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ORONO WEEKLY TIMES TI{URSDAY, OCTOBlER 18, 1945 PLANNI.NG forg TOMORROWS PRODUCTIVE PASTURES By: John D.- MacLeod, Director, Crops, Weeds and Seed Branch, On- tario Departinent of Agriculture, of y Toronto (Note - This is the third in a -eriles of comme ts by well- known authorities, written ex- pressly for the Weekly Press ofOtario).- The progressive ivestock farmer s5 always conicerned wlth the problem cf !owvýerin1g the cost of producing \-' iest .ockand livestckh products with- otsacrifieing quality. This can be aonplished by improving ýpasture which is our eheap est feed crop. iii addition to producing digestible ntrients at lower cost than any other crop on the farm, a well-managed pauehas the following advan- tages - it minaintains lîvestock for fve or s ix rmoniths of the ýyearat low feed and ljabor cost; milk and beef ýre prodýuced 50 to 75% eheaper ýon pasture V1han under rwinter feeding ,;ond'tjin; pasture is digested 83%, Iay only 5% pasture is ýour cheap- s surme of protein - 16 to 25%, ~wihis about twdce as mn'ch as that h-, -he same g-rain eut for hay; no0 loss ffodnutrients from euring, which i hay ainounts to 40 to 60%; high in esental mnerais which are oas- lya 1 aessimiiated fro grass in the ougstage, and ini essentiai vita- ins anecellentý source of al 'tevitain-s needed feor efficientpro- ucinanid rep roductLion); pasture odpre-vents soul ero.sion. adds fibre ndorganicd matter and improves the aolstructure. Type of farming, soul and limatic cond.(itions and iength of timethe fleld stobe left in sod are factors which < nsust be considered wvhen planning pasture crops 'to ho sown. Where po,-ssible the mixture s-houid contain so.I eep-rooted leg-umes wrhich hieip toý maintain soul fertility and drouglit-resistant grasses which -will 'poid razi,-g (during the dry sum- nierperod.A well-baIanced mixture is rcommnded for the foilowing 'easons --graýsses and clovers vary widely in their ability to withstand soul and" clmatie conditions, there- fore when only one species is sowr the resuits may be good or bad. Moreover, each species has its peal production period, and produces lit- tie iŽý, ";off"' seasons. By sowing a suitable mixture a. thicker stand -i obtaine'd, and this naturally resul'ts in a heavier yield and more unifornn grazing throughout the ýgrorwing sea- son. iCattie always prefer la mixture and thrive botter on it than wher grazing upon either grass or clover alone. The variety of herbage pro- vided increases both palatability and nutrient value. Tliere is Iess ten- dency for cattie to bloat, (a condition which frequently occurs when they are grazed on legumes alone, han whengrassesare included in the mix- ture with clovers.. Pasture crops may be divided into ,four ýgroups -annual .jor-supplemen- tary- pastures, one to two years; short term hay-pastures, two to four years; long term pastures, four to ten years; permanent or unworkable pastures which will remain in sod for an indefinite perîod. Rye,-ots and sweet clover, :and Sudan grass have proved best for annual or sup- plementary pasture. Sudan grass sown alone or in comabination with oats has proved* particularly good during that hot, dry period in July and August whenother pasture crops are flot so productive. In planning a hay-pasture mixture, it is recom- mencled that a few pounds of such seeds as Orchard grass and Parkland Brome ho included, inu order to add Ieafiness andfeeding value to the hay crop 'and to make a thicker bottom for pasture, When planning a long- ternm pasture, it is advis'able to s0W onlv grasses and clovers which are persistent and remain productive over a period of years. Much heavier rates of seeding are also ndvisable la order to produce and.maintain a thick stand. It is essential that the- secd bcd-be in a high state of fertility, well drained, reas-onaibly fr~ee £rom weeds ai well prepareýd. A fine, firmy seed bed will permit shallow seeding, mainitain moisture and enable young seedings to establîsh a firm root. Only adapted seed of good quality, high generation and free from nox- ious xveeds should be sown. The seed should ho thoroughly mix- ed before seeding and, should not be sown more than one-quarter to one-haîf inch deep on heavy soilsi d and one-haif to one inch deep, on - ligliter soi. The most common and a usually most coniienient practice is 1. to seed the mixture in the springw>ith ka n'urse crop, preferabiyof eaily oats, -and not too heavy. tTo produce and maintain a good spasture requires a higher level of ýsoul fertility than for most other crops. Moisture perm'itting, pasturos grow *from eariy spring to late autumun - i live t'o six months of the ycar, foence Ithey are continually drawing on Soi r fertility. Whien the fertil'ity level *drops, the clovers and the miore pro- ductive grasses are suecceeded by leoss desirable species 'and 'weeds. Ahl pasture crops require nitrogen, phos- phorus and potash. *Nitrogen is os- sentiai ,for ýpromoting the growth of gragses while îphosphornýs and po- tash encourage )thie growth of clovers, >therefore if the pasture consists lar '- gely of grasses a high nitrogen fer- tilizer is advisablc. Il clovers pro- dominate, the fertilizer should con- tain higli percentages of phosphorus and potash. Soul tests will indicatei the relative amounts of eachi to snp-1 ply. Lime 'where required shiould ais-oi be applied. The best time to apply1 fertilizer on pastures is la late Sep- ten-ser and early 'October. The next bcst time is in eariy spring before1 secding commences. Late sapring and1 early ýsumnier applications seldomi pproduee satisfactory resuits unlessi the season is very'm'oist. One of the chief causes of Rjoor pastures is iow fertility. Pive to ten ioads of man- ure appiied every two te three yearF willi eas'ily double the grazing ca- pacity of a pasture. Ia the case of fields which have1 been seeded to a short-tenu hay andr pasture mixture, it wlll proibabiy bho fonnd advisable not to -pasture the ncw sceding until the foliowing years unless the crop is unusually strong.r In the case of long terni pastures,' grazing may 'ho permitted eight to tea weeks after dliate of seeding; in Tact, this is desirabje as tramping ofs soi aronnd young 'plants xiii assitst them la establishing a strong root.p Close grazing is recommended to pre-1t vent coarse growth and thus keep theg herbage in as palatabie and nutri-e tions a condition as 'possible. If there5 is too ýmuch growth for the availabile live stock to graze uniformly or if it i becomes woody or patchy, it should i ho mown. Mowing -when the grasses are jnst beginning to h'ead ont ii promote an aftermath of tender nu-a tritions herbage as weii as prevent 'am 1coarse sitand o! mature pliants. -The 1lîv'estock xviii consume much of the mown grass on the field. ,Rotational grazing by dividing the field inito sections xviii permit rotating the sitock from section to section, and is sound practice. The electriè fence providos an .econ-omiýcai method of controlled grazing. Do not graze too early in thie spring or too late in the »fail, amid'do notund'ergraze in June or overgraze during July 'or Augusýt. The idea to ai at is not to graze the pasture any faster than it grows. The practice of turning 'cattie ont in pasture _when ýtho sod is soft and bie- fore the sward becomes esta.biished may result, in hoof damage and pull- ing 'out ýof young plants, tad should therefore ibe idis couraged. 11 The pas1ture s!hould nover be eaten bare, and shouýld go into' the 'wyinter with at least three to four inches of top growth. It shouid be harrowed in the spring and 'again in the faîl to spread dried manure, clear nway the dead grass and aerate the roots, us- ing the chain harrow or drag harrow tuvned upside down. Open ditches, and drains shouid be cleaned out in fallinl order to remove surface water. 'The purchase of Vîctory Bonds and the establishment of more produc- tive pastures are inv.estments which will prove profitable for the individ- ual farmer. SUGAR CACHE WILL NOT EASE H03JE RATION Thýe discovery iof 1,600,000 tons of sugur in Java, 'belieived to have licou hoaýrded by the Japanese, will have noeffieet oniCanad!a's sugar rationing. In fact, C'anad.a's ceputy- sugar ad- ministraition, H. J. Hlobbins, has is- siud a deniai to rumors that it.wonld mean an early end of rationing a's it is to-day., Ae suggeistis thýe report of Itho cache "may lie cxaggerated". llowever, well in'formed mria sou-fres pointout that this tonnage of sugarii added to the ýallîeid sugar pol, 'would alleviate 'the piresent dis- 1rihution diffieuities-and piroviýde lar- ger worrkinýg stocks ait:a time when consumption is near its pýeak and stocks ait thieir l'owest. Meani no effort w ilIlibe sp'ared in planning for iacreias-ed production in hýomýe areas of the, U. ýS. 1f siuch an, amount were allotted, ,or distribution, it is stpeiculýate.d Can- ad'a migiht reiceive 4.i2 per cent os, it, Wvhich is the Do'minion's share of the I I 1945 international sugar pool. iblis woui-d add 67,000 tons to Canada's supply which wouid ense the situa- tion somewhat a-s it wonld lie suffi- oient foreight weeks under the exist- ing ration quotas. Fo'od supply offliciais offer sone -on- couragement to the s'tory with a su-- gestion that similar caches; may be exposed, la other snigar-p)rodu-cingl islands. lt shonid be re'memibered that in pro îwar, yoars, Javarakc second oniy to Cuba as the iarges1t sugar exporting ocuntry la the world, ____________________________________________________________________________________________ I NEW., BEAVER LAtTNCHED: First of four fast-freight liners beiag buit for the Canadian Pacifie l{ailway to replace the five Beaver boats lost during World War II the Beaverdeli is shown here dnring lier iannching on the Clyde at Port Glasgow, Scotland, late la Angnst. The 10,000-tonner, wbich took to the water before a distiagnîshed gat.herlng headed by 'D. C. -Coleman, chairman and president of the C.P.U. and chairman of Cnda Pacifie Steamships, is expected to ho la servi>ce eariy next'year and wili recsume the London-to-Caaada rua as soon as Dossible. i YAT Ra iosR f rigo ratorPs, asnors READYFOR DELIVERY SOON To the. customers who have placed orders onfi le ITE, SUPPýLY ONLY AS WARNIED BY MANUFACTURERS Making ît necessary for customners to place their"orders for Ref rigerators and Washers in advance TED WOODYARD Store Phone 49 r 1 eiecei ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES Orono, Ontario LU Residence 11 r 2