GREEN FODDER FOR DAIRY COWS.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume VI, Issue 3, 15 March 1913, Page 309

GREEN FODDER FOR DAIRY COWS.

T. W. Lonsdale.

It is an admitted fact that the best returns cannot be obtained from dairy stock except under a liberal system of feeding, and this should be maintained right throughout the lactation-period. Many farmers will acknowledge that they seldom supply all the members of their herd with sufficient feed at all seasons of the year to induce them to provide their maximum flow of milk. The proper feeding of dairy cows is one of the most pressing problems of the day. It is gratifying to know that milk-producers in this country are realizing the necessity for more attention being paid to this matter. Many kinds of fodder are being grown for the purpose. A fodder which is not appreciated as it should be, and one which is in great favour in older-established dairyingcountries, is a mixture of oats and peas. There are numerous varieties of oats, some being more suitable than others, for providing a large amount of fodder. It is therefore "advisable to select the oat best adapted to the purpose. It is questionable whether a better variety than the Triumph, is available for producing green fodder. Grown in conjunction with peas, it provides an ideal food for dairy stock. The Triumph is a strong-growing variety, and produces a great quantity of flag and a strong upright straw. It is, therefore, well adapted for giving the necessary support to the peas, whereas an oat producing fine straw would be useless.