D24—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 5,1981
Small farms forum
Livestock
(Continued from Page 02)
nitrogen that animals can use for
growth.
In addition, citing research
conducted recently in the U.S. and
the Scandinavian countries, he
said that adding formic acid to
silage slows fermentation, thereby
preserving nutrients in the silage.
Further experiments are being
conducted to see if these methods
are practical for the small farms.
Since some forages have a low
protein content and may vary in
quality, a farmer often improves
the growth of his forage-fed
animals by supplementing their
diets with limited amounts of
gram, agricultural byproducts or
commercially available feed
additives. Further research, to
(Continued from Page D 2 >
society and are really subsidies to
big agribusiness.”
He also cited a recent U.S.
Department of Agriculture report
which indicated that farms reach
efficiency at small or modest sizes
and that “many commercial farms
now exceed the size necessary to
achieve all available cost ef
ficiencies.” The report further
states that “society benefits little
in terms of lower real food costs
from further increases in farm
sizes,”
Norris told his audience “no
broad indictment... of the com
munity of large farmers” should
be inferred from his comments.
“Rather,” he said, “the emphasis
is on the need for constructive
changes in large scale practices
and on the importance of the
smaller operation. ’ ’
The national program proposed
by Norris would be based first on a
policy change that would re-direct
some federal and state research
funding toward small scale
technological development,
particularly with respect to in
tegrated small scale production
and energy generation. Statistics
cited by Norris indicate that
research aimed specifically at
small farms at-state Agricultural
determine the usefulness of feed
supplements, would determine
their role in small farm feeding
programs, said Lynch.
As grasses mature, their
nutritive value declines. Lynch
reported that when Dr. S. Glenn of
University of Maryland, College
Park, applied a plant growth
regulator, Mefluidide, to pastures
in the spring, maturing of the grass
was delayed. This technique has
the potential of allowing grass-fed
animals to make better weight
gains on pasture for a longer time
each season, commented Lynch.
Further research into growing
livestock on forages will help the
small-scale farmer supply
cheaper, nutritious meat for
America's dinner tables, said
Lynch.
Norris
Experimental Stations represents
less than half of one per cent of the
total budget.
The other element of the national
program would be a series of
legislative actions designed to
restore the feasibility of smaller
farming units. The legislation
would include;
lncreased availability of low
cost financing for small farms.
Tax incentives designed to
encourage the sale of land to small
farmers.
Tax credits for investments in
agricultural centers which provide
education, training and technology
to small farmers.
✓ And the establishment of
rural enterprise zones for a ten
year period: the zones would
provide tax incentives and other
means to stimulate the in
vestments and other support
needed to trigger the birth and
profitable growth of small farms
and small, rural-based businesses.
Small livestock and forage farms
can use ‘old-fashion’ ideas
The best tool for today’s small
scale livestock farmer may be up
to-date knowledge and old
fashioned savvy, according to U S.
Department of Agriculture
agronomist William C. Templeton.
Templeton explained that for the
creative small-scale livestocker,
high energy costs and advanced
technology have actually opened
up options, rather than limited
them.
“You don’t always need lots of
chemicals or the latest equipment
to improve forage and livestock
production,” Templeton said. “For
example, research shows that if
seed is broadcast early in sprmg
and existing vegetation is clipped,
pastures can often be rejuvenated
without sophisticated seeders and
tractors.”
Templeton is Director of USDA’s
Regional Pasture Research
Laboratory m University Park.
His remarks covered a broad
range of forage and livestock
management ideas, based on the
latest research.
With increasing costs of nitrogen
fertilizers, the role of legume
plants clover, alfalfa, vetch, and
others is being reassessed in
forage management worldwide,
because of the ability of legumes to
add nitrogen to the soil, Templeton
said.
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Field tests have shown that
pastures sown with a mixture of a
grass and a legume are less weedy
than pure-grass stands. Fur
thermore, combinations of pure
grass pastures (fertilized with
nitrogen) and pastures of grass
legume mixtures provide con
tinuous and relatively uniform
livestock grazing from very early
spring into early winter. In this
way farmers don’t need to store as
much feed for winter.
Overseeding of legumes into run
down or improverished pastures in
humid climates can markedly
improve forage production and
quality. Field tests of seeding
methods have shown that, without
herbicide applications, yields from
broadcasting legume seed can
equal yields from the more energy
intensive method of drilling in the
seed.
Templeton also reported that
grazing and feeding trials have
shown that sheep grow 25 percent
faster and cattle 20 percent faster
on legume-grass mixed pastures
than on pure-grass stands.
Grazing two or more species
■of livestock together sometimes
offers advantages. Cattle, sheep
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and goats have different diet
preferences. In a current trial
there seems to be a little overlap in
the diets of sheep and goats. Goats
tend to be useful in removing
brush
For beef cattle, Templeton
suggests that stocking twice as
many cattje on pastures in spring,
when plants grow fast, and making
hay from ungrazed areas, helps
insure that high amounts of feed
will be eaten.
There appears to be a
widespread misunderstanding
among livestock producers of the
real significance of “weeds”,
Templeton said. Some so-called
weeds have nutritive values which
compare favorably with those of
commonly used cultivated forage
plants.
Concerning soil, you can’t cheat
biology, Templeton said.
Limestone and mineral fertilizers
unfortunately are sometimes not
used when soil tests clearly in
dicate that a change in the acidity
or mineral content of the soil would
make a considerable improvement
in forage production.
Finally, successful livestock
farming based on forages requires
careful attention to both the plant
and the animal aspects of the
operation. Templeton said that
many livestockers devote too
much attention to one or the other,
missing opportunities to integrate
and thus improve their small-scale
livestock farm.
March 1, 1982
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