Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-08-04
natures most perfect feed, will show

natures most perfect feed, will show
that the only deficiency Of silage is In
the protein or heterogeneous part. The
addition of a small amount of alfalfa
or clover hay will make up this de-
fciency, and at the same time add
variety that Is most acceptable to the
cattle. Good corn silage and alfalfa
hay make as nearly an ideal balanced
ration for the dairy cow as can be
secured. With the addition Of grain
for one or two months, at h close
Of the feeding period, this makes an
almost ideal feeding ration for the
beef steer.
The Corn Crop, Put in the Silo, Fur
nishes Two to -Four Times as Much
Feed as When Fed as Dry Fodder
This statement is seemingly some
what exaggerated, but experience Will
bear it out as true. In the first place,
there is absolutely no waste In feed
ing silage, and on account of Its pal
liability the animals apparently get
more value from it than they would
from an equal amount Of dry fodder.
This was observed quite closely on the
I. H. G. farm in 1914 and 1915, and
we were satisfied that our corn fodder,
when u and put into the silo and
fed out as silage, gave us at least
four times the amount of feed that
it would had we fed it out as dry
fodder. The question Of refilling the
sflo with dry fodder will be consid-
cred further, later.
Silage Primarily q Cattle Feed, But
is Valuable Feed for Horses,
Sheep and Hogs.
Si1age gives its best results when
fed to cattle, because Of the TACT that
they demand a more succulent feed
tho.n any other farm animals. How
ever, this does not mean that they are
the only ones to which 1t. should be
fed. Colts, especially, may be fed a
small allowance of silage to good ad-
vantage. Sheep also make good use
of some silage, and hogs will relish II
as a change from the dry feed in the
winter time. When available it should
be given to all the stock in small
quantities.
Any Crop, Corn, Wheat, Oats, Barley
Peas, Sweet Glover, Weeds, Etc,
Will Make Good Silage. .
With many it is doubtless thought
that corn is the only crop that can be
used for silage. However, 1t is true
that any crop that may ordinarily be
fed to stock car be put in the silo to
advantage. In fact, all the crops
mentioned have been used with sue
cess, even the Russian thistle is used
with cor and makes excellent feed,
Some Of these will be mentioned later,
separately.
Dry Corn Fodder, Cut Into the Silo,
Carefully Tramped and We With
An Equal Weight of Water, Makes
Feed Almost Equal to Green Corn
Silage.
This use Of the silo is relatively new
but nevertheless has proven of great
advantage. At Aberdeen, 8. Oak, 70
acres Of corn which was frosted be-
fore it was ripe, in 1915, was cut i'm
mediately and was all put through
the silo and fed to fattening steers
during the following winter. This
corn, put into the silo in April, and
wet as it was put in, made practically
as good feed as the first filing, which
was put in before the corn was dry.
This has been a great surprise, and
may mean much to those who have
only a small silo. 1t required the re-
filling of this silo five times during the
winter, to utilize all this crop.
You May Think You Cannot Afford a
SilO, But the Fact is You Cannot
Afford to Be, Without One,
On every quarter section there
should be enough cattle to consume
such crops as canno be probably
sold. This will doubtless vary con
.siderably, but If any cattle at all are