Oxford Democrat., 1909-10-26
Ensilage In Illinois.


pensable to the dairy farmer, the follow
ing from the Chicago Dairy Produc'
may be of interest:
1t is said that some of the larges
milk-condensing companies are remov
result silos are being erected in great
numbers in the dairy districts. The
Elgin Courier, in speaking of this, says
Farmers are building silos now a.
never before. There have been fully
1900 silos built in Kane County this
Iyear, and each silo will have an average
capacity of about 200 tons of ensilage' u
All this goes to prove that farmers
are realizing more and more the bene.
fits to be derived from this means OF
storing feed so that green food may be
fed to their stock practically the year
around. The situation indicates pro.
gressive spirit among the farmers. II
also indicates that the dairy business is
to be pushed to higher plane than ever
in this district. The silo and dairy be-
long together. There is no doubt that
ensilage increases the production of
milk 20 to rs per cent. Some of the
startling statements made by Elgin silo
owners are these:
"Ensilage increases the corn crop 100
per cent over the old system Of feeding
dry corn.
"Clover, grass and alfalfa increase in
food value wonderfully il placed un-
cured in silos.
"Cost to produce milk lessened rs per
cent by the use of silage.
"Dry corn dampened and placed in
silos improves in food value so per
cent"
Silos have for forty years been a per-
manent factor on New York farms, but
only in the past few years have they be-
come recognized as of value to the Illi-
nois farmer. Many farmers built silos
few years ago in this section, and some
of these farmers afterward abandoned
this method of storage of feed. The
reason for this was that the first silos
were not built scientifically. They con-
tanned defects. Many farmers built
silos on too large scale. Many placed
feed in these silos before the feed had
ripened to the proper extent. Others
fed too much of the ensilage to their
cattle.
As in everything else. this is prob
lem for study, and the farmer, to obtain
the best results, must investigate the
situation carefully, feed only so much
ensilage and so much feed. The green
stuff must be placed in the silo at just
the right time, and the silos themselves
must be perfectly built.
Under the proper conditions there is
no reason why the silo may not become
the greatest money. making factor on
the modern farm of to-day. Indeed j.
P. Mason of this city is authority for
the statement that on his farm with
silos he is able to produce milk rs per
cent cheaper than on the farm where
this idea is lacking. With the silo on
his farm he contracts for certain
amount of milk, which he delivers re-
gardless of the weather conditions of
winter or summer; in case of drouth,
when other farmers cannot produce
much milk on account of the drying up
of pasturage, Mr.. Mason is able to feed
ensilage and thus keep up bis supply.
With ensilage, every bit OF the feed is
digestible. With dry feed, this is diff
ferent. And when all these facts are
weighed by the careful farmer beside
the cost of silo, is it any wonder that
hundreds of farmers are deciding and
are building silos. A wooden silo about
IS by 36 feet costs between S400 and
$500. Cement block or brick silos cost
more. The wooden silo requires little
more attention than the cement or brick.
The announcement that the ban is off
the ensilage milk was made by Superin-
tendent John W. Chewing of the Bor-
den plant at st. Charles, who informed
his patrons that the Borden Company
had decided, after thorough examina-
ton and consultation with chemists and
food experts. that there was no harm in
the milk produced by cows fed from
silo ensilage, provided it was properly
prepared and cared for, and sufficient
hay and grain mixed with it.
This is a radical change in the plans
of the Borden people, and will greatly
please their patrons who have been held
down to the old-fashioned diet of hay,
corn meal, corn and bran. These COM
modities have been crawling up in price
and falling off in nutriment for years,
and milk produced from them has been
going lower at the same time. The BOr-
den people contended for years that
milk made from ensilage-fed cattle
would not keep as we'll after it had been
condensed as would that produced other
wise.