Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1913-07-04
UNDERGROUND S|LOS
FOR M|MBRES VALLEY
r. BedlChek Says $40 Covers Cost of
Materials for Constructing
Cotton PIT
RECOMMENDS FEEDING HERE
Range Cattle Should be Fattened in
Mimbres Valley Instead OF
In Other Sections
RECOMMENDS FEEDING HERE

The editor Of the Iowa Homestead,
very reputable farm journal of the
Middle West, warns his readers in a
recent issue against the Use of the
II pi, ~ll". lie declares that the moist
nrr will penetrate the cement and
render the silagc worthless in most
cases. lie also point out that il is
/ Il liillr more difficult 10 feed from q
PIT ello than from un above ground
Fsilo.
llls remarks. however, do not have
application To conditions such as we
have in the Mimbres Valley. If there
is any section in the United States
where the pit silo will be an unQuah-
lied success II is III The Mimbrcs Val
ley The rheapnc~s of the construc-
ton J.. of course. the main feature Of
this character of silo. The eEca-
vution ran he done by the farmer
during the dull season. The sand
and gravel necessary for the con-
crete can be- taken in most instances
out of the excavation. so that there
would be- no expense for this ma
tcrlal: consequently, the only expense
for concrcting mp Il pit silo would
he the actual cost of the cement.
However, for Cotton pit silo the
cash outlay for cement would not be
over $40 Any farmer in the valley
who has feed and forage crops can
not afford to be without silo when
one can be- installed for this cash
outlay.
] have heard considerable com
plant recently among farmers who
declare that there is no market for
forage crops. The way that these
crors have been handled 80 far in
wolves q waste which if avoided
would make the farmer a handsome
profit. In the first place milo maize,
kafr corn and cane allowed to ripen
and stand in the shock for any length
Of time is open to the ravagcs Of
birds. especially crows. have seen
field after field Of shocked grain
black with crows for several hours
each morning. Every grain that the
crow, or any other bird eats, is an
absolute waste. Again, in handling
dry forage, the waste from shatter-
INC both the leave, and the grain is
very great. Add to thi, the fact that
an occasional rain will damage grain
in the shock, or even in the stack.
and the further fact that dry for
age is by no means as nutritious as
silagc, some idea of the tremendous
waste involved in allowing forage
crops to mature in the field and the
handling of such crops in the dry
state can be estimated.
| believe that almost any farmer
with experience in this valley will
agree that ten tons of silage can be
grown per acre. A year or two ago
Hugh Ramsay secured sixteen tons
Of green cane to the acre. Four or
five tons of dry forage is not con-
sidercd an unusual yield, You can
get two cuttings of milo maize each
season. In view of these yields
ten tons of silage would be a very
conservative estimate Of what the or
dinary farmer can count on, on ordi-
nary land in this valley. With the
installation Of silos the farmer runs
absolutely no risk Of having any Of
this feed damaged by rains. He cuts
it while the grain is in the milk, hauls
it direct to the silo and it is immedi-
ately chopped and run into the silo.
This being the case great risk is
eliminated nj the outset
To fatten steer it takes forty
pounds Of silage per day, and three
pounds Of cottonseed meal for a per-
iod of one hundred days, and about
1900 pounds of alfalfa. a poor
steer. fed in this way, will double in
value in that period of time. In 9TH
er words, 1000 pounds of silage,
S3.45 worth of cottonseed meal and
SO worth Of alfalfa will double the
value of q $50 steer. II the farmer
has grown ten tons of silage to the
acre he can fatten five steers OH the
feed produced from single acre.
In other words, if the above figures
are correct, he can sell the product
from single acre for $50. IL these
figures seem extravagant, cut them
half in two, and say he can sell the
product Of one acre for S15.