The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-06-24
THE SILO IN FLORIDA
By G. K. McQuarrie

| For a great many years the subject
of siIos and silage has been before the
s.ocl<men of all countries where live
stock is factor in farming. Consid-
| cradle space for its discussion has been
given by the agricultural press, all of
| which has gone to prove that this
method Of providing stock feed is the
most desirable and economical that the
stock feeder can adopt.
The silo is no longer a feature of
dairyfng or stock feeding in general to
be experimental with; it Is a very
practical and economical method of
providing feed for the dairy and beef
animal in its most succulent and palat-
able form.
Cotton seed used to be considered
worthless and was allowed to lie in
piles to rot, or dumped into rivers to
be gotten rid Of Corn stalks were
burned up for the same reason But
modern investigation and practice has
de it possible to convert these and
other farm products into the most de-
sirable type of stock feed by means of
the silo.
The prime object in silo construction
is the preservation of feed in its nat
ural succulent condition: this viii re-
quire building that will be air tight.
We call this building a silo and to be
efficient and durable, it must be con-
structed of suitable materials and ac-
ccrding to mechanical principles.
The materials in general use for silo
building are slaves bound with hoops.
Cement silos are now getting very
popular as they last indefinitely when
properly built, whereas the stave silo
has a limited lifetime
Capacity.
The capacity of the silo will have
to be determined by the number Of
stock to be provided for, The diameter
and danth Sho11ld ha in tha hast peI9-
tive proportion for giving good results.
Silage keeps better in deep silos than
in shallow ones.
A si1o for a herd of twenty head of
dairy cattle can be built for less than
$4,000, and will pay for its cost the ,
first time it is filed. 1t is poor econ |
omy to build a silo less than twenty
feet in depth, for the deeper it is the
greater amount of material can be
stored per cubic foot. The depth also
greatly influences the capacity, for
each ten feet from the top doubles the
weight of the silage, thus giving us
closer packed material that will keep !
better than If loosen.
Quantity Per Head.
The average COW will consume from /
thirty five to forty pounds of silage !
daily. or five tons for period of eight |
months, which would be the average |
feeding period in Florida. Therefore, |
silo to hold one hundred tons would |
feed a herd Of twenty cows for this |
length of time, and a silo twenty nine |
feet deep and fifteen feet in diameter |
would hold this amount, and corn from |
thirty acres of land of an ordinary crop |
would fill it. silo of the same ca |
pacity would be twenty feet deep and i
twenty feet in diameter. but would be
of an undesirable type as it would be |
too wide for the depth and would likely |
give an inferior product.
Is Silage an Economical Feed7
Thousands of experiments In all |
parts of the world have been made to /
test the economy of sllage feeding
compared to ordinary methods. Sew
eral hundred of these have been in
southern states. space forbids me
giving more than one or two Of these
to prove the value of silage, partlcu-
larly in the dairy. At the Mississippi !
station. test covering several months
showed a gain in silage feeding of over
$3.50 per cent per COW per month IN
a herd of twenty cows the rate OF gain
was equal to 1929 gallons in hVe
and milk selling at forty cents
a gallon would show a gain of $4fl.60,
enough to build a silo and buy a cutter,
and not only this gain but saving in
time of feeding and practically no loss
of material as silage is one feed that is
eaten up clean.
Is the SiIo Practical in Florida?
1t certainly is, and 10 prove this
there are a great many silos
in the state all of which are proving
makers to their owners. The
crops that can be grown here in album
dance for silage purposes exceed the
number of crops grown anywhere else,
and besides that, we can fill silo in
Florida twice every year Gan early
summer one and a late fall one). For
early summer, we can use sorghum.
corn, cowpeas, and soy beans if neces-
sary. For fall filling, we can have
Mexican June corn planted in middle
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