorus
May 6..
May 19-
June 2..
June 28_
July 14_
Aug. 13-
Aug. 30_
Oct. 3-.
0.08
.11
.11
.13
.16
.18
.17
.15
DRY MATERIAL
May 6
7.4
7.9
8.3
9.1
9.3
9.5
8.0
8.5
18.6
17.0
17.9
17.2
18.6
15.8
16.4
18.6
23.7
29.2
27.0
26.7
26.4
25.8
27.0
23.9
46.3
42.1
42.7
42.5
40.9
43.4
43.0
43.4
4.0
3.8
4.1
4.5
4.8
5.5
5.6
5.6
0.58
.43
.50
.58
.61
.69
.71
.67
0.33
May 19
.39
June 2
.40
June 28
.44
July 14
.52
Aug. 13
.50
Aug. 30
.39
Oct. 3
.45
1 This table is an average of the grass from 6 plots — 1 in 1929, 2 in 1931, and 3 in 1932. The plots were
located in good well-established pastures in which the predominating plants were Kentucky bluegrass,
orchard grass, and white clover.
PRESERVING IMMATURE PASTURAGE
Since immature pasturage is richer in protein, vitamins, and minerals
and more digestible than the best mature hay, there has been much
interest in developing methods to preserve it for use in winter and
other periods of shortage and, even in small quantities, to serve as a
supplement to poor-quality hays and other roughages. By an
English method, as yet little used in the United States, the grass
is dried by artificial heat and either stored as hay or pressed into
small cakes which facilitate handling and shipment. In either
case, the grass usually maintains its green color and agreeable odor.
When used in the rations of cattle and sheep, such dried grass has
proved to be a satisfactory substitute for oil-mill byproducts.
Immature pasturage may be preserved also by making it into silage.
On account of its low content of readily fermentable carbohydrates,
some precaution may be necessary to secure a desirable form of fer-
mentation; otherwise, an ill-smelling silage may result. If the grass
has a high content of water, some wilting or partial curing of the green
material before it is placed in the silo will prevent leakage of juices
and may increase the palatability of the silage. Or instead of wilting,
molasses or phosphoric acid may be used to bring about a desirable
fermentation. A product of good quality has been made by ensiling
whole Italian ryegrass as early as the last of April. At that time even
with clear and windy weather it was not possible to cure the grass
satisfactorily for hay. A palatable silage was obtained in this experi-
ment by adding 1 part of molasses diluted in 2 parts of water at the
rate of 40 pounds of molasses per ton of green grass.
CHANGES IN FEED VALUE AS PLANTS MATURE
In the spring, when the new grass is beginning to grow, the water
content may be as much as 85 percent. Therefore, a 1,000-pound
animal would have to eat 100 pounds of such fresh green forage to
obtain 15 pounds of dry matter, and of this 15 pounds, 11 pounds
A PASrrURE HANDBOOK 49
would be required for maintenance, which would leave but little to
be applied to the production of meat or milk.
As pasture plants mature the percentages of protein and minerals
decrease. Au'-dried bromegrass in North Dakota cut on Alay 10
contained 18.5 percent of crude protein, whereas that cut on July 25
contained only 9.2 percent. Within the same time the ash content
decreased from 11.9 to 5.7 percent.
Samples of Nevada bluegrass, violet wheatgrass, and Letterman
needlegi-ass from Utah contained in the dry matter 25 percent of pro-
tein on June 24, 11 percent on August 9, 10 percent on August 29,
6 percent on September 18, and 5 percent on October 7. If such
forage is cut about the time the seed matures, the plants contain only
about 40 percent of water. With so much greater growth and lower
moisture content, the gi-azing animals can readily get not only enough
dry matter for maintenance but also plenty for fattening. Forty
pounds of such forage would contain 24 pounds of dry matter, which
is practically a full feed for a 1,000-pound animal. If the same forage
is cut twice during the season, the water content of the fresh forage
would be about 54 percent. When cut four times a season the average
water content is about 79 percent.
Mature forages lose a considerable part of then nutritive value by ex-
posure to wet weather. As the more soluble and digestible nutrients
are leached out by rain, the less valuable part for feedmg therefore
remains. There may be a loss in soluble mmeral matter or salt which
sometimes may exceed 60 percent. Consequently it is very miportant
that a mineral supplement be supplied to livestock fed chiefly on
leached roughage.
The effect of the leaching action of rain, accompanied by the loss
of leaves, is illustrated by bur-clover in California. When it is ripe
cattle prefer it to the green feed that is available and fatten rapidly.
But if much rain faUs on the ripe clover it loses its leaves and the feed-
ing value is not even sufficient for maintenance m many cases.
Exposure to rain and sun also leads to loss of carotene in hay.
Such hay, especially if left in storage for a year, may be seriously
deficient in carotene.
In the arid and semiarid sections of the West, where the pasture and
range grasses cm-e in their natural state with little or no loss of leaves,
these grasses have nearly the same feeding value as hay made from the
same plants and ordinarily carry cattle, horses, and sheep through the
winter in good condition, if a plentiful supply is available. However,
they may be low in carotene.
MINERAL CONTENT OF PASTURAGE
Green, immature grasses consist largely of leaves and hence are
much better sources of mmerals than hay or mature plants from the
same land. Immature grass is generally about twice as rich in
phosphates as mature freshly cured gi-ass, and may be from 4 to 5
times as rich in them as grass that has matured and been exposed to
the weather for several months. The dry matter of miniature grass
contains practically 4 times as much mineral as the average cereal
grain, and as much as the average legume hay. Furthermore, pas-
turage produced on fertile land contains more of the important min-
erals than that produced on poor soil.
Although pasturage is ordinarily the best source of minerals, there
are important mstances of mmeral deficiencies hi the grazing of live-
710433°- -46 •
50 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
stocls: in the United States. Such mineral deficiencies are responsible
for many cases of malnutrition and some cases of actual disease. In
cases where there is no disease there may be low fertility, a high death
rate in young animals, stmited growth, and meager milk yields.
Poor soil results in a lowered production of pasture grasses,
and these like other crops, are deficient in those elements that
are deficient in the soil. Such deficiencies are especially common on
acid soils resulting from the leaching out of soluble minerals by heavy
rainfall. The scant growth on arid land has been found to contain
about twice as much soluble calcium and phosphorus as the luxuriant
growth of coarse vegetation on well-watered but acid soil. The
absence or scarcity of legumes in a pasture which has not been severely
overgrazed is an indication of insufficient phosphorus. The content
of phosphorus in pasturage is greatest in the spring and decreases as
the plants become mature. Phosphorus deficiency is also more severe
during droughts than during times of adequate moisture supply,
regardless of the stage of maturity of the plants. On the other hand,
the lime content of grasses is usually lowest in the spring and increases
as the season progresses.
In southern United States, particularly in the Gulf coast region,
such so-called diseases as creeps, stiffs, sweeny, and loin disease of
cattle are the result of phosphorus deficiency. The first symptoms of
a phosphorus deficiency are usually manifested by a perverted or
depraved appetite on the part of the animal, as evidenced by the
chewing of wood and bones. This condition can usually be prevented
and, with the exception of advanced stages, may be cured by feeding
from 5 to 10 grams of phosphorus per head daily to mature beef
cattle grazed on a phosphorus-deficient range. Lactating cows
will usually require from 12 to 15 grams of phosphorus per head daily
on a sumlar range. Sterilized bone meal, spent bone black, and
dicalcium and disodium phosphates are good sources of phosphorus.
The latter two are not palatable and accordingly should be mixed
with common salt or some palatable feed. Disodium phosphate is
soluble in water and may be supplied through the drinkmg water.
Mature beef cattle will consume from 1 to 3 pounds of salt per head
a month, depending somewhat on the locahty and type of feeds and
vegetation available.
The Florida Agricultural Experiment Station has found that certain
soils of Florida are deficient in iron and copper, and that cattle grazing
the vegetation on such soils suffer from a nutritional anemia known
locally as ''salt sick." It was found that this condition could be
corrected by allowing the cattle access to a mineral mixture consisting
of 100 pounds of common salt, 25 pounds of red oxide of iron, and 1
pound of finely ground copper sulphate, mixed thoroughly to over-
come the poisonous effects of the copper sulphate.
Many areas of the upper Mississippi Valley and some sections of
the Rocky Mountain region are deficient in iodine, wliich results in
goiter. Extremely small quantities of iodine compounds are given to
overcome this condition. A suitable formula for a particular locality
may be obtamed from the agricultural experiment station of the
State in which it is located.
Under natural conditions, where there is a mineral deficiency the
animals have become adapted to the condition. They do not repro-
duce untn they are mature and have stored enough minerals to with-
stand the drain of rearing young. Then 2 or 3 years may pass before
the female is ready for producmg young again. When animals of
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
51
improved breeds, developed on fertile soils, are moved to poor soils
and bred to reproduce before maturity and regularly each year there-
after, various physiological disturbances are likely to result.
Both lime and phosphorus can be supplied to the animals, either by
applying lime and some phosphate fertilizer to the pasture soil or by
giving the animals a mineral supplement such as bone meal. Bone
meal is commonly mixed with salt, equal parts by weight. Other
combinations are: 2 parts bone meal and 1 part salt; and 1 part each
of bone meal, finely ground Umestone, and salt.
PROTEINS AND OTHER NUTRIENTS
Samples of bluegrass, gathered at intervals of from 2 to 6 weeks
from May to September at Beltsville, Md., had a crude-protein con-
tent of 17.5 percent on a dry matter basis. This is about double that
of ear corn and slightly liigher than that of wheat bran or middlings
(table 8). The protein of pasturage is also high in quality as well as in
quantity. This appUes particularly to the protein in the leaves,
which are valuable for supplementing the protein deficiencies of the
cereal grains. Typical analyses of immature grass and some common
feeds are given in table 8.
Table 8. — Analyses of typical immature grass (percentage) , calculated at a 10-per-
cent water content, and of some common dry feeds
Feed
Pasturage:
Bluegrass
Pasture mixture
Sudan grass
Sweet vernal
White clover
Cereals and cereal products:
Corn (shelled)
Corn (corn-and-cob meal)_
Oats
Wheat bran
Wheat middlings or shorts
Grass hays:
Johnson grass
Sudan grass
Timothy
Legume hays:
Alfalfa
Lespedeza
Red clover
Oil-mill products:
Cottonseed meal (choice) __
Linseed meal (old process)
Stover and straws:
Corn stover
Oat straw
Wheat straw
Starch
Iter
Ash
Crude
protein
Crude
fiber
and sugar
(nitrogen-
Fat
(ether
(Nx6.25)
free
extract)
extract)
10.0
8.0
15.9
23.1
391.1
3.9
10.0
10.2
16.1
16.9
44.0
2.8
10.0
12.1
12.1
23.4
40.4
1.9
10.0
5.5
9.7
28.1
44.5
2.2
10.0
12.2
23.4
13.3
38.1
3.0
12.9
1.3
9.3
1.9
70.2
4.3
15.6
1.5
8.3
6.8
64.4
3.4
7.7
3.5
12.5
11.2
60.7
4.4
9.6
5.9
16.2
8.5
55.6
4.2
10.1
3.5
16.3
4.3
61.6
4.2
9.0
7.0
8.2
29.7
43.4
2.7
5.3
8.1
9.7
27.9
47.3
1.7
12.5
5.4
6.8
28.3
44.3
2.7
8.3
8.9
16.0
27.1
37.1
2.6
7.9
6.2
11.9
28.5
42.7
2.8
12.9
6.9
13.6
24.1
39.1
3.4
7.1
5.7
41.7
10.0
28.4
7.1
8.9
5.4
34.5
1. 1
36.7
6.8
10.7
6.1
5.7
30.3
45.7
1.5
9.2
5.1
4.0
37.0
42.4
2.3
9.6
4.2
3.4
38.1
43.4
1.3
The crude-fiber content, on the basis of the dry matter, is liigher
in immature grass than in most concentrates, but digestion experi-
ments have shown that the fiber of immature grass is as digestible as
its other nutrients and those of concentrates in general. It is only
after the toughening of grass begins, which happens at about the
flowering stage, that the crude fiber of pasturage becomes difficult
to digest and hinders the digestion of its other nutrients. The average
digestibility of the dry matter of unmature grass is approximately 71
percent, whereas that of hay from similar plants at a more mature
stage is about 59 percent.
52 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
VITAMIN CONTENT OF PASTURAGE
An adequate supply of vitamins is necessary for proper growth and
reproduction in livestock and to keep them tlu-ifty and resistant to
diseases. When animals are grazing on green, immature pasturage
they are better supplied with vitamins than is practical by any other
method. Such feed is especially rich in carotene from which vitamin
A is made in the animal body and contains other less well-known
vitamins of importance to animals. Vitamin A promotes growth and
increases resistance to disease. Good pasture produces milk with a
high content of vitamin A. Ripe pasturage bleached by exposure or
hay bleached in curing contains little or no carotene.
Pasturage, like most natural feeds of farm animals, is also well
supplied with factors of the vitamin B complex, such as thiamin,
riboflavin, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid and pyridoxin, and with
vitamin E. Although pasture plants are usually well supplied with
vitamin C, it is not known to be needed in the nutrition of farm
animals.
Green vegetation contains little or no vitamin D, which gives protec-
tion against rickets, but being in the dhect sunlight enables animals to
get along without this vitamin in their feed. Cutting the pasturage
and curing it in the sunlight build up a supply of this vitamin.
Although green vegetation is deficient in vitamin D, it contains some
property which promotes the assimilation of calcium by dairy cattle.
In general, approved feeding methods, such as providing good green
pasturage throughout the growing season, plenty of sunlight, and
hberal feeding of well-cured leafy hay and yellow corn during the
winter will take care of all the vitamin requhements of farm animals.
Hay a year old is not satisfactory as a source of carotene and needs to
be supplemented with new hay or silage. Some of the benefits of
pasture feeding are carried into the winter months. Hence, for
well-fed and well-cared-for animals there is little need of purchasing
commercial sources of vitamins. For poultry kept largely indoors and
for unthrifty bhds, cod-liver oil or some similar oil may be given to
supply both vitamins A and D.
PALATABILITY A FACTOR IN PASTURE MANAGEMENT
The palatability of pasturage depends on the kind of plants, their
tenderness, stage of maturity, and climatic and soil conditions.
Different kinds of livestock also vary in their likes and dislikes.
In general, animals prefer legumes to grasses though there are
some exceptions to this preference. At the Massachusetts Agricul-
tural Experiment Station, on a series of plots containing various
grasses and forage crops, the cows preferred seedings with a high
proportion of timothy. Bromegrass ranks high in palatability, head-
ing the list of grasses at the Beltsville Research Center, Beltsville, Md. ;
Italian and perennial ryegrass, meadow fescue, and a pasture mixture
of grasses and clovers ranked next in the order stated. The palat-
ability of Kentucky bluegrass and orchard grass was greatly reduced
by seed-head formation. Hence, mowing or close grazing at heading
time is important for keeping the forage palatable.
When one kmd of livestock is given a pasture much larger than the
animals graze down, they may eat only the most palatable plants,
leaving the less palatable ones to mature and become still less palat-
able. Under such conditions animals also avoid the vegetation near
their droppings. Rather than eat the less palatable forage, the stock
A PASTURE HAXDBOOK 53
may keep on eating the more palatable plants down to the very
roots. Consequently, it is generalty best to turn several kinds of
livestock on a pasture and to give them only as large an area as they
need. When they have too large an area they not only waste feed
but travel too far in getting what they eat.
GRAZING PRACTICES
A common farm practice is to use whatever pasture is available or
can be most readily supplied for the kind of livestock to be kept.
Usually the pasture supplements other feed. But in cases where
grazing is the chief source of feed for livestock, as in the South or on
the western ranges, or wherever the bulk of the farm or ranch area is
in pasture, the problem of major importance is to choose the Idnd or
kinds of hvestock best suited to the pastm'e. In most cases, greatest
returns will be obtained from the forage available and the pasture
will be kept most productive if two or more kinds of livestock are
grazed, either at the same time or at different times during the sea-
FiGURE 12. — Good grazing on a rocky hillside. This pasture is so steep that the animals have formed paral-
lel ledges by tramping from side to side year after year. Cattle and sheep together make better use of
such land than either alone.
son (fig. 12). Where large areas of several kinds of pasturage are
available, such as are common in the West and in the South and
East on cut-over land, or where so few animals are kept that it does
not pay to provide separate pasture, all kinds may be turned on the
same area.
On farms where considerable numbers of several kinds of livestock
are kept and the pastures require intensive grazing, it is much better
to have several pastures and separate the various kinds of livestock
and oftentimes the various ages of livestock. Young horses and
mules are most likely to disturb and mjure other livestock. Then
moving the different kinds from one pastm-e to another several times
a year may reduce the danger from certain parasites and make
possible a more complete utilization of the feed available.
More uniform grazing is obtamed if the droppings are scattered
several times during the season. This practice is most important on
pastures of high carrying capacity, such as those supporting one head
54
MISC. PUBLICATION 194. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
of cattle to an acre. A chain-type harrow is a good implement for the
purpose. It is desirable usually to have hogs running with cattle
that are fed whole grain, as they pick out the grain in the droppings
and also scatter them.
Certain peculiar soil conditions, such as in the bluegrass region of
Kentucky and the Genesee Valley of New York, are especially well
adapted to the production of race horses. The conditions include
limestone soils rich in available calcium and phosphorus, and the
vegetation growing there contains these and other minerals in the
proper proportion and adequate quantities.
Some locaUties are particularly well adapted for fattening cattle,
such as parts of southwestern Wisconsin, east-central Kansas, cen-
tral Kentucky, West Virginia, and southwestern Virginia. There
appear to be marked differences in the fat-producing qualities of
Figure 13. — A rich limestone pasture of southwestern Virginia. Mature steers fatten here on grass alone,
producing Good to Choice beef.
grass, depending apparently on the character of the soil on which it
is growTi. Practically all the grass-fattened cattle are produced on
fertile limestone soils (fig. 13). Other kinds of soil may produce
luxm-iant grass, but the cattle fail to finish properly.
In some cases, the kind of forage and the soil determine not only
the kind of hvestock but also the breed which is favored in a certain
locahty. For instance, in southern Ohio the fine-wool breeds, such
as the Delaine Merinos, have persisted because they graze the unusu-
ally steep hillsides better than other breeds.
SHADE, SHELTER, AND WATER
As farm animals may suffer from the heat of summer days, some
sort of shade should be provided (fig. 14). If there are not sufficient
trees or brush, sheds or other shelters should be built. If they are
for summer use only, ail sides should be left open. Poles, brush, and
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 55
straw may be used to make the roof. About 15 square feet of roof
surface will be required per head of mature cattle. For protection
against cold, rains, and sleet livestock should have more shelter,
such as sheds open only on the south. Where there is little rainfall
but much cold wind a windbreak such as a tight fence, rows of trees,
or blufi's are needed.
As streams may be polluted or have banks which are dangerously
steep, wells and springs are usually the safest source of water. More-
over, water from underground sources is more likely to be adequately
supplied with minerals than surface water, especially in areas of
heavy rainfall where the soluble material of the surface soil is quite
thoroughly leached out. If dependence must be placed on ponds, it
is important to keep the area draining into the pond as clean as pos-
sible (fig. 15). Carcasses and droppings may cause the water to be
a source of disease. Such water may cause poisoning, on account of
having passed through moldy or decayed vegetation.
ROTATION GRAZING
The practice of rotation grazing consists in grazing two or more
pastures in regular order with definite rest periods for the pastures.
When only two pastures are involved this type of grazing is sometimes
known as alternate grazing. Results from several experiments con-
ducted in Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington on typical
pastures of the better type, and in South Dakota on native range, were
inconclusive in some cases, but in others the rotation plan increased
the carrying capacity from 8 to 1 2 percent. They indicate that there
is not usually justification in going to much expense to divide pastures
that are already established especially when it is also necessary to
provide shade and water in each division.
Another form of rotation is that of using several different lands of
pasture. Tliis requires careful planning in order to have the animals
on each pasture when they can get the most from it without reducing
its productive capacity later on. An example is the use of rye in
April, bluegrass in May and June, Sudan grass in July and August,
lespedeza in September, and bluegrass in October and November.
The choice of pasture crops will vary with different regions. On the
western range, the rotation is important cliiefly in connection with
deferment of grazing on certain areas every 2 or 3 years in order that
the desirable grasses may reseed and strengthen theii* root systems.
HOHENHEIM SYSTEM OF PASTURE MANAGEMENT
The Hohenheim system of grassland management was developed
at Hohenheim, near Stuttgart, Germany, in 1916. It was the result
of an eft'ort to produce milk without the feeding of concentrates, wliich
were difficult to obtain in Germany during the lattei" part of the W^orld
War I period. The system is designed to supply a luxuriant growth
of grass rich in protein, thereby maldng it possible for the animals, at
least during the summer months, to obtain from pasture all the feed
necessary.
The Hohenheim system is best adapted to dairy cattle and is dis-
tinguished from the usual methods of grazing by the following fea-
tures: (1) Division of the pasture into from 4 to 8 paddocks, about
56 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTUKE
FiGUEF. 14.— Plenty of shade well located on pasture. Such conditions cause the fertilizing elements in
manure to be returned directly to the pastures thereby conserving fertility. When shade for livestock
is along streams and lanes, pasture fertility tends to decrease.
%'
' *''■ ,^m ^
^^^
iHHBHHill
^^^^^HBHMilttifi^^JHLi2__ jlk'
■
^■M^^^^^^l
H
^^^^^^^^1
^^^^^IbiMttHi
%
•'^■IIL.-
1
^Ml.
H
i
■1
MBwKi ■eMlws87i«iMaBa»«'iaa»«>iy«.'
'"''■^... . .^...^^^ai:^-^!
Figure 15.— Ponds and reservoirs should be fenced in a\ nnl pniiiiti.,ii ,.( the water. Usually it is possible
to pipe the water to a trough equipped with a float valve, if the laud is too level for that, a windmill
may be used.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 57
equal in size; (2) heavy applications of fertilizers, especially nitrogen;
(3) separation of the herd mto 2 groups — producers and nonproducers,
or into 3 groups — high, low, and nonproducers; and (4) rotation
grazmg with the groups following each other in the order named so
that the most productive animals get the "cream" of the grazing.
In this system of pasture management the herbage is to be grazed
when it is young and tender and has a liigh protein content. If the
animals available for grazing are not sufficient to keep the grasses
and legumes short during the flush growth of early summer, then 1
or 2 paddocks are mowed for hay.
The number of days that each group remains on a pasture depends
on the growth of the grass and may vary from 2 to 4 days, sometimes
more. The faster the growth the fewer the days that each group
remains on a pasture. After the last group has been moved from the
pasture it is a good practice to scatter the droppings.
The original Hohenheim plan called for four applications of nitro-
gen during the year ; one half to go on in February and the remainder
in May, June, and July. Ammonium sulphate or nitrate of soda was
used for the February application but urea, a concentrated nitrog-
enous fertilizer, appeared to be more effective during the summer
months. In addition to the nitrogen, phosphate and potash were
applied late in the fall and lime was added once in 6 years. The
total annual application of fertilizer at the beginning was equivalent
to 500 pounds of sulphate of ammonia, 260 pounds of superphosphate,
and 200 pounds of 40-percent potash salts. Later the phosphate and
potash applications were reduced but the nitrogen remained the same.
It is obvious that an intensive system of pasture management like
the Hohenheim is better adapted to European countries where the
rainfall is well distributed and the summers are cool; both of these
factors contribute to a uniform level of production during the grazing
season. Applications of nitrogen are not utilized effectively except
in the presence of soil moisture.
The Hohenheim system was under investigation from 1928 to 1935
at the Beltsville Research Center, Beltsville, Md.
This work showed an increase of 10.4 percent in feed production
due to rotation grazing and a further increase of 16.4 percent in pro-
duction due to the fertilizers applied. The claim that rotation grazing
in itself results in more uniform grazing of the herbage was not sup-
ported. It was concluded that fencing and other costs incident to
the division of the pasture into six separate fields must be kept very
low in order to make rotation grazing by dairy cattle a profitable
practice. The cost of heavy application of fertilizer in this investiga-
tion exceeded the value of the additional pasturage due to fertiliza-
tion. One reason for this result was that common lespedeza came
into the unfertilized pasture and increased the yields, while in the
fertilized pastures the growth of legumes was suppressed. Mid-
summer applications of nitrogen were poorly utilized. It is evident
that much good judgment must be exercised in the fertilization of
pastures as to the kinds and quantities to apply and the methods and
times of application. Since the proper practices vary with the soil
and climate and perhaps other factors, it is suggested that the advice
of the State agricultural college be obtained before applying fertilizers
to pastures,
58 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICTTLTUIIE
Certain features of the Hohenheim system may be adopted in this
country, especially where land values are high and the summers
favorable for the growth of grass.
USE OF PERMANENT PASTURES IN WINTER
Winter pastures have an important place in getting stock through
the winter cheaply and in thrifty condition. In view of the economy
of pasturage, compared with most other feeds, considerable effort is
justified in maldng winter pasturage available. Usually it is better
that pasture intended for mnter use be ungrazed during the previous
summer. This insures a thick mat of grass which will protect the
soil from early freezing and prolong the growth of the grass in the
fall. Then when the soil is finally frozen, it wdll not thaw so readily
nor be damaged by trampling every time it thaws a little during the
winter. The summer growth of grass is more satisfactory for wdnter
use than the lush growth of September and October, which is severely
damaged by freezing.
Such grazing furnishes the winter maintenance ration. Hay,
straw, or stover should be fed on the more closely grazed spots in the
pasture when snow covers the grass. However, if the snow is not too
deep or crusted and there is plenty of grass, horses and sheep wdll paw
through the snow and get ample feed for maintenance. This practice
has given particularly good results in the southern Appalachian region
where snow cover interferes with grazing on the average for only 2
or 3 weeks.
It is not advisable, however, to leave a pasture more than 2 years
at a time for winter use, because freedom from grazing in the summer
reduces the thickness of the sod and favors the growth of certain weeds
and brush.
When cattle are fattened on grass, it is necessary to have an abun-
dance of grass throughout the season. Consequently, a considerable
quantity of grass usually is left when the cattle are sold. This may
be utilized by the newly purchased stockers. The consensus of
opinion is that this winter grazing does no harm although many prefer
to keep the stock off the pastures for a few weeks when the grass is
beginning to grow in the spring. Feeding hay or corn fodder on the
poorest spots of a pasture is a very effective means of improving the
stand of grass.
Winter grazing is much more important in the dry and windy
western coimtry than in the East, because the vegetation in the former
region is more sparse, maldng hay relatively more expensive. In a
dry climate the lighter rainfall does not leach so much of the nutrients
from forage left standing. Also the snowfall is lighter and less likely
to be left on the level on account of the openness of the country and
the greater wind velocity and dryness of the snow. In some regions,
such as in Colorado, it has been found economical to combine grazing
and hay feeding by cutting the grass and bunching it with a rake.
Cattle will clean up such bunches or cocks of hay containing 75 to 100
pounds Avith very little waste. This method is especially well adapted
to handling the last cutting on meadows that produce two or more
cuttings.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 59
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST DISEASES AND PARASITES
Although, as previously stated, pastures are conducive to the
general health and vigor of hvestock, there is need for taking precau-
tions against certain diseases and parasites. Tuberculosis, for instance,
though much less common among cattle on ranges than in those
confined much of the time in stables, may be spread by such means as
infected watering holes and ponds. It is apparent that the droppings
of tuberculous animals in the water supply may pollute it sufficiently
to infect other cattle that drink the water.
Anthrax, another serious germ disease, is caused by bacilli that
thrive best under certain conditions of the soil, especially in regions
subject to floods and inundations. Fields containing stagnant pools
may be a source of infection. Various parasitic diseases, such as tick
fever of cattle and infestation of sheep and other anunals with various
internal parasites, are associated with the spread of parasites directly
or indirectly in connection with grazing. When it is possible, young
animals should be given fresh pasture land. Rotating hogs and
horses with cattle and sheep in alternate years should lessen materially
hazards from parasites.
Certain ailments result from animals' gorging themselves on suc-
culent pasture or from grazing on poisonous plants. Methods of
preventing loss from such causes are discussed more fully in the
specific recommendations for pasture management. As a general
precautionary measure it is advisable to burn to ashes or bury deeply,
animals that die of infectious diseases, never leaving them on pasture
where the infection may be spread by other animals or birds. Helpful
information may be obtained, also, from Department publications,
relating to the control and eradication of animal diseases and para-
sites, which wiU be furnished on request.
STOCK-POISONING PLANTS ^
Poisoning of animals from eating certain plants usually occurs
when the more nutritious and palatable plants or other feeds are
not available in sufficient quantities or in great enough variety to
satisfy the animals' appetites or requirements. Most poisonous
plants are unpalatable; therefore as a general rule, animals do not
readily eat them in sufficient quantities to be seriously injured.
Poisonous plants vary greatly in the following respects: (1) The
condition under which animals are poisoned by them, (2) the portion
of the plant that is most poisonous, (3) changes in the toxicity of the
parts of the plants during growth and in drying, (4) the susceptibility
of different species of animals to being poisoned by them, and (5) the
effects on the poisoned animals. To diagnose cases of plant poisoning
correctly, one must have considerable information about the dift'erent
plants and their effect on animals. Diagnosis is simplified by a
knowledge of the principal poisonous species in the area in which the
pasture is located. Essential facts regarding the principal poisonous
plants in the United States are given in table 9.
« This discussion was prepared by A. B. Clawson, associate physiologist, Pathological Division, Bureari
of Animal Industry.
60
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEFT. OF AGRICULTURE
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A fASTUHE HANDBOOK 63
In many instances poisoning occurs when some weed has become
unusually plentiful in a pasture or when the animals have been feeding
largely on a particular plant. In such cases, it is best to remove the
animals from the pasture or affected part of the range.
If the cause of the trouble is not fully understood, as complete a
description as possible of the cases, and samples of the suspected
plant or plants, should be forwarded at once to the State agricultural
experiment station or to the United States Department of Agriculture
with a request for information bearing on the condition.
In any case of poisoning, treatment is best given or prescribed by
a qualified veterinarian. Many poisoned animals that would have
recovered had they been left undisturbed have been killed by attempts
made by untrained persons to administer remedies. Bleeding, a
method in too common practice among stockmen, is very rarely of
benefit to the poisoned animal. In attempts to drench sick animals,
the medicine being used often gets into the trachea, or windpipe,
and results in pneumonia and death. In general it is a good practice
to protect the poisoned animals from excessive heat and cold and dis-
turb them as little as possible until veterinary aid can be obtained.
Some suggestions for preventing animals from being poisoned are
as follows: Avoid overgrazing of pastures as the animals may be forced
to eat poisonous plants, since the most palatable and nutritious plants
may be killed out and the less palatable ones are given a chance to
grow. See that animals are not forced, for prolonged periods, to eat
a limited variety of feeds. When animals are hungry or have been on
one type of feed, such as dry hay, for some time, do not turn them into
a pasture where there are poisonous plants, especially when these
plants are green.
PLANTS SOMETIMES INJURIOUS
A few plants or parts of plants when fed under certain conditions
occasionally are injurious to animals. The most important of these
plants with the essential facts regarding them are given in table 10.
64
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
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A PASTURE HANDBOOK 65
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF BLOATING
Bloating, also known as hoven or tympanites, is a form of indi-
gestion in wliich the rumen or pauncli is distended by gases of fer-
mentation. It occurs chiefly in cattle, though sheep and goats also
may be similarly affected. It may be caused by hurried eating,
gorging on a new kind of feed, or some undesirable quality in the feed.
Legumes such as alfalfa and clover are much more likely to cause
bloating than grasses. Therefore, stock should be well filled with
dry feed such as good hay or some grass pasturage which is not hkely
to cause bloating, before being turned on such legume pasture.
Pasture wliich is wet with dew or rain is particularly dangerous. Once
cattle are put on a legume pasture it is best to keep them there and
give them free access to some good dry roughage in a stack or hay
rack. If they must be taken off the pasture long enough to be hungry
before they go back, it is important that they be given a good feed
before going back, especially if the pasturage is wet.
Remedies for mild cases consist m exercising the animal, throwing
cold water on its sides, and putting m its mouth a bit coated with
some disagreeable substance such as tar or grease. This stimulates
the secretion of saliva and induces swallowing and the stretching of
the esophagus, which allows the gas to escape. In severe cases when
there is danger of death by suffocation, a trocar should be used to
puncture the paunch. The insertion should be in the center of the
triangular space below the loin between the last rib and the liip bone,
on the left side, the trocar being directed downward, inward, and
shghtly forward. The canula, or sheath of the trocar, may be tied
in place by a string around the body wliile the gas is escaping. Since
puncturing the paunch with this instrument is attended by danger to
the animal, if not properly done, the operation should preferably be
performed by a qualified veterinarian, who also should prescribe
treatment to stop the fermentation.
PASTURES FOR BEEF AND DUAL-PURPOSE CATTLE
The grazing of cattle for strictly beef purposes is one of the most
economical methods of marketing an agricultural crop. Cattle re-
quire very little attention when handled on pasture or range. If
there is adequate feed in the form of grass the labor required to
manage the herd properly will consist primarily in distributmg salt,
keeping water available,"^ and "working" the cattle during certain
seasons, which includes such operations as branding, dehorning,
castrating, and vaccinating.
On most farms the principal grazing problem in handlmg beef or
dual-purpose cattle is that of extending the grazing season to reduce
the quantity of harvested feed required. In general, the costs of
winter feed for from 4 to 6 months are from 2 to 4 times as great as
the cost of grazing for a period of from 6 to 8 months. To extend the
grazing season most effectively, one must have more than one pasture
in order to save ungrazed forage for grazing in midsummer, late fall,
winter, or early spring. Temporary annual pastures, such as Sudan
grass, sweetclover, lespedeza, and winter wheat, barley, or rye, may
be used to supplement permanent pastures. With such crops it is
possible to begin grazing from 2 to 4 weeks earlier in the spring, to
have an abundance of feed during July and August when bluegrass
710433°— 46
66 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
and other pasture grasses are dormant, and to extend the period of
good grazmg from 4 to 8 weeks in the fall and early wmter.
The acreage of such temporary pastures as Sudan grass and sweetclo-
ver should be only one-fourth to one-third of the area of good perma-
nent pasture on account of the greater carrying capacity of the
temporary pasture for short periods. The acreage of cereal crops
will depend on whether they are for grazing alone or for grazing and
grain production.
Other important considerations in the grazing of cattle on farms
are water supply, salt, other minerals, and shade. Additional supple-
mentary feed will be required for fattening steers and cows beiug
milked.
In determining the kind and quantity of feeds to use as a supple-
ment to grass, one should use supplements adapted to the purpose for
which the cattle are kept, and govern the quantity by the quality
and quantity of grass available and the time of marketing if the
cattle are being fattened. At the beginning of the grazing season the
forage contains a higher percentage of protein than it does later on
and accordingly the supplementary feed for the first part of the grazing
period for fattening cattle could consist of grain exclusively.
As the grass becomes mature the supplement should include some
feed rich in protein, such as oil-mill byproducts. The purpose is to
maintain the proper ratio between the proteins and carbohydrates
in the ration. For milk production and growing animals, propor-
tionately more protein and also more mineral in the ration are neces-
sary than for fattening cattle. Also the protein requirements of
young fattening cattle are greater than those of older cattle. The
proportion of the quantity of digestible crude protein to the combined
digestible carbohydrates and fat is known as the nutritive ratio.
According to a recognized feeding standard (Morrison), fattening
rations for calves should have a nutritive ratio of approximately 1:6,
for yearlings 1:7, 2-year-olds 1:8, and mature steers 1:10 or more.
According to the same standard, a cow weighing 1,000 pounds requires
0.7 pound of digestible protein and 8 pounds of total digestible nu-
trients for maintenance. In addition, for each pound of 3.5-percent
milk she requires about 0.04 to 0.05 pound of digestible protein and
0.3 pound of total digestible nutrients. The nutritive ratio for a cow
giving 30 pounds of 3.5-percent milk should be 1:7.
At the beginning of the growing period the moisture content of
young grass is high. The dry-matter content is about 20 percent and
consists of a relatively high percentage of protein and ash and a low
percentage of crude fiber. It is often advisable to give cattle and
sheep some supplementary feed at this period of the grazing season
to counteract, to some extent, the laxative effect of the lush grass.
In such cases the best supplement is some nonlaxative roughage, such
as timothy hay or straw, which gives to the ration bulk that is effec-
tive in slowing up the passage of the contents through the digestive
system and thereby allows time for the absorption of nutrients. In
turning cattle on pasture the transition should be gradual, begin-
ning with an hour or two of pasture each day, depending largely upon
supplementary feeds.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 67
During periods of drought when the grass is brown and dry, or m
the fall or winter when the forage is mature and leached out, it is
desirable to feed some supplement such as linseed or soybean meal
and some source of carotene such as green leafy alfalfa hay.
Owing to the smaller quantity of manure it receives, a pasture on
which cattle are kept only during the time they are grazing is depleted
of fertility faster than a pasture having the cattle on it the full 24
hours of each day. On many farms where the rougher or wetter land
that is being pastured is situated some distance from the farmstead,
and where most of the cattle are kept for milk, such pastures have
reached a very low state of fertility. Tliis is due in large part to the
custom of turning the cows to pasture after the morning milking,
taking them off pasture for the evening milking, keeping them at or
near the farmstead during the night, and appljang the manure thus
saved to other parts of the farm rather than to the pasture.
BREEDING CATTLE ON PASTURE
The common practice in breeding beef cattle is to turn the bull or
bulls out with the cows, allowing 1 bull for from 20 to 40 cows, depend-
ing on the size and kind of pasture and the age and activity of the
bull. T\Tien the bull is kept separate from the cows, about t^vice as
many can be bred per bull. This practice is especially desirable
when the calves are kept separate from the cows and the cows are
brought up twice a day for the calves to nurse. The shy breeders
can be weeded out about 6 months sooner by keeping the bull in a
pen, marking the cows, and keeping a record of breeding dates or
by separating the bred cows from those not bred.
With a large herd of several hundred cows, much may be saved by
eliminating shy breeders promptly. The saving results from reducing
the investment in bulls and their keep, and from producing a more
uniform calf crop. In the case of large herds it may pay to have a
man stay with the herd every day for from 6 to 8 weeks and bring
the cows up to the bull pens for breeding. By this method a good
bull may serve from 75 to 100 cows.
^Yhen cows are free of abortion disease, they shoidd be allowed to
calve on pasture as conditions there are usually more favorable and
sanitary than in or around barns and lots. Cows affected with
abortion disease should not be allowed to calve on pastures occupied
by healthy stock. One or more small pastures, which save time in
watching the cows to see whether they need any help, are valuable.
Putting cows about to calve in such pastures is also a good practice
with respect to hea\y milking beef cows, which need attention until
the calves can take all the milk. It is especially important that
hogs, horses, and mules be kept out of pastures where cows are calving.
On farms having large pastures of several hundred acres wliich are
not well supplied with water, shade, and good forage, there are
advantages in keeping the calves on a small pasture which is well
supplied in these respects. As the cows come in twice a day for the
calves to nurse, the condition of all the cattle can be carefully watched
each day. AMien the flies are bad the calves can be kept in a darkened
barn or shed during the day and turned out at night. Brush which
the cattle can walk through, and water in which they can stand
knee deep, also afford relief from flies.
68
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
CREEP FEEDING SUCKLING CALVES
Creep feeding high-grade beef calves which are dropped early in
the spring enables them to be fattened so as to be suitable for slaughter
at weaning time or shortly thereafter. In the latter case they should
be continued on full feed after weaning. Although such calves are
usually allowed to run on pasture with their dams until ihej are
weaned, some cattlemen favor keeping the calves in a separate lot,
where they may have grazing, and allowing them to nurse the cows
twice a day. In experiments to compare these two methods there
has been little difference in the results. If there is only one watering
Figure 16.— A good creep for feeding grain to suckling calves. They have access by two openings each
about 18 inches wide and 30 inches high made by cutting out the second and third boards from the
bottom.
place or only one place where the cattle seek shade, the creep should be
located near one of these, preferably the shade, because the cows
spend more time there (fig. 16).
FATTENING CATTLE ON GRASS ALONE
Cattle in medium to good flesh, when they go on grass, will make
about three fourths as much gain as thin cattle. Ordinarily the
greatest gains are made during the first half of the grazing. During
the latter half of the grazing season, although the gains are much
smaller, there is generally a marked improvement in the finish and in
the quality of the flesh (fig. 17). Unless one has plenty of nutritious
grass it is well to feed gram in the late sunnner and fall in order to get
a satisfactory finish on steers. For 3 or 4 days before shipping, cattle
which have been on rather laxative green pasturage should be taken
off and given a liberal feed of good grass hay in order to avoid a heavy
shrinkage in transit.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
69
FATTENING CATTLE ON GRAIN AND GRASS
In general, the feeding of grain to steers on pasture in the summer
has several advantages over winter feeding in dry lot. These advan-
tages include smaller grain requirements per pound of gain, less need
for protein concentrates, less labor, no need of shelter, and the spread-
ing of manure at no cost (fig. 18). Self-feeders for grain are satis-
factory for fattening cattle on pasture. On the other hand, summer
feeding of cattle on grass has the following disadvantages, especially
on small farms: A greater yield of feed usually can be obtained
Figure 17.— Steers fattened on good pasture in southwestern Virginia.
from crop land ; drought may reduce greatly the supply of feed for the
cattle ; and the price of feeder cattle is commonly higher in the spring
than in the fall. Other drawbacks are periods of extreme heat, flies,
and the need for having the cattle well finished in order to avoid
competition with strictly grass-fed cattle.
Cattle fattened on grain and grass must grade high as slaughter
animals in order to bring the premium which is usually paid for grain-
fed cattle in the fall when there is a heavy run of "grass beef." Con-
sequently, much care must be taken in selecting and feeding cattle
which are to be fattened on grass and grain. If they are purcluised
the previous fall they should be wintered well. This applies particu-
larly to calves since they tend to grow rather than fatten on grass.
Therefore, if they are not in good condition in the spring, they will
not get fat enough during the summer to avoid being placed at a
disadvantage in competition with western range steers. Although
it is necessary to feed calves a small quantity of grain during the winter
in order to have them fat enough when they go on grass in the spring,
70 MISC. PUBLICATION 194. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
older cattle make cheaper gains and still reach a satisfactory condi-
tion if they have had no grain previous to grain feeding on grass.
In turning steers on pasture, especially those steers that are half
fat or in good condition from winter feeding of grain, it is very impor-
tant for the grass to have had a good start so that the cattle will not
scour too badly. When it is short and the water content is high the
cattle cannot get enough dry matter to equal the nutrients which they
have been accustomed to in dry feed.
Ordinarily, cattle that are half fat at the beginning of the pasture
season should be finished in dry lot. However, if the steers that have
had a full feed in dry lot are to be turned on grass, it is better to turn
them out as soon as the grass starts to grow or a little before so that
they can get only very little grass at first. In that way, they may be
kept on a full feed of grain and not lose their appetite for it as they
Figure 18.— In feeding cattle on pasture, feed bunks should be located on level land, especially the less
fertile portions, even though it is necessary to move them oftener. Their location on hillsides results
in serious losses of both soil and manure.
would if they were able to get a full feed of grass all at once. If the
ground is solid and the steers have plenty of pasture and are full-fed
on grain the grass will come on without being appreciably damaged
by such a practice. The advantage of having the manure distributed
on the pasture will probably offset any damage done to a good sod by
such early grazing.
Bluegrass is the outstanding grass for fattening steers in the areas
where it thrives, principally on account of its rather high dry-matter
content. Other leading grasses for fattening are Bermuda and Rhodes
grass in the South and the bluestems, grama, and wheat grasses in
the West. In fattening it is important that the animal can readily
obtain from 20 to 25 pounds of dry matter per day per 1,000 pounds
of live weight. Legumes are less satisfactory for fattening on account
of their liigher water content. Sweetclover, however, compares
favorably with bluegrass during June and July, when it is at its best.
Corn alone is the most extensively used supplement to grass for
fattening steers. During the early part of the season no protein sup-
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 71
plement is needed because the grass is so rich in protein. As the
grass becomes mature it usually pays to add some protein meal in the
ratio of 1 part to about 10 parts of corn for 2-year-olds. A somewhat
narrower ratio, such as 1 to 8, should be used for yearlings and a wider
one for 3-year-olds.
As pasturage is usually more palatable than dry roughage, it is
difficult to get cattle to eat enough grain on pasture to fatten as rapidly
as they do in dry lot. This is particularly true of mature steers that
are to be given a short feed. Such cattle may be fattened more quickly
and on less graiu per 100 pounds gain in dry lot during the summer,
than on pasture, but there are advantages such as savings in labor and
roughages which may make the feeding on pasture more profitable.
Such advantages and disadvantages must be considered for each case,
as no specific recommendations will be applicable in all cases. In the
case of immature animals the ability to grow as well as fatten is pro-
moted by the minerals and vitamins present in fresh green feed.
Hence, calves and yearlings generally make greater and more economi-
cal gains on pasture than they do in dry lot. However, such cattle
frequently lack the finish possessed by similar cattle fattened exclu-
sively in dry lot.
PASTURES FOR DAIRY CATTLE
REQUIREMENTS OF THE DAIRY COW
Liberal feeding is one of the fundamentals of successful dairying.
Although beef cattle are often carried through periods of feed shortage
on only low-grade roughage or poor pasture, such a practice is not
desirable for dairy cows. A milking cow insufficiently fed declines
rapidly in milk production and in body weight. Even a dry cow must
have sufficient feed to maintain her weight, otherwise her production
of milk after calving may be unsatisfactory.
Dairy cows do best on immature pasturage. When they graze on
grasses with the seed heads developed, milk production declines.
Observations at Beltsville, covering tliree seasons, show that the de-
cline in milk production is greater in June, when the bluegrass is
forming seed, than in any other month of the year in spite of the fact
that the pasturage in June is fairly abundant. The aim should be to
provide the dairy herd with young grass tliroughout the season.
A dairy cow weighing 1,200 pounds must consume about 25 pounds
of dry matter a day, containing about 17 pounds of total digestible
nutrients, to support her body weight and to produce 1 pound of
butterfat. She should consume about half this quantity if she is dry.
The dry matter of pasture plants varies from less than 20 percent when
the plants are young and growing to more than 40 percent in times of
drought or when the plants are nearing maturity. If the average
content of dry matter is 25 percent a cow producing 1 pound of butter-
fat a day will need 100 pounds of grass a day. The grass must be
abundant, otherwise it is physically impossible for a cow to gather as
much as 100 pounds a day. Furthermore, remasticating this quan-
tity of grass requires 7 or 8 hours of the cow's time, and she cannot
graze and ruminate at the same time .
QUANTITY OF GRASS A COW WILL EAT
An investigation conducted at the BeltsviUe Research Center at
Beltsville, Md., showed that when the pasture plants were young,
72 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, V. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
tender, and abundant, dairy cows of good production ate enough to
make the dry-matter intake from 25 to 30 pounds a day and the intake
of digestible nutrients from 17 to 21 pounds. "^Mien the pasture plants
became more woody and less abundant though still what would ordi-
narily be considered good pasturage, the consumption of dry matter
dropped to 17 pounds, or little more than enough for maintenance
and the production of one half pound of butterfat a day. It was also
shown that cows would eat as much grass in July as in Maj^ provided
the herbage in Julj^^ was as tender and abundant as that in May.
Apparently, the heat and flies had no material influence on the quan-
tity of grass the cows would graze. These facts make possible an
estimation of the supplementary feed required by dairy cows on
pasture.
SUPPLEMENTING PERMANENT PASTURES
There are few places in the United States where permanent pastures
remain tender and abundant throughout the grazing season. As a
rule in the Northern States the vigorous growth in the spring is fol-
lowed by a slow growth m the summer, which may become more rapid
in the fall. Apparently some of this variation in seasonal growth is
due to the tendency of the plailts to rest after seed is formed, but some
of it is also due to inadec^uate soil moisture in midsummer. The result
is that if the pasture provides the proper quantity of grass for the
dairy herd early in the season it will fail to do so later in the season
and must be supplemented with other feed. Or if the pasture pro-
vides the required amount of grazing in midsummer and fall it wdll
produce more than the cows can use early in the season. In this case
some of the pasturage may be made into hay or silage. Tliis will
avoid waste of feed and will get the surplus grass off the land so that
the young grass can grow and be grazed. ^Miere hay of desirable
qualities cannot be made from pasture land, it appears better practice
to adjust the size of the permanent pasture or of the herd to the grazing
conditions during the first part of the season and to depend on tem-
porary pasturage or other feed to supplement the permanent pastures
in the summer and faU. In the South the principal pasture grasses
are late starting in the spring and make their greatest growth in the
summer. For this reason supplementary pastures in the South are
likely to be more urgently needed in the spring than later in the season.
Furthermore, on account of the weather conditions supplementary
pastures late in the fall or very early in the spring are more practicable
in the South than in the North.
Although supplementary pastures are fully discussed elsewhere
in tliis publication, there are a few wliich merit particular considera-
tion for dairy purposes. One of these is oats. In the North it is
ready for grazing at about the time the bluegrass begins to lose its
value and will fill the gap between the bluegrass and Sudan grass.
In some parts of the South, oats makes an excellent pasture for use in
the late fall and early spring. If desired, oats may serve both as a
nurse crop for young grass and clover and for grazing. Sudan grass
takes first place as a supplementary pasture plant for simimer and
fall. The first year's growth of sweetclover, wliich is ordinarily ready
to graze in July, is sometimes used to supplement permanent pastures.
And on the poorer acid soils the lespedezas are proving popular for
summer and fall grazing in the regions adapted to their growth.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 73
SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDS
Cows on good pasture will gather about as much roughage as they
can well handle. Grain, therefore, should be the material used in
supplementing such pasture. Since good pasture alone will provide
the nutrients for cows producing a pound of butterfat a day, grain
need be given only to those cows producing more than that quantity.
As a general rule, grain shoidd be fed to Holstein cows producing
more than 30 pounds of milk a day, to Jersey cows producing more
than 20 pounds, and to the other breeds producing intermediate quan-
tities. From 0.4 to 0.6 pound of gram will provide the nutrients for
1 pound of milk, depending on the percentage of butterfat. An
advisable plan, therefore, is to give Holstein cows 0.4 pound of grain
for each pound of milk produced above 30 pounds and Jersey cows
FiGURK 19.— A closely grazed pasture. Dairy cows on short pastures such as this need to be fed much the
«amp QC in «7infor
same as in winter
0.6 pound of grain for each pound of milk above 20 pounds. Other
breeds should receive intermediate quantities.
Tliis plan has been used successfully at the Department's farm at
Beltsville, Md., for a number of seasons. Cows so fed wliile the pasture
was at its best maintained their weight and production as well as those
that received more grain. The grass, however, was at its best for only a
month or so in the spring. When the predominating grass, Kentucky
bluegrass, began to head out the cows declined in both body weight and
production, indicating the need for more supplementary feed.
Pastures vary so much in quality that no definite rule for supple-
mentary feeding later in the season is possible. The farmer must be
guided by the condition of liis cows and by the way the milk flow is
being maintained. Any marked falling off of either means that the
cows need more feed.
Most permanent pastures become so short in midsummer that cows
will not obtain their fill of roughage (fig. 19). When tliis happens,
74 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
hay or silage or both may be used for supplementing pastures or better,
perhaps, supplementary pastures may be used. If there is a surplus
of pasture grass in the spring, this grass, if cut early, can be made
into hay or silage for use later. It is good practice to allow milking
cows all the hay or silage they will eat in addition to pasture through-
out the entire grazing season. When the grazing is good they will
eat but little hay ; when the grass becomes short or woody they will eat
more hay, and thus less grain will be required to maintain the milk
production and body weight of the cows than if no hay is fed.
The grain fed early in the season or at any time during the season
that the grass is young and abundant need not contain more than 12
percent protein. As the pasture plants mature and contain less
protein a grain with a higher protein content should be used.
PASTURES FOR DAIRY CALVES AND HEIFERS
Dairy calves less than 1 year of age do not thrive on pasturage
alone and the younger the calf the less it can depend on pasturage.
Heifers more than 1 year of age do very well on a good pasture without
any other feed, but if the pasture becomes short the heifers may have
their growth checked. Apparently the older the heifer the better able
she is to subsist on pasturage alone. On some pastures, supplemen-
tary feed may have to be fed, especially to the younger animals, in
order to maintain normal growth.
PASTURE FOR THE DAIRY BULL
The dairy bull needs nutritious feed and plenty of exercise. He
will get both in grazing a pasture. The most healthful and economical
method of keeping a bull in summer is on a pasture that furnishes aU
the grass he can eat. So long as the grass is good he is not likely to
need other feed, but if short it will have to be supplemented with hay
or grain or both. The bull should get enough feed to keep him in
good condition but not fat.
The fence is the principal problem in pasturing a bull. The usual
barbed-wire or light woven-wire fence will not stand the abuse of an
active bull. He is apt to break through unless the fence is heavy
and well constructed. An insulated strand of wire 2/^ feet above the
ground and connected to an electric-fence transformer is one method
of protecting a fence from butting and rubbing.
PASTURES FOR HORSES AND MULES
Although pasturage is the natural feed for horses and mules and is
often sufficient for maintenance of idle stock, it does not usually
furnish enough feed for animals at steady work. Perhaps the nearest
approach to the ideal pasture for these animals is the grasses of the
semiarid West, which are more like hay than grass a large part of
the year. On such feed, the horses used on the cattle range are main-
tained to a great extent with only limited quantities of supplementary
grain. These horses are used only half a day every 2 or 3 days.
In the case of breeding stock, pastures supply a large portion of
the feed required for maintenance and reproduction, and the growth
of the young animals.
A PASTURE HAXDBOOK
75
Turning onto grass may well take the place of medicine in some
ailments of horses and mules, because of the high nutritive and
supplementary value of green grass. An animal not accustomed to
green feed should be tm-ned on pasture only from 15 to 30 minutes a
day at first, the time being gradually increased from day to day.
Pasturing working horses and mides regidarly at night keeps the
digestive system accustomed to succulent feed. This practice decreases
the quantity of hay needed with the evening ration before being
turned out. Horses and mules that are tiu-ned on night pasture sweat
more at work than those on dry feed, but this disadvantage is over-
balanced by the benefits derived during hot weather, when the pasture
provides a place to roll, water at will, and a clean, cool place to rest.
Animals accustomed to a heavy grain ration should get small
feedings of grain for a few days going onto pasture for a long idle
period to reduce dangers of overeating that may result in impaction,
rupture of the stomach, or other troubles. It is generally best to reduce
the grain ration about half for animals not doing hea^'y work and on
pasture part of the time.
Figure 20. — Good pastures for work horses cut the cost of feed and labor.
In addition to benefiting the general health of the animals placed
on pasture and reducing feed costs, the maximum utilization of pas-
turage is of considerable value m reducing the amount of chore labor
required for feeding, grooming, and stable cleaning (fig. 20).
Cornstalk fields, grain-stubble fields, or pastures which have not
been closely grazed during the summer are desirable sources of a
large part of the winter maintenance feed for horses.
PASTURES FOR SHEEP AND GOATS
Although sheep can make good use of hay, grain, and other har-
vested feeds, they lead all farm animals in their ability to maintain
themselves, to fatten, and to produce carcasses of high quality on
pasture alone. Their fondness for numerous plants, especially weeds
76
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, V. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
and shrubs, wliich other farm animals do not reUsh, causes them to be
kept on many farms chiefly to clean up fields, pastures, and fence
rows. However, they cannot use large quantities of rough forage,
such as coarse-stalked grasses and cornstalks, to nearly as good
advantage as can cattle and horses. Their service is chiefl}'^ in biting
off the tenderest grass, leaves, and shoots. By such practice the sheep
keep down weeds and slirubs when there is sufficient density of stock-
ing to cause them to graze the pasture rather closely.
An acre of good arable land used exclusively for sheep \vin ordinarily
support from 3 to 5 ewes with their lambs until the latter are marketed
(fig. 21). On pastures suitable for either cattle or sheep, 5 ewes may
be considered the eciuivalent of 1 cow or mature steer, and the winter
Figure 21. — Lambs produced with no grain feeding during the grazing season in the southern Appalachian
region. After the lambs are weaned the ewes are put on high, rough land until snow falls.
feed required for 1 breeding cow not in milk would be equivalent to
that needed for about 8 ewes.
The practice of flushing ewes, that is, putting them in a gaining
condition in the fall before breeding time, commonly increases the
lamb crop by about 20 lambs per 100 ewes. Tliis can be accom-
plished by turning the ewes on an abundance of fresh green pasturage
or by feeding each about one-half pound of grain daily.
Good winter pasture or range supplemented by good legume hay,
when the snow is deep, will keep a breeding flock in good condition.
AVOIDING STOMACH WORMS
The flockmaster's greatest troubles are likely to be caused by
internal parasites, the eft'ects of which are particularh" evident during
the latter part of the pasture season. Of these parasites the stomach
worm, Hatmonchus coidortus, is the most common and troublesome.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK • 77
Other stomach and intestinal roiindwoiins, notably trichostrong\'les
and nodular worms as well as tapeworms, liver flukes, and lungworms
also cause heavy losses. The key to effective control of most of these
parasites is the use of pastures that are reasonably free of parasites.
Low or swampy areas should be drained, filled, or fenced off. Over-
stocking and crowding of animals should be avoided. Pastures should
be rotated where practicable; or suitable medication should be pro-
vided to minimize pasture contamination and protect the animals from
heavy infestations.
Among the drugs used for removing internal parasites from sheep
and goats phenothiazine is preferable for removing roundworms, as
it is the only drug that can be administered in salt free-choice for the
continuous, effective control of these parasites. Farm flocks may be
kept reasonably free from parasites by supplying them with a mixture
of loose salt 9 parts, and phenothiazine 1 part. The animals usually
will consume sufficient quantities of this mixture to prevent the devel-
opment of infective larvae that are deposited on the pastures. The
mixture should be sheltered from rain and made available during the
entire grazing reason. The animals should be given at least one
therapeutic dose of the drug during the winter or early spring and put
on uninfested pastures at the beginning of each grazing season. Ani-
mals requiring special treatment during the period of free-choice
medication can be detected easily.
ROTATING PASTURES TO CONTROL PARASITES
The rotation of sheep and lambs and other livestock on temporary
pastures and cultivated fields is helpful in controlling parasites. In
the case of sheep the best plan is to provide fresh pasture every 2
weeks and not allow the flock to go on a field a second time unless the
land has been plowed in the interval, or time enough has elapsed to
cause the death of the stomach w^orm larvae that were left on the field
during the previous grazing. Some permanent pasture is required
for emergency use during periods of drought, excessively wet weather,
and in cases of failure to obtain stands of temporarj'^ seeding.
It is advisable to depend almost completeh^ on temporary pastures
only when the entire farming system is devoted to the production of
feed for sheep. The frequent plowing aids in the control of parasites.
Many parasites will die before a new crop is ready for pasturing.
Because of the continued chance of infection of lambs from grass along
fence rows and in unplowed yards and barn lots, complete freedom
from parasites is seldom obtained. Therefore, as rotated pastures are
not 100-percent effective in the control of stomach w^orms the dosing of
the sheep is necessary also to control these worms.
This type of sheep production is a modification of the English system
of pasturing the lowlands with sheep, which has proved very successful
with the mutton breeds.
SCHEDULE OF TEMPORARY PASTURES
A schedule of temporary pastures suitable for keeping down infesta-
tion of stomach worms in sheep is given in table 11. This schedule
is based on experience with such crops at the Beltsville Research
Center, Beltsville, Md.
78
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGKICULTURE
Table 11. — Period during which different crops may he pastured and acreage oj
each for 100 ewes
Approximate dates
Crop
Pasture no.
Acreage
required
for 100
ewes
Apr. 1 to Apr. 29..
Apr. 29 to May 27.
May 27 to June 24
June 24 to July 22.
July 22to Aug. 19.
Aug. 19 to Sept. 16
Sept. 16 to Oct. 14
Oct. 14 to Nov. 11.
Winter wheat, rye, or barley
Alfalfa 1
Oats and peas..
Rape
Soybeans
Alfalfa
Rape
Winter wheat
1 and 2.
3
4
1
2
3
4
1 and 2.
' Ordinarily it should be possible to get a crop of hay from the alfalfa in July.
Tliis schedule provides a total of 40 acres to carry 100 ewes from
April 1 until the middle of November. In many sections, the use of early
spring pasture can be advanced at least a month. However, there wall be
times when the wheat is too backward or the ground too soft to turn the
sheep out on April 1 . Under such circumstances some permanent pas-
ture may be used or dry-lot feeding continued. Furthermore, in the sum-
mer and fall it may be too dry to obtain adequate pasturage from such
crops as rape and winter wheat. At such times stubble fields, aftermath,
and cornfields may be available. On good soils that will produce about
40 bushels of corn per acre, 40 acres of such pastures in good years
should furnish enough grass for 100 ewes and their lambs to weaning
time and some surplus forage wliich may be harvested for hay.
According to the plan, one of the two 10-acre pastures in winter
wheat is plowed and seeded to rape and the other is seeded to soy-
beans. In the fall both are to be plowed and seeded to winter wheat
again. On field 4, oats and peas seeded in early spring are to be
followed by rape for fall grazing. In the case of each 4-week period
the pasture being used for that period should be divided by a tem-
porary fence so that slightly more than half the pasture may be used
the first 2 weeks and the remainder the last 2 weeks.
ROTATIONS WITH PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES
An effective system of rotation grazing can be arranged in the regu-
lar crop fields of most stock farms, provided there is a sufficient
number of fields having sheep fence to permit changing them fre-
quently during the growing season and provided, the sheep are properly
dosed with copper sulphate solution.
In such a plan, the earliest spring grazing is usually furnished by
fall-sowTi wheat or rye, even though the crop has been grazed pre-
viously during the winter (fig. 22). Following this, the flock may be
placed on permanent grass pasture on w^hich there w^ere no sheep
during the previous year. If such a pasture is not available, a legume
in a crop rotation, such as red clover, may be used. Ordinarily the
land used would be that on wdiich the sheep grazed wheat at the begin-
ning of the previous year. In such a case, in most sections the danger
of worm infestation would probably be much reduced. By the time
the third change is necessary some fields usually w411 have been
harvested for hay and the aftermath can be used for grazing.
For ewes or lambs that are carried later in the year, subsequent
pasturage is furnished in the stubble fields of the grain crops, and
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
79
after that from rape sown in the cornfields. At a still later time the
early fall-sown grain furnishes pasturage untU the coming winter.
A small acreage of rape or some other forage crop will usually be
deshable as an insurance against possible shortage of pasturage in
other fields, and more particularly as a safe and satisfactory feed for
ewe lambs that are retained for breeding and cannot safely remain
with the ewes, particularly if the latter are part of the time on land
that may be worm infested.
FENCING SHEEP PASTURES
Movable or temporary fencing is used extensively in grazing sheep
as they do not require strong fences and, under farm conditions, it is
important that they be confined to what they will clean up in a few
weeks.
A handy style of movable fence consists of 32-inch woven wire
supported by so-called "Illinois posts" made of half-inch iron rods.
r.^^-.^^
- ,1 F„
Figure 22. — Grazing on winter wheat. In the late fall, winter, and early spring, sheep, and cattle as well,
may be grazed on winter wheat, barley, oats, and rye with benefit to the stock, saving in feed costs, and
little or no damage to the grain. But it is best to keep them off when the ground is muddy.
Eight inches from the foot of the post there is a branch at right angles.
This branch runs out about 8 inches and then turns downward
parallel with the post itself. Tliis post can be set readily by pressing
on the branch \\dth the foot. The shape of the bottom part gives
bracing enough to prevent the sheep from pushing the fence over.
The bottom of the fence is kept in place by passing the post between
two of the lower wdi-es. The top wire lies in a groove made in the top
of the post.
Permanent fences enclosing tracts of land used for sheep should be
dog proof. Woven wire from 36 to 42 inches high with stay wires 6
inches apart and 2 or 3 barbed wires above are used for this purpose.
PASTURES FOR GOATS
The grazing of goats is similar to that of sheep, except that goats
make more extensive and more efficient use of browse such as shrubs
and brush. Also, where plenty of feed is available, goats do not graze
so closely as sheep and are, therefore, less likely to suffer from the
80 MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
mternal parasites which give sheep so much trouble. If goats are
closely confined to one pasture and the pasturage is not in excess of
their needs so that they eat it down closely, they are quite as suscept-
ible as sheep to stomach worms and similar parasitic infestations.
Goats are usually grazed on brushy pastures and ranges. Although
they are primarily browsing animals they cannot subsist throughout
the winter on brush which loses its leaves in the fall. Green bark is not
a good feed for the bulk of their ration. Evergreen brush, such as
mountain mahogany in the West, and evergreen oak in the South are
good winter feeds. Where such green winter browse is not available,
goats require pasture or hay the same as other livestock. They make
regular use of weeds and grass where such plants are available, as a
sole ration or as a supplement to browse.
In humid regions goats are used extensi\rely to kill brush as a part of
clearing land. For best results they should be confined to limited
areas so they will keep the foliage and sprouts stripped. Generally
from 2 to 5 goats per acre will kill most brush in two seasons.
Tall brush and trees should be cut so that sprouts coming up from
the stumps can be grazed until the roots are killed. In order to keep
the goats in good condition and have the sprouts eaten off thoroughly,
the area to be cleared may be divided so that the goats can be moved
as often as a substantial quantity of new growth is available. If this
is not practicable or does not keep them in tlii-ifty condition, they
should have supplementary grazing during the times when no new
growth of sprouts is assailable.
PASTURES FOR SWINE
Although pastures have an important place in the production of
hogs they cannot be used so extensively as for other livestock which
have a greater capacity for bulky feed. Hogs can live and even
make some gain on grass alone, but young hogs do not make satisfac-
tory growth and cannot be fattened to a desirable market condition.
When allowed free range and given access to plenty of mast, hogs are
able to care for themselves and will fatten to a moderate degree.
The chief attributes of pasture on the ordinary farm consist in the
opportunity to employ sanitation practices and the supplementary
values of the grass as a source of minerals, vitamins, and proteins.
Oidy breeding stock should be allowed to range over large pastures.
Hogs being fattened should be confined to areas which, though
furnishing adequate grazing, prevent excessive exercise. Pasturage
may replace, on the average, 15 percent of the concentrates and reduce
the protein supplement requned by about 50 percent.
Ordinarily, an acre will furnish pasture for from 5 to 15 hogs aver-
aging 100 pounds in weight. It is a good plan to have two pastures
for each lot of hogs. By alternating them the pastures may be grazed
fairly closely and still provide good, succulent feed. Pasture crops
that are allowed to mature are not good feed for hogs.
It is best to furnish hogs somewhat more pasture than they can
keep closely cropped in order to keep them out of the dirt. Bare or
nearly bare ground is a temptation to rooting when it is moist and a
greater source of parasitic infection than a good cover of vegetation.
It is natural for hogs to root when the ground is soft. To avoid
having the sod broken and the pasture pitted with holes, ringing of
A PASTURE HANDBOOK 81
hogs is sometimes practiced. But since ringing is painful and may
leave a wound, providing opportunity for infection, the operation
should be avoided if possible. Swine that have an adequate suppl}^ of
minerals and other nutrients in their rations are much less likely to
root persistently than those which have a craving for something they
lack.
In most hog-growing sections of the country permanent pastures
are generally used by hog raisers. It is not advisable, however, to
use any of the permanent pasture grasses year after year when a
considerable number of hogs are kept on them during most of the
pasture season. Lots and pastures used every year should be plowed
at least once each year to scatter and destroy roundworm eggs and
other sources of disease and infection. This practice necessitates the
seeding of quick growing crops such as rape, rye, soybeans, and
Sudan grass.
Many successful hog growers place on their permanent pastures only
a limited number of hogs, such as will permit the pastures to make a
sufficient growth to produce a good crop of hay. Plants most generally
used are alfalfa, red clover, alsike, wliite clover, bluegrass, bur-
clover, Bermuda grass, lespedeza, carpet grass, crabgrass, and Dallis
grass. Of all the permanent pasture plants alfalfa undoubtedly heads
the list for hogs. No other permanent pasture is necessary in locali-
ties where this plant can be successfully grown.
When weanling pigs receive 1 H pounds of corn per head daily with-
out any protein supplement except good alfalfa pasture, the range in
the quantity of corn needed to produce 100 pounds of gain should be
from about 260 to 320 pounds. Pigs on such feed should gain about
one half pound per head daily. Ordinarily, in fattening hogs on
pasture a grain supplement and some feed rich in protein such as
skim milk, tankage, fishmeal, or soybeans, are necessary for best
results.
A successful and economical plan of fattening hogs is to "hog
down "the corn, and to allow them access to a good alfalfa or red-
clover pasture and a protein feed in a self-feeder. The hogs will
harvest all the corn in this way and in addition help build up the
fertility of the soil. Hogs may also be used advantageously to harvest
other grains that cannot be gathered in the usual manner (fig. 23).
Although hogs on pasture need free access to a mineral mixture,
such as equal parts of bone meal or dicalcium phosphate, of ground
limestone or air-slacked lime, and of common salt, they will not use
so much as in dry lot because the leaves of green forage are especially
rich in readily available calcium and phosphorus.
For hogs, tightly stretched small meshed fence is especially im-
portant. If it does not turn the pigs when they are small they get
the habit of going through fences and are more likely to make holes
for themselves when they get too big for the meshes. A barbed wire
just imder the woven wire is especially valuable. To be tight, it
should be put on and stretched after the woven wire is in place.
To keep hogs raised under farm conditions from suffermg from
infestation by roundworms, the following general procedure, known
as the McLean County system of swine sanitation, should be followed:
Clean the farrowing quarters thoroughh^ and then scrub with boiling water,
adding 1 pound of concentrated Ije to 30 gallons of water.
710433'— 46
82
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, V. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Brush all loose litter and mud from sides of sow, wash the udder thoroughly
with warm water and soap, and then place the sow in the clean farrowing pen.
This is done 3 or 4 days before farrowing.
Confine the sow and pigs to the farrowing pens for about 10 days and then
haul — do not drive — them to clean pasture. A clean pasture is one that has
been plowed and jjlanted since it was used by hogs. \\'ater and feed should be
provided in the clean pasture, as the young pigs must not, under any cir-
cumstances, be permitted to go back to the permanent hog lot for feed or water
until they are 4 months old.
After being placed on a clean pasture, the pigs are sooner or later exposed to
the danger of swallowing some roundworm eggs that may be passed by the sow.
However, the scattering of the infection over a large, clean pasture diminishes
the chances of infection.
The pasture should be located some distance from the permanent hog lots and
fenced so that the young pigs cannot get back to the hog lots. It is important
Figure 23. — In emergencies, as after severe damage by storm, small grains such as wheat and rye may be
harvested to advantage by hogs.
also to avoid locating a clean pasture where the wash from rain on infected ground
will contaminate the clean area.
The foregoing directions apply particularly to spring litters of
pigs in the Central States. Also washing is not usually necessary
in areas where the soil is sandy and does not adhere to the sows.
In the case of fall litters, sows kept on clean pastures may be allowed
without previous washing to farrow there when weather permits.
The swine-sanitation system frequently increases the number of
pigs raised per sow as much as 50 percent. Farmers may also get
pigs ready for market from 4 to 8 weeks earlier with a saving of both
feed and labor, an increase in uniformity, and a reduction in the num-
ber of runts (fig. 24).
A modification of the swine-sanitation system for the South has
given very satisfactory results in controlling kidney worms and other
parasites as well as roundworms. The modified system involves
keeping the ground bare in corners and along fences where the hogs
defecate and urinate. Under such conditions sunlight and drying
kUl the parasites before they can complete their life cycles. More
complete details concerning the method of controlling kidney worms
may be obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D. C.
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
83
In a study of 53,000 hogs raised without regard to sanitation on
farms in Georgia and Florida, 92 percent of the livers and all the
kidneys were condemned as unfit for food because of kidney-worm
infestation. In the case of 525 hogs raised under the special plan,
slight kidney -worm lesions were found in the kidneys of 10 percent
and only 14 percent of the livers were unfit for food. All livers and
kidneys from hogs from 21 herds were entirely free of kidney worms.
A hog wallow made of concrete and located in a convenient, shady,
place is a benefit in a hog yard, but a mud wallow made by the hogs
rooting a hole is a nuisance and should not be allowed to remain.
Hogs suffer greatl}^ from heat and must be provided with shade of
some kind. This is best provided by trees, where a sufficient number
close enough together are available. A very satisfactory structure
for providing shade can be made by constructing a framework about
Figure 24. — Pigs raised on pasture. Clean pastuies for raisins and fattening pigs save grain and protein
supplements, avoid roundworm infection and other troubles, save labor, and conserve soil fertility.
4 feet in height, using posts, poles, or any available material, and
covering w^ith hay, straw, or weeds, to a depth of about 2 to 3 feet.
PASTURES FOR POULTRY
The proportion of different kmds of pasturage which may be used
to advantage in feeding poultry varies with the kind of poultry.
Geese can subsist readily on grass alone (fig. 25). Goslmgs may be
grown entirely on grass after they are from 2 to 3 weeks old, though
grain is required in fattening them. Ducks rank next in the advanta-
geous use of pasture and turkeys, gumeas, and chickens use the least.
When on good range, such as bluegrass, and receiving also grain
supplemented with milk or a protein feed, such as meat meal, hens will
give good egg. production and produce eggs at a much lower cost than
on balanced rations without pasturage. Good pasture of immature
grass furnishes an abundant and cheap supply of vitamins and min-
erals and provides a high quality of proteui. The vitamuis required
for poultry, which are known to be present in considerable quantities
in good green grass are vitamin A (in the form of carotene), thiamin,
riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, vitamin K, and vitamin E.
S4
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE
Green feed must be tender and low in crude fiber in order to be
palatable and of much use to poultry (figs. 26 and 27).
In addition to the nutrients obtained from ranging on pasture,
poultry benefit also from the sunshine and exercise. However, in the
case of birds producing eggs for market, moderation in the use of
green feed, especially legumes, is advisable since too much may cause
darker yolks than some markets like. A clean range also aids in
keeping the birds free from disease and parasites.
On the average farm, where no special provision is made for grazing
poultry and they range at large, their requirements for such feed are
Figure 25.— Geese on pasture.
This class of poultry is able to subsist entirely on grass, though requir-
ing some grain for fattening.
usually well supplied in the spring and part of the summer. To obtain
good growth over a longer period, the soil should be fertile and well
supplied with moisture, and plants suitable for feeding poultry should
be selected.
For fall, winter, and spring, Italian ryegrass is very satisfactory.
It will stand cold weather well and will make some growth when the
temperature is above freezing. The small grains may be used, too,
but they become hard and fibrous too early in the spring. In the
South crimson clover seeded with the rye adds desirable variety.
Rape also may be used for ^\dnter grazing in the South. A quick,
luxuriant growth is necessary for tender, palatable forage.
For summer grazing, particularly in regions where Jidy, August,
and September are hot and dry, alfalfa is one of the most satisfactory
crops. It is also suitable for general spring and fall use as it with-
stands frosts. Hard freezes kill the tender growth. Cowpeas or soy-
A PASTURE HANDBOOK
85
^*i^il
Figure 26.— Chickens on range of grass. Succulent green feed is a valuable part of poultry rations.
Figure 27.— Flock of White Holland turkeys on a good grass range.
86
MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTUKE
beans may be used to advantage where alfalfa does not thrive. White
clover is especially valuable tlu-oughout most of the eastern half of the
United States and in irrigated districts of the West, as it comes on early
in the spring and again in midsummer on moist soils. Partial shade
favors white clover as well as bluegrass during midsummer.
Grasses such as bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and bromegrass
are suitable for spring and fall grazing. In the South, Bermuda grass
furnishes summer grazing following legumes and ryegrass, which are
suitable for use in the spring. Short grasses such as bluegrass and
crested dogtail are much more desirable than tall grasses, such as
timothy and Dallis.
At least 1 acre of good land should be provided for every 150 to 200
birds. The area should be divided into 2, 3, or 4 lots so that they may
be used when the forage is best and to provide variety.
In cases where rotating is not practicable, mixtures of pasture
plants are desirable to furnish variety and increase the length of the
grazing season. Suggested mixtures are (1) alfalfa with either orchard
grass or timothy; (2) Italian ryegrass, lespedeza, and bur-clover: and
(3) bluegrass and wliite clover.
INDEX
Page
Alfalfa 13,14,20,21,64,84
Alsikc clover - 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21
Alt ernate grazing 55, 80
Animals. See Livestock.
Annual melilot 14, 16
Annual pastures:
Advantages of 42
Disadvantages of 42
Uses and value 6,42
Austrian winter pea 34, 41
Bahia grass 8, 11
Barley 33,39
Barnyard manure, use on pastures 25-27
Beef calves, suckling, creek feeding 68
Beef cattle:
Breeding practices on pasture 67
Calving on pasture 67
Fattening on grain and grass 54,69-71
Fattening on grass alone 46,68
Feeds stipplemenling pastures 58, 66-67
Supplementary pastures „_ 65-66
Winter grazing 58
Bermuda grass 8, 11, 19,20,21,86
Bird's-foot trefoil 17
Black medic 14, 16
Bloating of livestock:
Causes 64,65
Prevention and treatment 65
Bluegrass, Kentucky _ _ 8, 10. 18, 20, 21, 52, 70, 73, 83, 86
Breeding cattle on pasture, method 67
Bromegrass 8,10,18,20,52,86
Brush:
Control of _ 27
Pastures 6
Bur-clover 14, 15
Burning, effect on pastures 29-30
Calendar of seedings for annuals 42
Calves:
Beet, suckling, creep feeding 68
Dairy, iiastures for _ 74
Fattening on grain and grass, procedure. . 69-70
Feeds, supplementing pasturage 66-67
Canada Bluegrass 8, 10, 18, 20
Carbohydrate content, comparison of pas-
turage and other feeds 51
Page
Carpet grass 8,11,19
Cattle:
Bloating, prevention, and treatment 65
See also Beef cattle; Dairy cattle; Dual-
purpose cattle.
Centipede grass 8,11
Climatic adaptation of—
Grasses 8,33
Legumes 14,33
Clover:
Alsike 13
Cluster 15
Crimson 33,39,84
Ladino 14, 15
Low hop 14,15
Mammoth red 14
Persian 15
Red 13,14,18,20,21
Sometimes injurious to livestock 64
Sour 14,16
White 14,15,18,19,20,86
Cluster clover 15
Colonial (Rhode Island) bentgrass 11
Common kspedeza 14, 16, 18, 19, .36,37
Contour furrows, use of 27
Contour ridges in seed-bed preparation 23
Cornstalks, sometimes injurious to livestock.. 64
Couch grass. See Quackgrass.
Cowpeas 33,37,84
Cows. See Cattle.
Creeping bentgrass. See Colonial bentgrass.
Crested wheatgrass _.. 8, 11,20
Crimson clover 33, 39
Crude fiber of pasturage, comparative com-
position 51
Cultivation of pastures _ . 25
Cut-over pastures 6
Dairy calves, pastures for 74
Dairy cattle:
Feed capacity 71-72
Feed requirements 66,71
Feeds supplementing pasturage 73-74
Hohenheim system of pasture manage-
ment 55-58
Permant nt pastures 72
Supplementary pastures 72
INDEX
87
Page
Dairy heifers, pastures for 74
Dallis grass 8,11,19,21,64,86
Diseases of livestock, precautions against 46-47,
50, 52, 55, 59, 63, 65, 67, 74-75
Drainage 30
Dual-purpose cattle:
Breeding practices on pasture 67
Fetds supplementing pasturage 66-67
Supplementary pastures 65-66
East Central States, plant mixtures adapted
to ---- 18
Establishment of pastures 3-24
Ewes, "flushing" for lamb production 76
Fattening:
CattU, grain and grass 54,69-71
Cattle, grass alone --- 46, 68
Hogs, pasture and supplements 81
Feed value:
Changes as plants mature 48-49, 73
Immature pasturage 47-49,51,66,71-72,84
Feeds supplementing pasturage for:
Beef cattle 58,66,67-69
Dairy cattle 66,73-74
Hogs 81
Horses and mtiles 75
Poultry- __ 83-84
Sheep 76
Fencing:
Hog pastures 81
Sheep pastures 79
Fertilizer treatment for growth promotion
and improvemtnt of stand 25
Fertilizers, commercial 25-27
"Flushing" ewes to increase lamb production. 76
Goats:
Bloating, prevention and treatment 65
Pastures for 79-80
Grass silage, method of preserving --■ 48
Grass-fattened livestock:
Gains made 68
Quality of meat 46
Grasses:
Desirable in permanent pastures 7-22
Of local value in permanent pastures 10-13
Grazing:
Alternate 55, 80
Close 28
Effect of methods and intensity 24.28.29
Rotation 55.57,77-79
Two or more kinds of livestock on a
pasture, effect 52-54
Great plains region, plant mixtures adapted to. 19
Guinea grass 12
Harvested crops, comparison with —
Pastures in cost of feed 44-45
Pastures in yield of nutrients 45-46, 51
Heifers, dairy, pastures for 74
Hogs:
Fattening on pasture and supplements. _ . 81
Feeding minerals on pasture 81
Fencing of pastures 81
Parasite controls 81-83
Permanent pasture _ 81
Rooting, avoidance 80-81
Wallows, recommendations concerning... 83
Hohenheim system of pasture management... 55-5S
Horses, grazing practices for 54,74-75
Immature pasturage:
Feed value 47-49, 51, 66, 71-72. 84
Methods of preserving. 48
Improvement of pastures 24-32
Insects, damage to pastures.. 31
Intermountain region, plant mixtures
adapted to 19
Italian ryegrass 21,33,38,48,52,84
Johnson grass 8, 12,64
Kentucky bluegrass 8,10,18,20,21,52.73
Kobe lespedeza 16, 19,36
Korean lespedeza. 14, 17, 18, 19, 36, 37
Kudzu 33,38
Page
Labor requirements of pastures .-- 44
Ladino clover 14, 15
Lambs:
Parasite control 76-79
Suckling, on grass, quality of meat 46
Least hop clover 14, 15
Legumes:
Desirable in permanent pastures 13-17
Of local value in permanent pastures.. 13, 15, 17
Lespedeza:
Common 14.16,18.19.36.37
For pasture 14, 16, 18, 19, 23, 36, 37, 46, 72
Kobe 16,19,36
Korean 17,36,37
Tennessee 76 16,17,19
Lime:
Use in maintenance and improvement of
pastures 25-26, 50
See also Minerals.
Livestock:
Diseases, precautions against 46-47,
50, 52, 55, 59, 63, 65, 67, 74-75
Health, influence of pastures 46-47,
49-52, 74-75, 84
Parasites, precautions against 47,
53, 59, 76-79, 81-84
Low hop clover 14, 15
Maintenance of pastures 24-31
Mammoth red clover 14
Manure, barnyard, use on pastures 25-27
Mature pasturage, feed value 49
McLean County system of swine sanitation. . 81-83
Meadow fescue 8,10.20,21.52
Meadow foxtail 8,10,19,21
Meadows, aftermath 41
Meat quality, from livestock on grass 46
Minerals:
Deficiency in soil, methods of correcting. . 50
For hogs on pasture 81
Pasturage as source of 46. 49, 83
Mixtures (plant):
Adapted to different sections 17-22
Advantages of 17
Molasses grass 12
Mules, grazing practices for 74-75
Napier grass 33,38
Natal grass 12
Natural or native pastures, kinds of 6
Newly seeded pastures, treatment of 24
Northeastern States, plant mixtures adapted
to 18
Northern Pacific slope, plant mixtures
adapted to
21
Oatgrass, tall 9. 11.21
Oats. 33.39.72
Orchard grass 8,12,18,20,21,52
Overgrazing . 28,29
Palatability of pasturage, factors affecting 52
Para grass 8, 12
Parasites:
Control in hogs 81-83
Control in sheep and goats 59, 76-79. 80
Of li%-estock, precautions against 59,76-83
Pasture regions 7
Peanuts 40
Perennial ryegrass 8,10,21,52,86
Permanent pastures:
Cultivation and reseeding 25
Description of 6
Establishing 22-24
For dairy cattle 72
For hogs 81
For sheep 78-79
In winter 58
Maintenance and improvement 24-31
Persian clover 15
Pigs, weanling, grains on corn and pasture 81
Plants sometimes injurious, essential facts
regarding 64
Poisonous plants, essential facts regarding 59-63
Potato, sometimes injurious to livestock 64
Poultry, benefits of pasture for 83-86
Proteins, pastures as source of 47-49, 51, 66
88
INDEX
Page
Quackgrass 12
Kange pastures 6
Rape 33,39,84
Red clover 13, 14, 18, 20. 21
Red fescue 12
Redtop 9, 12, 18, 19
Reed canary grass 9, 10, 18,21
Rescue grass 9, 12, 41
Reseeding pastures _. 2.5
Rhodes grass 9, 12
Rodents, damage by 31
Rooting of hogs, avoidance 80-81
Rotating pastures for control of sheep para-
sites 77-79
Rotation:
Grazing 55,57,77-79
Pastures 6
Roundworms in swine, methods of control 81-83
Rye 34,39
Ryegrass:
Italian 21,33.38
Perennial 8, 10, 21, 52, 86
Season for —
Grazing grasses 8,33
Grazing legumes 14,33
Seasonal production of permanent pastures... 32
Seed bed preparation and seeding 22-23
Seeding:
Grasses, time and rate of 8,33
Legumes, time and rate of 14. 33
Seeds, vitality of 42-43
Shade for animals:
Location of 26-27
Provision for 54-55,83
Sheep:
Advantages of raising 75-76
Bloating, prevention and treatment 65
Feeds supplementing pasturage 66-67
Fencing of pastures 79
"Flushing" ewes for lamb production 76
Parasite control ... 59,76-79
Rotation grazing 77-79
Sheep fescue, permanent pasture 13
Shelter, provLsion for 54-55
Silage, grass, method of preserving 48
Slender wheatgrass 9, 13. 20
Small gains 33,34,39
Soil:
Adaptation of grasses 8,33
Adaptation of legumes 14,33
Water conservation measures 23
Erosion, prevention of by pastures 3, 23
Fertility, conserved by pastures 4
Page
Sorghum, sometimes injurious to livestock 64
Sour clover or annual nielilot 14, 16
Southeastern States, plant mixtures adapted
to 19
Southern bur-clover 14, 15
Southern Pacific slope, plant mixtures adapted
to^ _ 21
Soybeans 33,37,84,86
Steers:
Fattening on grain and grass 69-71
Fattening on grass alone ._ 68
Feeds supplementing pasturage 66-67
Stock-poisonine plants, essential facts 59-63
Stomach worms of sheep and goats, danger
and control of 59,76-77.80
Strawberry clover 14, 16
Stump pastures... 6
Sudan grass 33,35,64,66,72
Supplemental pastures for —
Beef and dual-purpose cattle 65-66
Dairy cows.. 72
Sheep 77-79
Supplementary feeds, to pastures 58.
66-67, 69, 73-76, 81, 8.V84
Sweetclover 6,19,20,33,35-36,66,72
Swine. See Hogs.
Tall oatgrass .*. 9,11,21
Tame pastures, kinds of 5-f
Tempf.rary pastures. See Supplemental pas-
tures.
Tennessee 76 lespedeza 16, 17, 19
Timothy 9,13,18,19,20,86
Undergrazing of pastures, disadvantages... 29, 52-53
Unproductive pastures, causes of 24
Use of contour furrows 27
Utilization of pastures 44-86
Vasey grass 13
Velvetbeans 34,40
Vetch 34,40-41
Vitality of seeds of pasture plants 42
Vitamins, pasturage as source of 46-47,51-52,83
Wallows, hog, recommendations concerning.. 83
Water, provisions for 55
Weeds, control of . _ 27
Wheat 34,39
White clover 14,15,18,19,20
Winter peas 34,14
W inter pastures (permanent) , use of 58
Woodland pastures 6
Yellow trefoil 14,16
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