#f!6f-cr«al«rs of thmmkolt tor modern mgrkottmrm
to control flies in dairy barns
You’ll find it pays to spray with Diazinon - just one residual application
on dairy bam walls and ceiling, kills flies for weeks.
Diazinon saves time and labor, gives you lower cost per day of protection.
So spray less... pay less for effective fly control. Ask your farm supply
dealer for Diazinon-one of the safer phosphate insecticides.
OHIOmATODS OF DOT IHSCCTICIOCS
GEIGY AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS
Division of Geigy Chemical Corporation • Saw Mill River Road, Ardsley, New York
’ terror-creators of chemicals for modern agriculture
gef #fce ONE
inset iitide
tor ALL
your farm needs
GEIGY
METHOXYCHLOR
^JjgjjfESTOCR
•aSg?F Direct application to livestock
controls horn flies and cattle lice.
Controls leafhopper. spittlebug. and
many other insect pests.
IN STORAGE GINS
Residual control of insects attacking
stored grain.
Controls many insects on many
vegetable crops.
,T
Controls plum curculio, codling moth and
many other insects in the orchard.
Follow label directions. May be used on food
crops up to seven days before harvest.
ORIGINATORS OF DOT INSFCTICIOFS
GEIGY AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS
Division of Geigy Chemical Corporation • Saw Mill River Road, Ardsley, N. V,
Poorly managed pastures like
this are expensive. These cows
use a big share of their energy
just walking to find enough to
eat. Unless they are given a
heavy feed of hay and grain,
their production will drop se
verely. The value of this pas
ture could be multiplied sev
eral times by clipping the
weeds, applying fertilizer and
following the practice of rota
tional grazing.
> , ■ * 'i-- • •. *• *
' • "-T ^ - *****
••■ * WHSfc.r . : !** «*
IMPROVED
FORAGE
CAN BOOST
FARM
PROFITS
Highly productive pastures offer live
stock producers one of their greatest income
boosting opportunities.” Proof of this state
ment was given at a recent meeting of soil
and crop specialists. Their figures showed
that farmers who had begun pasture im
provement programs were able to double,
and in some cases triple, profits on meadow
and hay land.
Records from studies on a number of
Michigan farms showed that improved for
age practices boosted net farm profits about
$14 an acre. This was on farms where about
half the acreage was in hay and meadow
which means profit on the forage land alone
was increased better than $25 per acre. The
improved practices used consisted of lime,
starter and top-dress fertilizer application
based on soil tests along with modern weed
control and harvesting practices.
similar practices have permitted Indiana
farmers to boost beef production on a sum
mer grazing and feeding program by 150 to
200 pounds per acre. Figuring the extra
beef at only 20# a pound that’s an increase
in gross sale per acre of $30 to $40. On
dairy farm studies right here in the state, im
proved practices boosted milk production
per acre by 302 to 502.
Fertilizer use and timing of application
offer one of the best ways to boost grass
yields. In Wisconsin, 500 pounds per acre
of a 16-8-8 fertilizer was topdressed on pas
ture to see what effect it would have on
increasing pasture yields. On the fertilized
acreage, yield was 9,487 pounds per acre.
On the unfertilized portion, yield was only
1,837 pounds per acre — a difference of al
most four tons! But that isn’t all — fertilized
forage contained over 152 protein while the
unfertilized came up to only 102. That extra
52 protein could help on the supplement bill.
Over the years the college researchers
have found that a 2-1-1 fertilizer ratio fits
the needs of grass pasture better than a
1-1-1 fertilizer mix. Even on legume or
legume-grass mixtures a small amount of
nitrogen helps to get plants off to a good
start. However, for legumes alone, ade
quate amounts of phosphate and potash are
tar more important. Also, don’t forget lime.
Without proper amounts of lime, plants will
not make full use of plant nutrients avail
able in the soil.
Generally, you can get fairly good early
spring growth without topdressing. The
pinch comes later on when plants need more
nutrients for optimum growth. Recog
nizing this, several pasture specialists are
now advising that you delay topdressing
until after early spring grazing or the first
cutting of hay has been removed. By delay
ing topdressing you are not Iwthered with
the problem of excessive early growth which
your cattle may not clean up. Besides you’ll
lengthen your grazing season and improve
yields later in the summer when you are
in greater need or rorage.
Getting high pasture yields in itself is not
enough. You must also manage so your live
stock will make full use of the forage after
you produce it. One way of insuring this
is to rotate or strip graze. Pastures, when
rotated properly, can give you 20? to 40?
more feed than when they are grazed con
tinuously. The advantage of strip grazing
is even greater than this. Using strip graz
ing, you can fence off a part of the field
with an electrically charged wire to provide
a day’s to a week’s grazing. Then move
them onto another part of the field.
Naturally cattle will not always graze
pastures as close as you might like, espe
cially in the spring when forage may grow
faster than cattle can eat it. As a result, un
grazed portions mature and drop in feed
value. To overcome this, mow your pas
tures after each grazing. This will encour
age new, tender growth. At the same time
mowing will help in keeping weeds in check.
