The Springdale news. [volume] (Springdale, Ark.) 1887-1990, 1916-08-11
FORAGE CROPS FORARKANSAS
No. 7. Silaoe.
By R. H. Mason, Dairy Husbandman,
Bureau of Animal Industry.

An acre of corn can be placed in the
silo at cost not exceeding that OF
shocking, husking grinding and shred
ding. Crops can be put into the silo
during weather that could not be util-
lied in making hay or curing fodder.
In some localities this is an impor-
tant consideration. A given amount
Of corn In the form of silage will pro-
duce more milk than the same amount
when shocked and dried. There is
less waste in feeding silage than in
feeding fodder. Good silage, properly
fed, is all consumed. Converting
the corn crop into silage clears the
land and leaves 1t ready for another
crop sooner than If corn is shocked
and husked.
Almost any green crop can be sue
cessfully made into silage if sufficient
care is taken to force out the air from
he material. On account of the diff
Guilty, however, of expelling air from
plants with a hollow stem, such as
timothy, oats and barley, these crops
are rarely put into the silo.
In all parts of the United States
where the sile has come into general
use, the principal silage crop is corn.
One reason for this is that ordinarily
corn will produce more food material
i 20 the acre than any other crop, ex-
/ eept sorghum Corn makes an excel
/ lent quality of silage. Since some dry
i forage should always be fed with the
silage, it is better to use the legumi-
nous hay in this way than to convert
the crop into silage.
In some sections it is a common
practice to plant the corn little
thicker when raised for silage than
,or grain. Weeds should be kept out,
Or they will be cut with the corn
and may impair the quality of the
silage. The amount of si1age that can
De obtained from an acre of corn will
vary from four 70 twenty tons or
more. A 0-bushel-per-aere crop OF
corn will yield about s to II tons of
silage per acre, depending upon the
amount of foliage and stalk that ac-
companies the ear. Southern yarle-
lies of corn, as rule, carry larger
portion of the plant in the form of
stalk and leaves than do the Northern
crown varieties
Corn should be harvested for the
slo at about the same time that 1t is
harvested for fodder; that is, when
the grain has become glazed and the
lower leaves of the stalk have turned
brown.
Silage made from immature corn is
not only less nutritious, but also more
acid than that made from more ma
ture corn The corn should not be al
lowed to become thoroughly ripe and
dry, however, because stalk and foil
age are rendered more difficult TO di-
gest. and. besides, the corn cannot
be packed into the silo tightly enough
20 prevent "fire-fanging" without using
excessive amounts of water.
Sorahums. both saccharine and non
saccharine. are readily made into ST.
age. On account Of their superiority
10 corn as drought-resisting crops they
are more dependable and yield more
sas station reports that If the sor-
ghums are harvested at the proper
gtage of maturity-that IS. when the
seed has become hard-they will
make silage which is less acid and
more palatable than silage made from
corn. Furthermore, its experiments
indicate that there is little difference
in the feeding values of these silages.
It is important that the sorghums be
harvested at the proper state of ma
turity if the best results are to be
secured mixture of corn and sor-
ghum has proved satisfactory in some
localities where the rainfull was so
variable as TO make the corn crop I'M
, certain.
Silage is the best and cheapest sub
stitute for grass which is the best
known cow feed. 4 given acreage of
silage crops will produce more feed
, than il would if used for pasture, hay
or other roughage. Silage keeps the
, digestive organs in good condition,
adds bloom and finish, and increases
the milk flow The slo can be filled
. during rainy weather that would ruin
hay or fodder The cost of filling the
silo is not greater than that of shock
ing and shredding. Silage is the
cheapest and best supplement for
short pastures in summer The loss
caused by lack of feed in summer is
; as great as that due to improper feed,
j, ing in winter. Silage makes use OF
the whole plant, and silage of good
, quality is all eaten.
A farmer cannot afford to build a
silo If he has fewer than six or eight
: COWS and young cattle, and be cannot
) afford to be without a silo if he has
ten or more head 1t is not advisable
! to feed silage to hogs, and it should
, be fed to horses and mules very spar
q ingly at first, and moldy silage will
poison these animals.