The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-02-18
MAKING ENSILAG[
Suggestion Offered By a PraCti-
cal Farmer
SILO NOT NECESSARY
Method That Will Enable Farmer
With Small Means to Put Up
food For Stock

The Crookston Daily Journal prints
the following communication from
Peter Engelstad of Thief River Falls,
which contains valuable suggestions
how to put up silage without silo:
'As most every one of you is aware,
l have for number of years had a
couple of silos which /, every fall,
have filled to their full capacity. The
ensilage during the winter. months
forms with me an important part of
the ration for the COWS. 1t is succu-
lent food, easily digested and we'll lik-
ed by all kinds of stock, which if fed
silage, seems to have better appetite
for hay and other dry roughage also.
So ], for my part, like the silo very
much and as long as 1 keep stock,
and especially dairy COWS, l could not
afford to part with mine.
"But inasmuch as not every farmer
can afford to put up a silo and equip
himself with necessary machinery for
handling a crop of fodder corn, the
method of making silage without a
silo fits nicely in it's place. l tried it
last fall and with such good success,
that l would recommend it te every
farmer in the community.
''Evary farmer can raise few acres
of fodder corn which handled in this
way, can be put mp at nominal cost,
SO every one would be able to provide
a certain amount of succulent food for
his cows during the winter months.
Last year / had about 30 acres of fod-
der corn and after having filed and
re-filled both my silos, I had about 7
acres of fodder left which put up in
a stack about Is feet in diameter and
pressed down with an outfit called
the Jenson Press.
"This press outfit consists of jacks
or presses, Is foot chains, lever
and anchor rods and costs $50. Be-
sides that you need some poles and a
couple ofitimbers on top and that is
all.
"But if you don't want to 60 to the
expense of buying this outfit you can
obtain pressure in some other way
for instance by using common jack
screws costing $3.50 apiece. Jack
screws can be placed on top of the
timber, small wooden block on top
of the jack screws and chain across
the wooden block, and then you can
press your corn down all you want to.
1t requires few more chains in this
way than by the Jenson Press. OF
course, the Jenson Press is the most
convenient as it takes only minutes
time to go around the corners of the
stack and tighten a notch or two
wherever there is slack on the
chain. In regard to the quality of the
silage in the stack compared with
that in the silo / consider it about
the same.
Nov is the time to make plans;
speak to your neighbors and get them
interested, The corn can be put in
with shoe drill, if you do not have a
corn planter and as corn binder is
needed two, three or four can very
well club in for one. Whatever you
do, by all means raise some fodder
corn.
"Before leaving the subject, l would
make comparison between the silo
and the stack. Most farmers who have
had experience in doing chores know
the difference in having hay in the
barn and outside the barn at all sea-
sons-one point in favor of the silo.
"If any more information is wanted
by anyone along this line, l would be
glad to give it."