The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-11-15
FEEDING WHEAT.
At Present Prices Farmers Can Use 1t
at Profit.
Minneapolis Times

| Minneapolis Times:
At time like the present, when
| wheat is bringing a comparatively low
price, it is very important matter to
| farmers to make the best possible use
of the crop. And when, as now, corn
is high. many farmers are consider
ing the possible economy of feeding
wheat to their live stock rather than
sending it to the mills. This is ques-
ton of the utmost Importance to the
farmers of the northwest, and, Incl
! dentally, to the whole community fol
whatever makes the farmers more pros
porous makes the towns and cities
| more prosperous
To assist in solving this problem fol
the farmers, Professor Snyder of the
Minnesota agricultural experiment
station has just completed bulletin
showing the results of experiments in
feeding wheat, made by the various
experiment stations of the country
during few years past. This brings
together mass of practical inform a.
ton on the subject, and may be taken
as authoritative.
At the Minnesota experiment station
it was demonstrated that ground
wheat was 10 per cent more digestible
than when fed whole, but slightly less
I.,oo@;Lla khon inf q yrniv tr1,
of the two feeds was found to be better
than either one fed separately. This
was also shown at the tests at the
Wisconsin station, where an average
of 499 pounds of ground wheat was
required to produce 100 pounds gain
in live weight of hogs, while 49S
pounds of corn produced the same re-
suits; but when the wheat and corn
were mixed in equal parts, only 4S5
pounds of the feed were necessary to
produce a gain of 100 pounds in
weight of the animals.
The bulletin gives accounts of many
other very interesting experiments
which are we'll worth reading by the
intelligent farmer. But the grist of
the whole matter is found in the sum-
mary at the close, which says:
''The results obtained when wheat
was fed at the arious--experiment sta
tions show that, as food for CROWN g
pigs, it is somewhat preferable to corn.
The best results, however, are OBJ
tanned when wheat is ground and fed
with other grains. A mixture of equal
parts of ground wheat and corn gives
better results than either wheat or
corn when fed alone. Experiments
show that ground wheat is 10 per cent
more digestible- than whole wheat.
"When the price of wheat is low,
and it can be purchased for the same
price per pound or less than corn, it
will pay to use wheat in a ration. The
manure from wheat-fed animals is
more valuable than from corn-fed ami
mails. AS food for dairy animals,
ground wheat has been found to be
fully equal to either corn or mixture
of corn and barley, and when fed to
fattening steers, ground wheat pro-
duced about the same results in ra-
ton as ground corn. From the ex-
periments that have been conducted,
it would appear that the value of
wheat, as a food, depends, to great
extent, on the way in which it is
fed, and the foods with which it is
combined. When properly used and
combined with other grains, wheat is
a valuable animal food. In addition
to its being equal to corn for fattening
animals, and superior to corn for grow
ing animals, it is also equal to corn in
a dairy ration.
At present prices, it seems clear that
it will pay many farmers to feed their
wheat this winter rather than to mar
ket it. 1t will bring them in more
money in pork or beef than at the
mills. 1t is even possible that it would
pay farmers to buy hogs or cattle and
feed them wheat and corn this win
ter, selling them in the spring, rather
than to sell their wheat at current
prices. This is especially true in the
case of those whose wheat is slightly
damaged. Such wheat has lost much
in value to the millers, but is not
materially injured as feed.
Send for press bulletin No. IA.
:"