Morris tribune., 1911-08-04
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!: !: HOGGING OFF CORN.
BY D. A. Gaumnitz, Assistant
Professor of Animal Hus-
bandry, MINI. Agr. College.
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1t looks as though corn would ma
ture early. This fall, therefore, will
be especially suitable for feeding corn
off in the field. Ordinarily the season
for "hogging off" corn does not open
until Sept to 10, and it usually con-
tinues until Nov. to Is. To secure
the full benefit of the plan, it is neces-
sary that all fencing should be done
early.
The general plan is to husk or snap
the corn and feed it in the yards or
pastures. Considerable labor is at
tached to this, and at a season of the
year when there is much to do in the
way of plowing, threshing and other
operations. To obviate this, the "hog-
ging" plan was tried out, and found
to be very much more desirable.
Experiments proved that it took
from One-half to one-and-a-quarter
! pounds less of feed to make a pound
of pork when the pigs were put in
gathered and carried to the pigs. It
was also found that the pigs gained 30
to 33 per cent more rapidly in the
field than in the yard
Frequently farmers ask the ques-
ton, Does it not cost as much to
fence as it does to husk an acre of
corn?" On the average farm it costs
1881 to pick and haul into the yards
an acre of corn. 1t costs from $1.5O
to $3.50 per acre, depending on the
size of the field, to fence an acre of
corn. The saving effected by "hog-
ging' is plain.
Another question is that of loss OF
fodder. Experiments show that dol
lar expended in capital and labor, for
the production of hay or fodder corn,
will return SLIP worth of nutrients,
while 81 expended in saving corn
stoVer will return $1.19 worth of nu-
trlents, proving that it is much cheap
er to grow fodder-corn or hay than to
attempt to save the stover
Considered from any standpoint, it
seems good business policy to hog off
corn in preference to feeding it in the
yard. But the fact that it is a good
practice does not Justify one in over
working this idea. Only as much corn
should be hogged off as can be cleaned
up before snow flies. In Minnesota,
this usually takes place somewhere
between Nov. and Dec. Is; and one
should aim to hog off only as much
as his hogs will clean up by Nov. Is
at the latest. After that date, the
corn had better be snapped or husked
and fed to the pigs in the yard. if
they are not already finished; or the
pigs may be given access to the corn
IN the bundles and the cattle turned
in afterwards to eat up the fodder.
1t is not difficult to fence hogs into
cornfeld; but it is difficult to fence
them out. It has been found that a
fence made with posts a rod and a
half apart, and 26-inch ribbon of
woven wire, will keep pigs in at the
beginning. If the pigs are unruly, a
barbed wire should be placed below
and above. The entire field to be
nogged Off should be fenced If one
finds it necessary to confine the hogs !
to a portion of the field, this can be
separated by running a ribbon of !
woven wire fence across the field. |
weaving it into the corn-stalks in the
row, and fastening the ends. When |
the corn is eaten in the first division
the fence can be moved down the line.
This does away with posts.
The best-sized hogs for turning
into the cornfield are those weighing !
at least l25 pounds. Old hogs that |
nave eaten corn out of the stalk, usu-
ally will tackle the corn, breaking it
doWn at hrst. 1t takes some pigs a
few days to learn where the corn is.
1t is therefore advisable sometimes to
have an old hog with the young ones.
to start them.
From data at hand, three and one
half to four hogs will clean up an
acre of corn, where the yield is about
thirty bushels per acre. Five hogs
will clean up an acre where the yield
is forty bushels; and it would require
six hogs per acre where the yield is
about fifty bushels. With this as a
basis, it is easy to estimate the
amount of corn which should be en-
closed for the hogs on hand.
On most farms where hogging corn
is practiced, the hogs receive little
attention after they are turned into
the cornfield. This is a great mis-
take. 1t has been found, from actual
trial at University Farm, that pigs
should be fed either milk or shorts,
or some other nitrogenous feed, daily
while in the cornfield. The practice
has been to feed from one-half to one
pound Of shorts per hundred-weight
Of pigs daily; or, if the shorts are not
to be had, four to six pounds of skim
milk may be fed in their place.
While in the cornfeld, the pigs
should have access to plenty of water
Also, it is a good practice to mix a