The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-06-21
FEED GRAIN SORGHUMS.
Live Stock the Most Profitable WAY
OF DispOsing Of These Heavy
Yielding Crops.

The grain sorghums are to the
Great Plains region what corn is to
the corn belt, says new publication
of the Department of Agriculture.
Farmers Bulletin No. 724. They are
neavy yielders and the most profitable
disposal Of the large crops is a vital
problem for farmers in many sections
of the United States. A few Of the
growers of these grains may be able
to sell them directly at a profit. For
the great majority. however, feeding
live stock is practically the only way
in which they can secure a market.
Those who fully appreciate the feed
Ing value Of these crops, says the bull
letin already mentioned, will not hesi-
tate to convert them into beef, pork,
mutton. milk, or poultry. 1t is true
that the grain sorghums have a some
what smaller feeding value than corn,
but this fact is more than offset by
the heavy yields of the former in
semiarid sections where corn fails.
The grain or nonsaccharine sor-
ghums which are grown most extern
sively in this county are ka-
fir, milo, feterita, kaoliang, shallu,
and durra. They may be fed green,
both the cured plants and the seed or
grain may be fed, or they may be cut
for silage. The composition Of these
sorghums is very similar to that Of
corn. In general, therefore, they
should be fed in much the same way.
Alone, they do not form a balanced
ration, and some feed which is rich
in protein must be given also, IL prof.
table results are to follow. Cottonseed
meal or cake and linseed meal have
been most widely used to supply the
needed protein. Soy-bean meal, pea
nut meal, brewers grains, ETC., are
also frequently fed in connection
with sorghums. Where alfalfa, Glow
er, or other leguminous hay caa be
had, however, the addition Of con-
centrates rich in protein is not nee
essary.
For forage and silage the grain sor-
ghums compare quite favorably with
corn. Well-cured stover and fodder
from kafir, milo, etc., are we'll liked
by live stock and in some sections
constitute practically all the rough
age which the stock receive during
the winter. Linseed meal, bran, oats,
or leguminous hay should be fed to
young stock as well, in order to pro-
duce good growth. Silage is, howev-
or, perhaps the most economical form
in which the grain sorghums may be
utilized. When cut at the proper
time, when the seeds are in the stiff
dough stage, sorghum silage has a
feeding value practically equal to that
OF corn silage. 1t is particularly USE
full in the rations of cattle, as it aids
in keeping the body in proper tone
and increases the appetite Of the ami
mails The amount to be fed varies
with the kind of stock on feed, and
other components of the ration. A
few pounds will do for a calf, while
heavy-producing dairy cow or a
heavy steer may need from 40 to so
pounds.
With sorghum silage, as with sor-
ghum roughage in any form, concen-
trates are necessary for the best re-
suits. Dairy cows, working horses,
and fattening animals all need other
food. The increased growth and the
higher finish produced by cottonseed
meal, for example, usually justify the
additional cost of feeding this concen-
trate in connection with silage.