Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-06-23
Farm Products That
Might Be Used as
Profitable Feed


a recent report which the department of
agriculture has just published. Failure
to utilize the full value of this material
has increased unnecessarily the cost of
producing meat has diminished the
profits from cattle feeding, and has dis
couraged many farmers from engaging
in an industry essential to their per-
manent prosperity.
According to the report the loss in
grain straw and corn slower amounts
to more than $10o.O0o,0O0 annually. Both
Of these products are disposed of most
economically when fed to cattle in con-
nection with some form Of concentrat-
ed feed Straw Is especially valuable
in carrying the breeding herd thru the
winter, in wintering stockers, and as a
supplementary roughage for fattening
cattle. Slower, too. is an excellent feed
for wintering cattle, especially mature
breeding cows. Nevertheless, in many
sections of the country where these
products are abundant, little attempt Is
made to take advantage of their value
for these purposes.
Straw Crop Waste.
OF an annual straw crop of approx
mately 100000 tons. it is estimated
that only two-thirds is put to it's best
use-live stock production. OF the re-
mainder little more than one-half Is
sold or turned under and the rest--15
per cent of the total CROPS burned.
I Burning is practically an absolute
waste and altho blowing under does
contribute something to soil fertility,
the benefit to the land is less than that
which would be derived from the use of
the straw to produce manure. "Of all
systems of obtaining permanent soil
fertility" says the report, none is so
practical or as easily available as that
of feeding live stock"
The average value of all kinds of
straw is placed at about IS ton. In
many sections. of course, no such price
can be realized for it, and as u matter
of fact only about per cent of the crop
actually is sold. The figure mentioned,
however. may be taken as representing
the value to the farmer Of straw K he
will use it properly in his farming oper-
atoms as feed or bedding. In order to
illustrate how this may be done the re-
port gives three sample rations for win
tering a breeding herd of beef cattle on
straw combined with silage, shock corn
and cottonseed or lnseed meal. Any
one of these rations. it is said, will prove
economical. They are as follows:
Winter Rations For Breeding Cows.
Ration 1-Straw, 10 pounds: silage.
20 pounds; cottonseed meal or linseed
meal. y pounds. re-.
Ration 2-Straw. 20 pounds: cotton
a.
Ration 3-Straw. 10 pounds: shock
corn. 10 pounds; oottonseed meal. !
pound.
In this connection it is pointed out
also that feeding straw in the winter
will insure under certain circumstances
the full utilization of summer grass.
In a number OF western states 1t fire.
quently happens that grass goes to
waste because feedersare unwilling to
pay the high prices asked for steers in
the spring. With an abundance of
straw on hand to lessen the cost of
wintering. feeders can take advantage
of the lower prices for stocker cattle
in the fall to secure on reasonable
terms at that time enough stock to
pasture all the grass the following
year. --.
Corn Slower Of Great Value.
The production of corn slower is
about twice that Of grain straw,
amounting to approximately 245, oo0,-
600 tons a year. A larger percentage
s1.5-of this is fed than the straw but
the waste Is nevertheless astonishing.
For this. poor, methods of feeding are
largely responsible. BY far the most
economical method of handling corn Is
by ensiling. but as a matter of fact.
only 81 per cent of the acreage was
put in the silo in 1914. the year in
which these Investigations were made
About IL per cent was cut for green
feed and 81 per cent allowed to mature
for grain. 1t Is In the last portion Of
the acreage that the greatest waste
occurs. Stripping the leaves from the
stalks which are subsequently burned,
removing the stalk above the top ear
only leaving the stalks to stand in the
field until the loss Of leaves and leach
ing have removed much of their ferti-
lizing value, are all unthrifty methods
Furthermore. almost four per cent of
the stover is burned, as though, instead
of being a potential source Of revenue,
it was merely a nuisance to be gotten
rid Of as preliminary to blowing. In
some states the percentage Of stover
that Is thus thrown away Is as high
as or 8 per cent and the total loss to
the country from the practice is esti-
mated at nearly $15.000.0o0 a year.
To OBTAIN satisfactory results from
the feeding of farm roughages such
as straw and slower, they must be
combined with some form Of concen-
trated feed. At the present time large
quantities of such feed, in the form Of
cottonseed meal and cake, corn, mo-
lasses. peanuts, and beans are exported
for the use of European feeders. If
the straw and slower that are now
wasted were employed to feed more
cattle. these concentrates could be con-
summed at home. The result would be
tremendous saving not only in the
cost of producing beef, but in the cost
of enriching the soil as we'll. In 1914 for
for example. about 100000 tons of cot
tonseed meal-half the total production
was applied directly to the soil as
fertilizer. If this had been fed to cat
tie instead three-quarters Of the ferti
lizing value would have been returne'
to the soil as manure. The loss of tn
other fourth would have been far NOR
than counterbalanced by the profit o.
meat produced economically by tn
meal and the necessary roughasc
, Much the same thing is true of II
other oil meals
Waverly News Briefs.
| Special to Times Republican.
| Waverly, June 23.-At a Holste
sale held in Detroit. Mich, June 8. {
cow was purchased by the Cass Farm
Company, of Sumner, for $4,000. TIL