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.
53$J$.$SS$$j,(g
This is the last of a series
of articles dealing with crops
0 and systems of cropping for
pork production, prepared by
(S Mr. Byron Hunter, who is now
B state leader in charge of farm
g management-field studies and
I6 demonstrations in the State of
3 Washington, and employed eo
3 operativcly by the United
States Department of Agricul-
ture and the State College of
(S Washington. $
Q Q
I N EICH, mellow land that retains
moisture well artichokes usually
yield bottor than potatoes. But
on land that dries out quickly the
yield is not very satisfactory.
The hogs are turned in late in the
fall, about the time that alfalfa or
clover pasture is failing. Some allow
the hogs to work on tho tubers at will
from the last of October until May 1.
Others prefer to use artichokes only in
the late fall and early spring, the' hogs
being removed from the field during
the winter, when the ground is so wet
that their rooting will puddle the soil.
The hogs are returned to the field as
oon as the ground has settled in the
early spring. Used in this way arti
chokes fill in two periods, the late fall
and early spring, when green feed is
scarce. As with the root crops, hogs
must also receive a grain ration of some
kind when feeding upon artichokes if
rapid gains are desired. When the
ground is frozen hard other feed must
be provided.
Many hog raisers use headed or
bundle wheat to carry dry brood sows
and young shotes through the winter.
When feeding upon the unthrashed
grain the hogs get considerable rough
age in chewing the heads. They are
also compelled to eat more slowly and
to masticato their food better than
when feeding upon thrashed grain.
When the grain is fed in the straw
tho thrashing bill is saved and the
bogs are kept busy during much of the
time. Unthrashed wheat and artichokes
oi roots of some kind make a good
combination for wintering hogs.
In some localities field peas are
tacked and the unthrashed vines fed
to hogs during the late fall, winter
and early spring. Mature pea grain is a
concentrated feed, very rich in pro
tain. For this reason hogs should re
eoivo other feed in addition to the
peas to dilute the ration. Any of the
root crops, artichokes or potatoes are
excellent for this purpose.
Unthrashed Barley.
In using unthrashed bearded barley
for winter feed for hogs, a large quan
tity is thrown into the feed lot at a
time in order that the beards and ker
r nels may become wet and soften. If
fod dry, tho kernels are too hard to be
eaten readily.
Arid and Semiarid Districts,
The arid and semiarid districts may
arbitrarily be designated as that por
tion of the wheat belt whose normal
precipitation is insufficient to grow al
falfa successfully. In much of this re
gion, however, alfalfa can bo grown
profitably for hog pasture by keeping
the stand very thin and cultivating it
thoroughly in the late fall and early
spring. If sown rather thinly in rows
about 24 to 36 inches apart and culti
vated occasionally during the Bpring
and summer, alfalfa will make profit
able hog pasture over a very wide ter
ritory now considered too dry for that
crop.
Wheat is used for hog pasture as
lollows:
(1) As soon as the surface of the
ground is dry in the spring, about
April 1, the hogs are turned into the
main crop of winter wheat that is
grown for market. Some prefer to
oso the winter wheat until it begins
to joint; that is, for about a month
or six weeks. Others use it until the
hogs begin to chew the heads of
wheat, and still others harvest with
the hogs in the field.
(2) Spring wheat sown the last of
February or early in March is gen
erally largo enough for pasture, 3 to i
inches high, by May L By pastur
ing it rather closely it will stay green
until about July 1.
(3) Summer pasture is provided by
sowing either spring or winter wheat
about May 1. Land that is sown at
this date is plowed during the late
lau, in the winter, or very early in
the spring. To destroy weeds and re
tain moisture it is kept thoroughly
cultivated from early spring until the
wheat is sown. The pasture is ready
for use in about six weeks from date
of planting. If grazed closely, it
should remain green until in August.
The common beardless barley is also
sown in the early spring and early
in May for spring and summer pas
ture. Barley comes more quickly and
makes more feed than wheat. The
hogs also like it better than wheat
up to the time it has headed out.
Corn and Sorgham.
Field cern and several varieties of
sorghum are grown in a limited way
in the dry portion of the wheat belt
for hog pasture. The principal va
rieties of sorghum aro kafir, Jerusa
lem corn, milo and Amber sorehum.
Just which of these is most satisfac
tory when grown as a grazing crop
or to cut and feed green has not been
fully determined. On account of the
succulency and high sugar content of
its Stems as well as its habit of suck
ering after being cut or eaten down,
Amber sorghum is probably the best
of the varieties named above. The
variety grown is locally known as
tarly Amber sorghum. Field observa
tions seem to indicate that Amber
sorghum is best adapted to the ex
tremely dry districts where the alti
tude is rather low, and corn to the
higher districts. These crops need to
be further tested in limited areas to
determine which are most profitable.
Corn and sorghum are grown in much
the same way. To be successful, the
preparation of the seed bed must re
ceive special attention. Perhaps the
most satisfactory way to prepare the
land for these crops is to plow dur
ing the lata fall or winter and then
cultivate thoroughly from early spring
until planting time. Sorghum is plant
ed a trifle later than corn, in rows 3
to 3J feet with a grain drill. The
seed is dropped 10 to IS inches apart
in the row. To firm the soil and
cause the seed to germinate quickly, a
corrugated roller or subsurface pack
er is run just behind the drill. The
cultivation is the same as . that of
corn. The crop is either cut and fed
green or the hogs are turned into
the field when the sorghum or corn
is 14 to 18 inches high. The former
method gives by far the most feed.
Corn and sorghum are generally used
in a 2-year rotation with wheat or
barley, the land being in sorghum or
corn for summer green feed one year
and in barley or wheat to pasture
or hog off the next.
Gleaning Stubble Fields.
If the farm is fenced hog tight,
the hogs have the run of the stubble
field from the time the grain is har
vested until the land is plowed the
following spring. The volunteer grain
makes the earliest green feed in the
spring.
Whether or not wheat and peas
shall be used from the time they are
available in the early summer until
the autumn rains have softened the
barley sufficiently to be hogged down
will depend upon the number of hogs
kept on the farm. Where only enough
hogs are kept to glean the stubble
field, peas and wheat are used only
until the grain is thrashed and the
stubble field is open. Where more
than enough hogs are kept to clean
up the Btubble field, wheat and peas
can be profitably hogged off until
the barley is in condition to use.
Somewhat limited observations indi
cate that field peas in the dry parts
of the wheat belt seldom have nodules
on their roots. The yield also is usual
ly light. The lack of nodules, the
light yields, and the high price of
seed make the production of peas
questionable. It is probable that they
may be grown profitably in rows as a
cultivated crop. At the experimental
farm at Moro, Oregon, peas are plant
ed in double rows 7 inches apart with
35-inch spaces botwf-en the double
rows. The peas are planted in this
way with a grain drill by stopping up
a part of the feed cups. The peas sup
port each other and stand up better
when planted in this way. They then
receive shallow cultivation between the
rows until the vines lop oyer.
The feeds that may be used eco
nomically to carry hogs through the
winter are standing barley and head
ed wheat. Field peas may also be
stacked and fed without thrashing.
Crops for the Irrigated Valleys.
Much of the irrigated land along
the Columbia Eiver, on tho one ex
treme, is less than 40 feet above the
level of the sea. Some of the irrfc
gated mountain valleys, on the othet
hand, hive an elevation of 3,500 to
4,000 feet. At the low altitudes pa
ture is available much earlier In the
spring and later in the autumn than
at teh higher altitudes. In the moun
tain valleys all of the grain fed hi
raised, while in the lower distrieti
most of the grain consumed is pu
chased from the nearby wheat farm
In the lower districts corn is success
fully grown. In the higher valley!
corn has not proved a success.
Pasture Crops.
Alfalfa is most generally used tut
hog pasture under irrigation. There
are many who prefer clover, however,
especially in the mountain valleys, be
cause it Btarts growth earlier in spring
and is less injured by fall frost than
alfalfa. -The two crops are sometimes
grown together. It is claimed that a
mixture of the two will carry nearly
one third" mors hogs per acre than
either grown alone.
m b-bp
SEPTEMBER 24-25-26, 1914
EXCURSION FARES
WiH u4 Wwidtrfil ForiwiMtEullinf
rniEwisslten. He Cot,tut
rotcba Billing. 11 tot Olwr Ml pa
lodiut, Cuttois. 11 igtllboMi' with
Sutlif Hum g Mm Hi tirlif
FOR ILL 4FJ-fS "
DETAILS. PiSr W
FAKS. fliiMi KIT
nt, MjqplP of tie
OREGON-WASHINGTON RAIL
ROAD & NAVIGATION COMPANY
The Patented Curved Disc IOWA Bowl
Skims to a Trace.
The Iowa bowl is & Positive truarantep nf nil the cream
under any and all conditions. It is the result nf venra nf
experience in buildinc cream senaratnrc anil is f..ilv r.mot4
by patents. In all other Darticulars the Iowa is riwM nn tn
standard. It has a low non-sDlash suddIv can. It
and free running. Its gearing is entirely enclosed in the metal base1
uiai 15 ausi ana waier proor. i nese gears are so perfectly made and
oiling is so thorough that they are practically wear proof.
To skim closer (warm or cold milk) than any
other ci earn separator in the world.
That's a strong guarantee, but it i3 made 'only after the Iowa
nas demonstrated its superiority as a close ana tnor-
ough skimmer in competitive tests all over the
country. In test after test the IOWA has
carried off the honors not by accident or by luck
but because it proved itself to be the best
machine over all others. The Iowa is get-
ting an tne cream tor thousands and
thousands of farmers, many of them
in tne JNorthwest. These users like
the Iowa and those who have
had experience with other
makes say the Iowa is far
the best investment in
cream separators
a dairy farmer
can make.
theN
Low Prices Big" Inducement
The Iowa prices are extremely reasonable and the Iowa guarantee is so
broad that no dairy farmer should hesitate to
provide himself with an Iowa, get all the cream
and save the constant Ipsa caused by poor separators.
Write us today for quotations ori thft
Iowa Separator. It will giv6 us pleasure,
to make prices and places you under no
obligation to us. . Please mention this paper.. '
Portland. Or.N
Spokane, Wash.
Boise, Ida.