Pasture Improvement and Management - D.B. Johnstone-Wallace

FIGURE 23. THE ROOT SYSTEM OF NEW YORK WILD BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL
This wild birdsfoot trefoil, growing on the edge of a gravel pit in Albany County, New York, shows the extensive root system that makes the legume resistant to drought

only. The manure should be supplemented with superphosphate, and any herbage left ungrazed in late May or early June should be cut as closely as possible with a mowing machine.

PASTURE MANAGEMENT

Grazing

GOOD PASTURE management means a system of fertilization and grazing that makes it possible for an animal to consume, during each day of the grazing season, the maximum amount of feed of a chemical composition suitable for the maintenance of health and conditions and for the production of milk, meat, wool, bone, or other product desired.

A good cow under the most favorable conditions is able to consume about 150 pounds of green pasture herbage in a day. This task must be accomplished with a "mowing" apparatus about 3 inches in width. Cows spend only about 8 of the 24 hours in actual grazing, the remaining 16 hours are spent resting and chewing the cud. A heap containing 150 pounds of green grass covers a circle nearly 6

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