The Importance of Grass

The Importance of Grass

Jo Livestock Interests

By R. E. Hunt, V.P.I. Animal Husbandry Department

A livestock enterprise to be successful over a period of time must have good pastures. It is the cheapest and beet feed that can be produced for livestock. As proof of this statement one should consider the fact that the South had three' large influxes of livestock all of which failed because of the lack of satisfactory pastures and the ability to produce grasses for hay. For the past 15 years we have been having the fourth great influx of livestock in the south and this one is succeeding because of the great pasture improvement over the state and, especially because of the introduction of certain grasses and legumes and new combinations of grasses and legumes. The most) important being Lespedeza and Ladino Clover.

In the livestock production in Virginia the farmer must take into consideration certain conditions, some favorable and some unfavorable, which are peculiar to our state. We are too far north to be typically south. Our grasses and our temperatures differ from those of the states farther south. We do not have to face the real problem of the extreme heat of the long summers of our southern neighbors nor do we have the severe parasitic problems with which they are faced. On the other hand, we are too far south to be north.

New England, New York, and Pennsylvania have long, cold <win* ters which necessitate the provision of shelter and a long winter feeding period with an accompanying short season for tne growing of good pastures. We are too far east to use ithe corn-belt procedure for livestock production. In this area corn has been and still is the major crop produced. This area is faced with the necessity of reducing the corn acreage and increasing the soy-bean acreage in order to restore and maintain the productivity of their soil. A great many farms are producing too large an acreage of corn with its accompanying soil erosion and soil depletion. Virginia has the great advantage of being able to grow superior grass pastures to an extent not enjoyed by many states. This advantage we are learning by study and experimentation to utilize more and more each year.

The livestock industry is an important part of Virginia agriculture. This year the state has 1,197,000 head of cattle, 797,000 bogs, 299,000 sheep, 121,000 horses, and 64,000 mules. Horses and mules are decreasing at the rate of about 10% per year. This is in keeping with the trend of the times. During the first world war the number of horses was • materially decreased. From 23million horses in 19l7, the number was reduced to 13-million by 1937.