Montana Oil And Mining Journal

Supplies of Hay Are Held Sufficient for Winter Stock Feeding.

Montana stockmen are going into the winter with ample supplies of various kinds of hay. Beef cows should withstand the severe weather season in good condition, if ranchers do not attempt to "stretch" the hay stacks too far. E. P. Orcutt, extension livestock specialist at Montana State college, Stillwater.

Alfalfa and native blue-joint are used most commonly for winter feeding of beef cattle. In feeding trials conducted at the state experiment station, oat hay produced the best gains. One lot of cows fed oat hay at a rate of 16.9 pounds per day recorded an average gain per head of 79.9 pounds during the 109-day feeding period. Another lot, fed spring rye hay at the rate of 17.1 pounds per day, averaged a gain of 55.3 pounds per head; the lot which ate 18 pounds of blue-joint hay per day averaged a gain of 54.7 pounds per head, and alfalfa hay fed at a rate of 17.5 pounds per day resulted in an average gain per head of 43.7 pounds. Cows fed 17.1 pounds of winter rye hay daily for 109 days gained on an average of only 23 pounds per head.