Forage crops for swine

Abstract

The imperative need of green pastures in pork production is emphasized in the results of 3 years’ investigations at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station. They show that the profits on forage fed spring pigs can be increased more than five fold over those fed in dry lot. Alfalfa grazed pigs in 1911 returned a profit of more than $3.00 each as compared to 61 cents in dry lot. Profits of from$30.00 to $80.00 an acre, counting corn at 50 cents and hogs at$5.00, have been easily secured with our good forages. An acre of alfalfa in 1911 netted on this basis $65.99; red clover in 1909,$32.34, in 1910, $34.62; rape in 1909,$27.50 and $27.72; in 1910,$37.51, and in 1911, $80.37; sweet clover in 1910,$42.07, 1911, $23.46; a mixture of oats, clover and rape in 1909,$32.30; a mixture of oats, Canadian field peas and rape in 1909, $22.83; in 1911,$39.52, $53.45 and$64.63; and blue grass and timothy in 1909, $15.23