The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-03
Corn Fodder and Timothy.

Perhaps the most stupendous waste
occurring on the American farm is
that of the corn fodder crop, says the
American Agriculturist. Something
like 90.000000 tons of corn fodder are
annually produced on the 80 900, 900 to
9O,O0O,000 acres normally planted TO corn
in the United States. In the corn belt
of the Middle West, where about 10
per cent. of all the corn of the country
is grown, there is a prodigious and
prohigate waste of this food stuff. In
this same section valuable land is an
nually used for the production of
roughness. such as timothy, millet.
sorghum. etc. while acres of corn
fodder are allowed to go to waste.
In Missouri it is safe to estimate that
something like 100000 tons of corn
fodder are grown in the average year
Certainly 100000 tons or one-half of
all that is produced. is wasted. The
average hay crop of the state is scarce
ly more than 100000 tons, and is es-
tmated to be worth on the farm over
S2O,0O0,000. Yet a large proportion of
this hay is timothy a material that
supplies the same class of nutrients
for stock that is found in corn fodder
The question, therefore, as to whether
this fodder can be used as a substitute
for any considerable amount of hay,
is especially important to every grain
grower and stOcknan in the Middle
West, even in this year of abundant
harvests.
The Feeding Value of Fodder.-Care-
ful experiments show that more than
one-third of all the digestible materials
contained in the entire corn plant is
found in the fodder, and that less than
tWo-thlrds. is concentrated in the grain
Clearly no one is justified in permit
ting the waste of one-third of the
crop that he has been at the pains of
growing.
1t has been further shown that a
ton of corn fodder contains practically
the same number of pounds digestibIe
material as does ton of timothy It
does not follow, however, that as an
exclusive ration for stock it is as val
uaDle as timothy, ton for ton, since ii
is not so palatable and not so com
pIetely eaten, and that the stock will
not eat enough of it to make profit
able gains.
The Missouri Experiment Station has
Deen studying this problem during the
last seven years, with a view to ascer-
tain the best method of treating corn
fodder and the best combinations with
other foods in order to increase its
feeding value.
These experiments clearly show that
yearllng steers may be wintered on
whole fodder, from which all the ears
were carefully removed, without grain
or other food, and neither gain nor
lose in weight. That similar steers
when fed all the bright timothy hay
they would eat, and without grain.
will make a slight gain More pounds
of fodder than of timothy were nee
essary to winter cattle of this class.
The coarser portion of this stalk.
amounting usually to between 30 and
so per cent. of the whole weight of
the fodder, where refused by the cat
tie. All things considered, it is safe
to say that when fed alone, a ton of
corn fodder has something like half
the feeding value of timothy hay. That
1t is not good business policy, however.
to winter cattle in this way in the
ordinary season will be accepted with
out argument.