)J) Progress ieport Series* No. 21 August 1946 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION of The Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn,Ala. M. J. Funchess, Director A 3 YbiUtV1 ?UVul FtUESS T1frILA A ttUD UY'?YTIO1I iz ID1ji-Ll D6n.j'_ K. G. BAKER, Superaintendent Black Belt Substation A farm-size experimental dairy prducin milk for proce ssing loated on 80 ,acres of land. of relatively lowfertility at the Black.LRelt Subs i near Marion Junction, Ala., has produced an average yearly net income to'labor and total invested capital, not including govpernrent subsidy payments, of64i58 per acre after taking out all, cash expenses, Purpose. There are thousands of acres in the Alabama Black Belt that are produin~i~ttle incomne o are lying idle because.prodctivity has been gre ly reduced and row-cropping is no longer prof itable. Te purpose of establiaing the Oacregun in the spring of 141, was to.deterine the possibilities of using and at the same time im- proving roarn out'sol by cor:ibinling crops and dairy cattle ini a farm-scale peraton with: ainium of capital outlays Tt was planned to produce lowcbst miilk for manuracturing purpases by growing as much of the feed as possible and by manag h d, so that the cows would freshen in the spring'whenl' the pasture-s re best* History. Thle Substation for a number of years has been conducting ox periMt to destermne the crolps that are best adapted to he BlackBelt, and-the fertilizer recuiremnentsfor economtric. production. These results wer drawn upon in establi shing. the cropping system -that would support the dairy., The 80 acres are 'largely lime land, ranging f,.-rom erodled hill tops of Sumter soil to the darker bottomr soils., Included also, is a small acreage of acid land. ..At -the start of the expeim ent., there wasonl n building on the 8O acre tract, This was a tenant house, a. rei of the by-gon6 days, of cotton farming,, which was recond-iLtioned at a, small expedtr, Since the hay was Fo-lrmerly si euorah h Series' 1/ Four-year progress report, 1941-45 -2- Other capital outlay at the start of the experiment included $232,20 for border and cross fencing, $60.95 for water system, and $75,25 for milk utensils. The land was valued at' $2,250 and the tenant dwelling at &150. The operations of the experimental dairy were supervised from the Sub- station, and the regular labor of operating the farm was supplied by a Negro and his wife. However, the supervision or management, was purposely limited, in order thht it be comparable to that which a land owner might give such an enterprise as a part of his total farm operation. The regular labor for op- eration of the dairy required only one-half of the man's time during the period of milk production, from April to December, During the period when the cows were dry, very little of his time was needed. The remainder of the man's time was used on the Substation, At certain periods, necessary extra labor and power machinery were hired from the Substation and charged to the dairy's operation expenses at local prevailing rates. These rates varied for different tvmes of work and for the period reported. For instance, the charge for land breaking varied from $2.00 in 1941 to $2.50 per acre in 1944 and for planting from 50 cents to 1.00 per acre, CROPPING SYSTF4 Based on the Substation's results and experiences, a cropping system was planned to provide grain,, hay, and grazing, Seventy-two acres of the farm's acreage were divided into three separate fields and fenced in order that the area might be managed to btain a maximum amount of feed the year around. The cropping system developed requires abo'ut 3 acres per mature animal, di- vided as shown below. In any one season, only one-fourth of the land in the cropping system is plowed. Field No, 1. In this syytem Field No. 1 was planted to small grains -- barley the first year, and oats the second and third years,/ The shift from barley was made because oats were better suited to the system. The best drained soils (preferably Sumter) were used for small grain production. In combination with the oats, were volunteer stands of black medic. In addition to providing grazing and grain, this field of oats produced Johnson grass, which was managed as a perennial crop. -hen stands of Johnson grass became thin, it was necessary to reseed the Johnson grass., Time and method of breaking land for cats in the Black Belt are very im- portant. The land was turned 4 to 6 inches deep with a disk plow as soon after oat harvest as possible, and was disked the same day, If the stand of Johnson grass became thin, 20 to 30 pounds of seed per acre were sown and harrowed in on the freshly broken land. In either case, with good seasons about one ton of Johnson grass hay was harvested per acre on this area with- in 6 to 8 weeks. A second growth of Johnson grass was then produced. In mid-September, the oats were planted with a disk drill in the young second-growth Johnson grass at the rate of 2{ bushels per acre. The oats were fertilized at planting time with 200 pounds of superphosphate per acre, About March 1; wheh the cattle were removed, the oats were top-dressed with 100 pounds per acre of nitrate of soda, VBcause of continuous cropping of Field No, 1 to small grain, oats were planted on Field No. 2 the fourth year. However, Field No, 2 is low wet land and it was found to be less suited to oats than Field No. I and the'oats had to be handled as a hay crop. -3 Field No. 1 Field No. 2 Field No 3 P e r anon-t Pasture Oats Caley Peas Black Medic Black Medic followed by V hite Clover followed by Johnson'Grass Dallis Grass Johnson Grass 18 acres or 3/4 le acres or 3/4 36 acres or 1-1/2 acre per mature acre per mature acres per mature animal ahnial animal The acreage in Field No. I is one-fourth of the total agreage of the three fields, Field No. 2"one-fourth, and Field No. 3 one-half. The oats were cut and threshed (combined) after they were fully matured. In one instance, the stand of oats was thin, with a proportionately heavier volunteer stand of medic. This mixcture was cut and stacked for hay. Field No. 2. In the first year of operations, Field No. 2 was seeded in 5enteber, G a Oley peas. at'the rateof40 ihlds per acre, .nd they* were followed. by Johnson grass, The pnlea.s reseedod each year. The fertilizer treatmaent for the Caley peas wasCan annual application of 400 pounds per acre of superphosph-ate. The Johnson grass was handled the same as on Field No. 1. Field No. 3. Field No. 3 is the pernanent pasture area in the system. .It consists of white clover, b-lack medic, and followed by Dallisgrass. The white clover was sown in- October, 11,aa seed per acre on a 1lghtly d:I-sked seedbed. Mature Dallis grass was then hau1~d from adjoining areas and scattered (i',n the strpw) onT the pasture area. The black medic came -into the pa-sture as a volunteer crop, The fertilizer treatment used was an annual application of 400 poundICs per acre of superphosphat e UISFI of CROPS nd. AA~i;Tof THERD -4 cows were removed to alldw the oats to mature grain, and were turned in on sley peas (Field No. 2). The Caley peas were grazed until the plants began to bloom and produce seed, at which time the crop is toxic toanimals, The cows were removed to the permanent pasture (Field No. 3), Under Thvor.ble moisture conditions, Caley peas have given 6 to 8 weeks of hecavy grazing. The pasture (white clover and black medic followed ry Dallis grass) was grazed in the spring and sumjmer as long as it suppli.d rutritious green feed. Wndhen grazing on this field was reduced by drought,:r frost, the Johinson grass in Fields No. 1 and 2 was relied upon for sbpplementary grazing. Following the harvest of oats (Field No. I) and seedmt yf the Caley peas (Field No, 2), the Johnson 'grass was cut and stacked in the two fields for winter fending qith good rainfallthe Johnson crass produced a second crop, which was left standing for grazing after frost, However, in one instance, dry sumerx wea_-ther eli-minated the possibility of a second crop of Johnson grass, and stacked hay and fall-seeded oats-w-r'e depended upon for winter roughage, In the fall the herd was turned in on the secord-gro-Ah standing Johnson grass (Fields No. 1 and 2), and the Johnson grass was grazed off, with the oats coming on later in Field No. 1 to funish winter grazing. IFeed In the 4 years all recuired roughawe has been raised on the dairy farm. However, cotonseed meal or pe (proten concen- trates) was used as a supplement when the pasture was short or when John- son grass or Dallis grass was the only available grazing. About 8-3/4 tons were used per year during the 4-year period. .ith improvement in the level of soil fertility, purchase of less meal is anticipated in the future, because more protein will then be supplied by increased yields of legumes in the cropping system. As weather condi.]tions varied, -it w,-as necessary to shift the herd on the roug,,hage-producing ar.eas and: to a2djust the wanounts of concentrate fed. For instance,when drought or frost occurred cand grazing becamae short on the permanent pabture., the herd was rmoved t'o the fields provided in the cropping system for supplerentar-y grazinlg and one ofI: the ma supplemrents was fed. Under 'favorable spri.'ng weather condiLtions, clove-,rs were available; therefore, no cottonseed M(,al was used. Culn4a- a mns T. w- 4.the^g4eralxplan o,%maintain, aV-%rm-A Shelter. About 8 acres of natural hardwoods provided all of the shelter in the winter, Ind this area in addition to trees aionF-- fence lines provided shade in the summ~er. -5- FOUR-YEARSt rSULTS of OPEKTION0 Production, The average amount of milk sold for processing per year in the 4-year period totaled 77,704 pounds or 3,108 pounds per cow. This, how- ever, is not the total production of the herd. Since the cows freshened over a period of a number of weeks, it was not practical to haul milk to market . until total production reached a volume to justify delivery During this period, the calves suckled the cows. Also, the tenant and As family were supplied milk from the herd throughout production. Returns from operations. Under the described system of cropping, the 80 acres of relatively low fortility were made to produce an average yearly income to labor and capital (total money invested) of $1,166.43, or 14 58 per acre. The average annual income to labor alone amounted to $931.66, or 11.65 per acre, and income (6 per cent) to capital invested in land, buildings, fencing, livestock, and equipment averged 23477 peryear. Cash sales. Returns from milk made up a large portion f the cash sales of the 80-acre fam experiment, although in the last year of opera- tion, 1944-45 nearly $1,000 worth of surplus seed, grain, and cull animals were marketed. The 4-year average annual cash sales amounted to $2,334.57, of which $1,772.80 was from the sale of milk to a cheese plant. These amounts do not include government subsidies paid to dairymen beginning the fall of 1943 to help offset the diminishing margin of profit caused by rising mixed feed prices as against milk prices fixed by ceilings. Expenses. Average annual cash expenses for the 4-year period amounted to 41,174.64. These expenses were for fertilizer, cottonseed and peanut meal, extra labor and power machinery, hauling milk to the cheese plant, taxes, and miscellaneous items. Extra labor and machinery required for land breaking, planting, and harvesting by this farm-size experiment were supplied by the Substation and charged at standard local rates. While'it is not probable that such a practice could be followed in a community of small farms, owners of large acreages could put to work similar nonproducing land :i their holdings by the use of such a system of operation. 'Extra labor and power machinery when needed could be supplied from the farm&as a whole. CHANGIS for IUPLOVING the SYSTEM Certain changes were made from time to time to improve the system of operation and cropping. Barley was groin as the grain crop the first year on Field No. I. Because it was necessary to seed barley late to avoid root bt, low yields of grain resulted and winter grazing was late. For these reasons the crop was replaced by early, fall-seeded oats. The rate of top-dressing oats with nitrogen in the spring has been changed from 100 to 200 pounds per acre, because larger and more economical yields of grain could be harvested per acre. iesults from pasture plot experiments on the Substation showed definite need for potash after several years' trials. Therefore, both phosphate and potash will be used on legume grazing crops in the future. 6-. SU'MMvARY and CONCLJUSION In the spring of 1941 an 80-acre experimental dairy for process milk production was established at the Black Belt Substation for the purpose of determining the possibilities of (1) using nonproducing land, and (2) pro- ducing low-cost milk with a minimum of capital outlay. The cropping system, based on results and experiences at the Substation, was planned to produce as much of the feed requirements as possible. This system required about 3 acres per cow, divided as follows: 3/4 acre of fall- seeded oats and volunteer black medic followed by Johnson grass, which was managed as a perennial; 3/4 acre of Caley peas, which reseeded themselves, followed by Johnson grass; and 11 acres of permanent pasture consisting of white clover, black medic, and Dallis grass. Elsewhere, such a system of feed and forage production might require more acres or less acres per cow, the number depending upon the level of productivity of the land and the amounts of fertilizers used. A herd of 25 heavy springer heifers was bought and about.this number was maintained during the 4-year period. Although the purchased animals were predominantly of Jersey breeding, no production records of their ancestors were available. The cropping system produced all of the required roughage; however, to take full advantage of the grazing seasons in order to produce cheap milk, the cows were bred to drop s.pring calves and to have their rest period during the winter when milk production costs are higher. The average total amount of process milk sold in the 4-year period, 1941- 1945, amounted to 77,704 pounds per year. The total capital outlay, which was purposely held to the minimum, amounted to $3,862.63 at the start of the experiment. Four years later this outlay had increased about 50. By this cropping system, the 80 acres of relatively low fertility were made to produce 0931.66, or "11.65 per acre, as yearly income to regular labor during the 4-year period. ieturns to capital invested in land, stock, buildings, and equipment totaled <939.08 for the 4 years, or an average of $234.77 per year. Combined labor and capital income averaged 14.58 per acre per year. These returns do not in clude government subsidy payments paid dairymen for milk produced in 1943 and 1944, but they do include re- turns from the sale of surplus grain, seed, and cull animals. Yearly cash expenses averaged I,174.64 during the period. The great- est single cssh cost item was for cottoriseed and peanut meals, which were used as supplement during periods of the year when no legumes were avail- able in the grazing areas or pasture was short. As soil fertility levels improve, increased yields of legumes are expected. Therefore, it is be- lieved that this relatively large cash expense ite may be reduced to some extent as the home production of protein in the form of legumes is increased. Four years' results of the experiment show: (1) That land of relatively low fertility in the Black Belt can be brought back into productive use by such a system of operation and cropping; (2) that the production of milk for processing lends itself to the use of nonproducing areas within farms where most of the labor can be supplied by the operator; and (3) that such areas, if not over-stocked, can be made to supply all of the roughage re- quirements by an improved program, which includes the use of proper kinds and amounts of fertilizers. -7- FACTORS RELATING to PROFITABLE OPERATIONS of 80-ACRE GRADE-B DAIRY UNIT First year Last year .................... . . . . .......................... . . .... . .. ............ 1 94 4...2.. ....... .. . -2. .. . .. . . . .- 4 5 Capital Investment, dollars Total Investment per acre, dollars Relationship of items to total investment Land, 80 acres per cent Buildings, per cent Fencing, per cent Dairy aninmals, per cent Miscellaneous, per cent Fertilizer cost per acre, dollars Per cent of all cash receipts from livestock Cash receipts from livestock per productive animal unit, dollars Milk prices received per hundred, dollars All receipts per farm acre, dollars Labor and hired machinery cost per farm acre, dollars 3, 862.13 4827 58 8 6 27 2 4.30 77 62.29 2.02 26..Q2 3,915.09 4&8.94 57 7 7 29 2 5.73 76 80.89 2,39 41.70 6.46 12.20 SUIMMARY of BUSINESS of 80-ACHE GRADE B DAIRY UNIT, 1941-45 AVERAGE Items Cash receipts Milk (77,704. pounds) Bonus paid by cheese plant Cows Calves Miscellaneous (seed and grain) Total Cash Expenses Fertilizer Feed Extra labor Hauling milk to cheese plant Seed, planting Taxe's Miscellaneous Total Financial summary Cash receipts Cash expenses Net cash income Inventory (increase or decrease) Income to capital and labor Capital investment (Average) Return to capital (6 per cent) Return to labor Per acre return to capital and labor Per acre return to labor Per acre return on net cash return Milk subsidies paid in 1943-44 and 1944-45 years (2-year average) 4-year average .. ... .. .. ... ....... ... . .... ........... .. .... . .. ... $ 1,772.80 30.88 79.10 54.45 397.34 2,334.57 187.01 374.O8 188. 3 0 219.36 22.05 41.03 11 2'81 1,174.64 2,334.57 -l 174.64 1,159.93 / 6.50 1,166.43 3, 912.81 234.77 931.66 14.58 11.65 14.50 $600.16 j 'K A. G r-CU L T U R A E X PER IMENT STATION of the- Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn, Alabama M. J. Funchess, Director .. .........~ .'~~... ................ ..........~" .. ' ......... ........... I;Wt ........................ ............... ............... ................ ....... . ......... REPORT of GRLADE B DATIY UNIT , BLACK BELT 8Ui3DTAO (Surlenient to Progress Report Series No. Ko 0G. BAK1, Speritn t In 1-945 a progress report was isslued covering 4.yearst opprations at the Black Belt Substation. of an experimcntal E-acre dairy for process milk pro- duction. A supplementary. report of the Qperation of the dairy for the succeeding years (l945-48) is now added. In this sumnary- discussion, Period'I and Period II are used to designate the 4-year and 3-year periods, respectively, During Period II, the management systemi for the crops and herd was practically unchanged from that of the ear-lier peri.od, except in the kind and amount of ferti- izers used. In the main, O-1-4-1-0 was used on all pastures and hay crops, while sone 6-8-4 was used on oats. Period I and Period II Results. Results given in the accompanying table show the production, cost and income for the two periods, Because of wide variations in prices for all tems bought and sold, a compar-rison between per1,iiods as a wole would be misleading. How- ever, since the purpose of thi-s project is -to bringworn out soil in-toproduction and to produce- low-cost milk, a comparison of som'e of the data shows significant trends ow"-tonand dwwr n otojiu-c ti*on. The area coflpr-Lsing the unit. in 1941,was largely worot plan was to produce all possible feed for the dairy aniMals and to buy supplementary feed when necessary. A copar ison of t-he two periodsSInow thefoLlowing significant changes: P er -ICPeriod II In Period II1- 26% more f ertil],zer wae~s used (per ar> 291 lb. 367 lb. -85% less feed 'was, bought (e ce .. 2 b 33 lb~ -25% mo0Y'e milk iwas Proue prar)..971 lb.1,j215 lb. -- 2% lwer ostof milk production (per ar)l~*$.6 25% lowerncosdes labor assessed against the uit. * repared for Field Day for Agricultural Workers8, Ferua-ry 24,2.948. Proucio,- als- Cots,,and Incomie,--Grade B3 Dairr,,Upt Blc etSbtt 94 1., 8__ 0 acres - 25 cv :1941 -45 1945 -47 avera ge :average Cash receipts Bonus paid by) cheese plant ..... ........ 30988 30.00 Miscellaneous (seed and gan ........... $ -397.934 $-41 210.13 Totl ... ,.............e..........~2,334o57 $3,547*72 Cash Exrenses Feed $ 374'08 J$ 95,986 Cultivating and harvesting ...... ....... ~ 18830 $ 244.00 Hauling milk to cheese- plant $ 219.36 352.o53 Seed for planting ~$22.05 $ 62.25 Miscellaneous -$142*81l *$ 85*70 Total ...................... .......... Q$ 17.4 $ 1213.0O3 Financial suirmaary Cash receipts $2;.579 S 477 Cash expenses 1-.'.1..............., ~74o64 1$Wl;,213.03 Net cashaicome l1.3 $2,346 Inventory (increa-ses or decreases) ...... ,.. ,6.50 -251*01 Capital investm-ient (averas-)e).............$392l $ 3,999.45 Return to capital (% ............... $ 234.77 $ 239*97 Return to labor and oangeen*............... $ 931.66 $2,345.73 Labor cost $ 524 $ 61*2r5 Return to management ................ $ 399.26 $1'734o48 Return to capital and manag-,ement .......... 3.3 $1944 Milk subsidies received (n~ot used in fiaures above) .$ 300'"02967 Milk production per 80 acre unit (actual sales)... 77,704 lbs. 97,176 lbs. f, PerAce al i.,g-,--and I F7ercde B DairyUnit Blacklt u sa on, l4-E Item :1941. 45: 1945 -47 av r a,1e :average Nvilk produced per acre ................. 9711b.e 1,215 lb. Sales of milk per acre ...... ,.......,.. 22.55 3L8.22 Other sales per acre* ~~6v64 Q6.13 Change in inventory per acre 08 .S ;3.14 Total income per acre 0 0. 0.00.0 0 00.0 .6.00.0 q,40 4. 4.a0 V. 0 629.27 479 Fertilizer cost per acre ................ $ 2.34 4.16 Feed cost per acre *...............*.. $ 4068 1.20 Other costs per acre**................... $1.60 $ 2o80 Total costs per acre .................. $1.2 $ 1e2-6 Gross cost of milk per 100 lb. exK.clu s ive of labor .. $141' 1.49 Other income per 100 lb. of m0 0a$ .69 q# 00 0'-.76 Net cost of milk per 100 lb. exclusive of Thbc;r ... ,~1.12 $ 73 Gross cost of milk per 100 lb. inclulding labor .... $ 25 $ 2.12 Other income per"100 lb. -mi-3l' tit) ......... ~.9V .76 Net cost of milk per 100 lb. including labor e....." . 0.1 1.36 Income to labor and nmanagemert per acre........ 11.65 $6 29*33 Incom--e to mfanag',erent pert-acre 0...0.0...0.0 4.0.0.0...0.0$05.00 $21.69 Average camount of fertilizer applied -per acre ...... 91 lb. 367 1bo Averag-e am.ount of feed f"ed per azcre- .. 0....V..0.0. 0 ... 0.9. 222 lb. 33 lb. Average price of milk per 100 lb . ............. 2932 $3.15 * Includes sale of cWI,-C.leDallis gasseed,n(' ran SInc-ludes planting ai',.d hc.rvesting, hauling Mil oces lnse o sat 1mg, taxes., interest -,on- investr~nr1-1nt, and miscellaneous items.* Labor cost not included. **Other iricoie includes sale of cattle, seed, and gra-1,in plus Thanre in inventory, whi-ch is an income that must be deducted f romn cost of procluction. Note: fi,,-_ures Th Love O not include poaymeint of ir-doral sibsidies to the unit. The averaj',,e amount o2-" mil-k sold per co-w per yTear, was 3,108 lb. for the first period and 3)887 lb. for the least period. These figures do not include home use of milk and milk c1-onsimed b)y heifer calves g, rown out for repla cement. Considering entire D-roduction of the he,-rd, the' per cow production for the last 3A-yea-r pe-riod ran 1betwr~een 4,100 lb. and 4,200 lb.