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HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Pasture and Grain Crops for Hogs in Pacific Northwest
Contributed by Byron Hunter of the Board of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture,
8 33 $ S
This is the second of a aeries of
articles dealing with erops and
systems of cropping for pork
production, prepared by Mr.
Byron Hunter, who is now state
leader in charge of farm-man-agement-field
studies and dem
onstrations in the Stata of
Washington, and employed co
operatively by the United
States Department of Airrienl-
ture and the State College of
n aisningion.
fall is scant, corn can be hogged off far
into the winter. There is slightly less
waste 11 a movable fence is used and
the hogs are not turned into more corn
than they ean consume in IS or 20 days.
Especially is this true when the ground
becomes wet and muddy.
The Use of Barley.
As a crop to hog off, barley is used
during the summer, autumn and winter.
Because the beards, when dry and hard,
are so severe on the mouth of the beg,
the common beardless barley is gen
erally nsed during the summer and
early autumn. The bearded varieties
usually outyield the beardless consider
ably, and for this reason the former are
it a . . . i
TTrr. , ... .. i generally preierrea ior iaie auiumn ana
Il. 'j'! 0r.thwe"t 19 Plily winter use. There are some, however,
" picw M log nOBIlUkB Off Of Itnna I U I .. 1. Jl
vtuu yrcicr buv waruiew varieue. lur
all seasons.
If sown very early in the spring,
beardless barley generally ripens about
ten days or two weeks earlier thaa win
ter wheat. This makes it one of the
first eropa available for hogging off in
the early summer. The hogs are turned
into the field when the first patchers
are ripening, or when the kernels are
in the stiff-dough stage.
Hogs do only faidy well on mature
bearded barley when the beards are dry
and stiff. After the autumn rains have
softened the beards and kernels, how
ever, they take to it readily. For late
antumn and winter use the, bearded
varieties are allowed to stand in the
field until the fall rains have set in
well. This usually gives plenty of time
after harvest for the- hogs to glean the
stubble field. Blue barley, a bearded
variety, is generally sown for late fail
and winter use. When allowed to stand
in the field it does not shatter and
bio. The kernels become so hard nd I Prout nearly so easily as wheat or the
lufcvr varieties ui uariey.
in Umatilla county, Ore.,
usou untu Crops Hogged Off.
""I" " Hogging oft of crops.
The wet season occurs daring th
"'"'- wvuma ana tne dry season dur-
-8 u summer. This give a lone
7. " "a'ca crops may be used in
t Z7' Th Prin:iP1,l "0P that are
-U.M.U10 IOr noggmg down aro wheat,
field pen, corn and barley.
u generally used from the
tune the first spots in the field are
npe, aoout the stiff -dough staee
nntU the stubble field is open or until
field peas or some other erops are ready
for use. It will be seen, then, that the
xor using wheat is from four to
, 7 oe considerable loss
from shattering, and the autumn rains
in soma localities may also damage the
Top.
A .fff Jrietr ot
mooth club type of head is best suited
ftr hogging down. The club head does
not shatter so readily as most other
type. The true hard and h.A-A .
Sfi'-rT. " Turke ' "ot suit-l1
sble. The kernels bm. . ....
the beards are so severe on the hoes't,H!alled win
mouths that they do not eat enough to I , " ' "a
On the farm of W. H. Steea, Umatilla
7Tli "on u pastnred from
July 17 to August E4 on 11 acre, of ripe
tiding wheat, estimated to yield 15
bushels per acre, made an average gain
"""" in another instance M.
a. oenree, or Whitman county. Wash
r-" neaa or hogs on 7 8-16
eree of standing wheat and 1 acre of
pasture from July 30 to August 17. The
fcogs made a gain of 218 pounds per
re and gave a net value per acre of
.f. ne set returns from 44 acres
or wneat alongside, yielding 19 bush
per acre, were only $8.04 per acre.
The field pea is one of the most sat
bfaetory crops to harvest with hn.
The quality of feed furnished is of the
ery best, hogs are very fond of the
mature peas, and nnder good manage
ment the crop is gathered with but verr
SifflA r i . .. - -
"hi varieties or peas are
omparatively large and difficult to
eover. What is shattered usually lies on
mo surrace or the ground until picked
up later.
Wlen Hogs Are Turned Into rield.
ine nogs are turned Into th fi.M
about the time the last peas are nearly
mature. L most districU they may be
uouu uui aoout uctoDer l, or until
uon 19 uanger or toe crop being dam
agea oy wet weather. A protracted
autumn rain falling upon a heavy crop
that the hogs have not cleaned up may
cause the peas to sprout To prevent
thia the vines are sometimes burned as
soon after the rain as they are dry
euuugu. nurmng tne vines leaves the
pea lying upon the surface of the
ground. It is not necestary to burn the
(vmee, nowever, ir a movable fence is
nsed and the hogs are made to clean
up the crop in small areas that will last
from two to three weeks eachi Since
ripe, mature peas' are rich in protein,
Kreou succulent xeea in addition to the
peas wm help to balance the ration.
Where corn is successfully Mown it
is an excellent crop to hog down. Care-
iuuy conducted tests at the Minnesota
experiment station show that hogs
waste no more corn in the field than
when fed in lots, and that they gather
as ciean as most men do in husking.
Farm experience also bears out this con
clusion. Corn is advantageously used
from the time the ears are well glazed
until the weather becomes unfavorable
and the ground muddy. Is some dis
tricts of the Northwest, where the rain-
during November, 1910, 80 hogs were
pastured 18 days and 98 hogs 10 days
on 11.4 acres of barley on a steep hill
side. The gain in weight averaged 230
pounds per acre, having a value of
$18.35 per acre. The estimated yield of
barley was 21 bushels per acre.
Determining Area to Be Hogged Off.
In order to reduce the waste to
minimum, the area of each crop hogged
off must be thoroughly cleaned up. Ow
ing to the variation in crop yields and
the quantity of grain that hogs of dif
ferent sizes will consume, it is not al
ways easy to determine the acreage of
each crop to be used is this way,
pose a portion of the main winter-wheat
crop is to be fenced and hogged off
from the time the grain is just past the
stiff-dough stage, say July 10, until the
stubble field is open, August 15. What
area of the winter wheat shall be set
aside to be used in this wayt This may
be determined in two ways, as follows:
(1) When the first spots in the field
are nearly ripe or when the kernels
have just passed the stiff -dough stage,
measure and fence a small trial are,
enough to last the herd of hogs for only
a few days. Prom July 10 to August 15
Is 36 days. If a trial area of one acre
lasts the herd 6 days, as many acres of
wheat must be reserved as the number
of times 6 is contained in 30, or 6 acres,
(2) By the second method, the yield
of the crop per acre and the quantity
of feed that the herd of hogs will con
sume per day are estimated. Suppose
that the yield of wheat is 30 bushels, or
1,800 pounds, per acre and the herd of
hogs will consume 400 pounds of wheat
per day. If 400 pounds of wheat are
consumed in one day, an acre, or 1,800
pounds, will last 4.5 days. If one acre
lasts 4.5 days, 8 acres will be required
While both are used in the Pacific
Northwest, the latter is the one gen
orally practiced. Where crops are used
in tms way during the late fall and win
ter in the more humid, portions of the
wheat belt and west of the Cascade
Mountains, where the autumn rains are.
frequently heavy, the area should prob
ably be limited so that it will be
cleaned up in 15 or 20 days. In the arid
and semi-arid districts or when used
during the dry season in the more
humid localities, there is probably no
good reason why the area hogged off
should not be all that the hoes will
clean up nicely during the season. Much
larger areas doubtless can be hogged
off on sandy or gravelly soils than on
clay soils that become -sticky when wet.
Crops Suitable for Pasture and Hogging
Off.
The three Pacific Northwestern
States to which this bulletin is prim
arily applicable may be divided into
three distinet agricultural districts
(1) Western Oregon and Western Wash
ington that portion of these two states
lying west of the Cascade Mountains,
(Z) the wheat belt, and (3) the irri
gated valleys. Beeause of their great
variation in topography, elevation, rain
fall, soil, temperature, etc, these three
districts present a wide range of agri
cultural possibilities. For this reason
the crops that may be used in econom
ical hog production in each area are
discussed separately.
Crops for Western Oregon and Western
Washington.
The moist, mild climate of this dis
trict makes it possible to provide an
abundance of cheaply grown forage for
hogs throughout the entire year. The
number of crops which may be used for
this purpose is very great.
If intended for late fall, winter and
early spring use, a pasture should not be
grazed during the autumn, in order that
a large amount of forage may accumu
late. This is neeessary with almost all
winter forage crops, for growth prac
tically ceases when winter begins. The
during the autumn is grazed during the
forage that is allowed to aeeumulate
winter.
It must be understood also that there
are times during the winter when most
soils west of the Cascade Mountains be
come so wet that the tramping of the
hogs does a great deal of injury by
puddling the soil. For this reason it if
generally considered best to remove the
hogs from the pasture when a heavy
rain falls. This is sot always neeea
sary, however, as, for example, on sandy
soils and. pastures with a dose grass)
sod.
Of the legumes, red clover for well-
drained soils and alsike for wet lands
are generally the most satisfactory. The
clovers make their maximum growth
during the months of April, May and
June. When the summer drought comes
on, the quantity of forage produced
gradually decreases. If s eltfver pastor
is utuizea to its xullest capacity dunnat
the spring and early summer, it if neees
sary to provide additional greenfeed
for the dry season. This may be dona
by grazing the elover meadow during;
the summer after removing s erop f
hay.
Alfalfa is not used so generally aS
clover for hog pasture west of the Cas
eade Mountains. It has been tried is)
many loca. ties with varying degrees of
success. It has given best satisfaction
on- the sandy or loamy soils along the. -watercourses
where the water table is at
least 4 feet below the surface. Alfalfs
is highly successful in the Umpqua and
Rogue River Valleys on irrigated asi
subirri gated land. Under conditions fa
vorable to its growth, it produces as
abundance of feed from early spring ua
til late in the fall.
Grass stains may be removed by satu
rating the spots with kerosene, rolling
igutly and leaving a short tune. Then
rinse out the kerosene and wash with
arm soapsuds, rubbing as necessary.
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The quantity of wheat that the herd
of hogs will consume per day can be
determined quite accurately by weigh
ing their foed for a few days just be
fore they are turned into the field, in
the case of growing hogs, they will con
sume a little more each day as they
grow older.
The Area of Grain to Hog at One Time.
Crops are hogged off in two ways
(i; tty suoaivioing tno lioia with a
movable fence into small areas that will
last the hogs from 10 to 20 days and
(2) by turning tho hogs into the entire
field in the beginning.
No data are at hand showing which
of these methods Is more economical..
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