Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-08-04

The use Of silos for all the corn
grown in this region would add mil
lions in wealth. BY the use Of silos
half a million more dairy cows could
be kept. These 500,0 900 dairy cows
should produce as many calves, $780,
600, 000 pounds of butter and skim
milk for a couple of million pigs, be-
sides the almost inestimable value this
Ing up the soil n making our sys-
tenn of farming more permanent.
Saves All the Crop.
1t matters not what is put into the
silo it is all saved. In the corn belt
more than one-third Of the value of
the crop Is left in the field in the
stalks. This loss in the United
States totals a billion dollars a year.
true of small grains, which are used
for feed. Nearly one-third Of the
feeding value Of the oat crop being
actually in the straw. This could all
be cut together and put into the silo,
and fed with practically no waste.
One seldom talks to a bunch Of farm
ers but that someone remembers that
in the "old country" they cut up the
oat straw, mixed a little chop with
= PoI ! I 1lIO Il6A I OOA, A1O III Inc
winter time poured boiling water over
this, covered it with heavy burlap or
something to hold the heat in, left it
over night, and fed it to the cattle.
The silo gives practically the same
results. However, corn is the crop
usually thought of for filing the silo,
and it is true that in feeding fodder
under the very best conditions, there
is a large waste, often amounting to
nearly one-half.
More Live Stock Can Be Kept on the
Farm at a Greater Profit.
Very often the amount Of live
stock kept ON the farm Is limited by
the area available for pasture, and
frequently by the number Of cattle
that this area will pasture during the
hottest, driest part Of the pasture
season. In many instances the silo ia
now being looked to as the means Of
tiding over these dry periods, and
such times. However, In this region
1T Is probable that the silo will prove
Of the greatest value for preserving
winter feed.
To those who have already expert
enced the use Of silage there Is little
that can be added. During the win
ter, owing to the poor corn crop last
year, many nave had h experience
of trying to do without this valuable
feed, and they realize what the silo
means to them. Silage Is in reality
the green feed, preserved in its orig
inal palatable form, and it Is well
known that green a or practically
ripe corn cannot be improved upon as
feed, especially for cattle. There is
no feed that will produce greater
growth or a larger milk flow, and
consequently greater profit.
Preserves the Feed in the Best Pos
sible Form.
All the feeding value and succu-
lence of the practically ripe green
feed, put in the silo, is preserved I'M
til feeding. There Is no other pos
sible means of securing such results
in this region than by the use of the
silo.
Silage Is Easily Fed Without Waste.
Silage Ia In a most convenient form
to be fed. It requires only a COM
p~aratively small bulk, and as this is
easily gotten out Of the silo, the
feeding of silage is a great pleasure.
1t ia also true that If usual care is
taken in feeding good silage, there is
practically no waste whatever. There
Is no building that will house an equal
amount of inexpensive feed that can
be fed out with as little waste as the
silo.
A comparison Of the feeding value
OF silage and green grass. which is