The Little River news., 1916-10-18
FORAGE CROPS FORARKANsAS
No. 7. SiIage.
By R. H. Mason. Dairy Husbandman,
 Bureau of Animal Industry.

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 An acre of corn can be placed in the silo at cost not exceeding that of shocking, huslxing, grinding and shred- ding. Crops can be put into the silo during weather that could not be util- ized 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 feeding fodder. Good silage, properly fed, is all consumed. Converting the corn crop into silage clears the land and leaves it ready for another crop sooner than if corn is shocked and husked.
 Almost any green crop ca1i be suc- cessfully made into silage if sufficient care is taken to force out the air from the material. On account of the diff culty, however, of expelling air from plants with 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 silo has come into general use, the principal silage crop is corn. One reason for this is that ordinarily corn will produce more food material to the acre than any other crop, ex- cept sorghum. Corn makes an excel lent quality of silage. Since some dry forage should always be fed with the silage, 1t is better to use the legumi- nous hay in this way than to convert the crop into silage.
 In some sections it is common practice to plant the corn little thicker when raised for silage than for 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 silage that can be obtained from an acre of corn will vary from four to twenty tons or more A Acknowledgements crop of corn will yield about 8 to F tons of silage per acre, depending upon the amount of foliage and stalk that ac- companies the ear. Southern varie- ties of corn, as a rule, carry larger portion of the plant in the form of stalk and leaves than do the Northern grown varieties.
 Corn should be harvested for the silo at about the same time that it is harvested for fodder; that is, when the grain has become glazed and the ! loo If cta1ly have cd brown.
 1 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 all lowed to become thoroughly ripe and dry, however, because stalk and foli- age are rendered more difficult to di- gest, and, besides, the corn cannot be packed into the silo tightly enough to prevent "fire-fanging" without using excessive amounts of water.
 Scrghums, both saccharine and non- saccharine, are readily made into si- lage. On account of their superiority to corn as drought-resisting crops they are more dependable and yield more tonnage in some sections. The Kan sas station reports that if the sor- ghums are harvested at the proper stage of maturity-that Is. when the seed has become hard-they will make silage which is less acid and more palatablo than silage made from corn. Furthermore, it's experiments indicate that there is little difference in the feeding values of these silages. 1 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 50 variable as to make the corn crop un- 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 pl loduce more feed than it 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 silo 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 ing in winter. Silage makes use of the whole plant, and silage of good quality is all eaten.
 1 A farmer cannot afford to build a silo if he has fewer than six or eight l cows and young cattle, ard he cannot i afford to be without a silo if he has ten or more head. It Is not advisable to feed silage to hogs, and it should l be fed to horses and mules very spar ingly at first, and moldy silage will 1 poison these animals