Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-10-14
How to Utilize Corn Fodder.
.TCountry Gentleman.1

the most stupendous waste occurring
on the American farm today is that of
the corn fodder crop. Something like
80, 900 tons of corn fodder are am
nually produced on the so or 80 million
acres normally planted with corn in
the United States. In the corn belt OF
the middle west, where about 20 per
cent of all the corn of the country is
grown, there is a prodigious and prof
ligate waste Of this food stuff. In this
same section valuable land is annually
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 three and half million tons,
or one half of all that is produced. is
wasted. The average hay crop of the
state is scarcely more than 100000
tons, and is estimated to be worth on
the farm over $20,OO0,000. Yet large
proportion of this hay Is timothy, a
material that supplies the same class OF
nutrients for our livestock that is
found in corn fodder. The question,
therefore, as to whether this fodder can
be used as substitute for any consfd-
cradle quantity of hay Is especially inn
portant to every grain grower and
stoclkman In the middle west, even In
this year of plenty.
Careful experiments show that more
than one-third of all the digeshble ma
terial contained in the entire corn plant
is found in the fodder, and that less
than two-thirds is concentrated in the
grain. Clearly no one is justified in
permitting 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 prac-
tically the same number of pounds of
digestible material as does ton of
timothy. 1t does not follow, however,
that as an exclusive ration for live
stock it is as. valuable as timothy, ton
for ton, since it is not so palatable and
not so completely eaten, and since the
stock will not eat enough of it to make
profitable gains.
The Missouri experiment station has
been studying this problem during the
past seven years with a view to ascer-
tanning the best method of treating corn
fodder, and the best combination with
other foods, in order TO increase Its
feeding value. These experiments clear
ly show that yearling steers may be
wintered on whole corn fodder from
which all the ears were carefully re-
moved, without grain or other food, and
neither gain nor lose in weight, that
similar steers, when fed all the bright
timothy hay they will eat. and without
grain, will make slight gain. More
pounds OF fodder than OF timothy were
necessary to winter cattle of this class.
The coarser portions OF this stalk,
amounting usually TO between 81 anu
40 per cent of the whole weight OF the
fodder, was refused by the cattle All
things considered, it is safe to say that
when fed alone ton of corn fodder has
something like half the feeding value OF
timothy hay. That it is not good Dust
ness policy. however. to winter cattie ~
this way in the ordinary season VIII oe
accented without argument.
Our most important and striking re-
su,ts have been obtained from combin-
;np the fodder with clover, so as to
supply the muscle making material, IN
which the fodder is so notably deticien.
That IT is easy so to increase the feed
ing value of fodder in this way that 1T
will equal timothy when fed alone Is
clearly shown by our experiments
These experiments were made with
large, coarse fodder, which was allowed
to stand in the field until required for
feeding, and was fed whole and with
ont any special treatment. 1t is this
large. coarse material that is mainly
wasted. and the results OF these experi-
ments will therefore be directly appli-
cable to the ordinary conditions of this
state.
With 2-year-old cattle on full feed
the results of two years work sho"
that a bushel of corn, when fed i'll con-
nection with equal parts of corn fodder
and clover hay. will make more gam
than when fed in connection with good
timothy hay.
With yearling cattle fed on rough
ness exclusively, practically twice as
much gain was made with equal parts
of corn fodder and clover hay as with
In other words. the cattle
having timothy hay alone gained 10
pounds during the experiment. WINE
another bunch on corn fodder ana
clover gained 234 pounds.
In three years work VITA yearhng
cattle, in which small quanuty OF
shelled corn was given in addition 70 all
the roughness they could eat, the re-
suits show that from 80 TO ~ per cent sl1'l :