Sharp County record., 1918-08-02
MAKE PROVISION TO
HANDLE CORN CROP
Best Way To Utilize the Entire Plant
On the Farm Is BY Max
ing Plenty Of sllaee.
By ]. H. Mcleod, Livestock Specialist
Extension Division, University
3 Of Arkansas.

With the prospect Of producing
large corn crop this year, Arkansas
people should make provision for
handling this crop in the best possible
manner. II Is true there will be
money in the grain and that many will
pull fodder, but would II not be an ex-
cellent plan to utilize the entire corn
plant and produce the most meat and
milk at the cheapest price? The best
way to utilize the entire plant on the
farm is by making silage. Silos have
come into general use in the last 30
years in every section In the United
States where livestock growing II
profitable and silage is universally
recognized as good and cheap feed
for farm animals,
Since the price Of grain will prob
ably be very high. some may desire
to use less corn in the silage. and
wherever alfalfa and other legumes
can be produced this can easily be
done by combining corn or sorghum
silage with alfalfa or legume hay; a
very cheap feed for both meat and
milk production can thus be secured.
Naturally this combination, si!age fed
without grain. however, does not give
the greatest flow Of milk or the best
quality Of meat. However. some Of
the most economically produced meat
that has been put on the market this
year was fed upon the silage and hay
ration.
Silos also offer cheap storage since
corn cured In the field will occupy
ten times as much space In the barn
as In the silo.
Silos are also profitable. Livestock
furnish sure market for the corn I'm
form Of silage) and at the same time
they help keep up the fertility Of the
soil by the fertility they return in tho
form OF manure. It Is a significant
fact that wherever livestock are kept
rotation is more generally practiced
and the fertility Of the land better
maintained.
1t is certain that with our corn and
cotton system Of farming We will IN
time deplete the richest soils Of our
state. Reason teaches US that we can,
not continually take fertility from the
soil and never return any. Expert.
ments have also been performed which
back our judgment In this matter.
Such an experiment covering a period
Of 30 years was carried on by Illinois
Experiment Station. The summary OF
the experiment is given below:
AT this station the yield on a typi-
cal soil has decreased under continu.
Gus corn raising from 10 bushels to
the acre to 27 bushels to the acre dur
ing this period. while under a system
Of crop rotation and proper fertiliza.
ton the yield on a portion OF the same
field has been increased during the
same period to 96 bushels per acre.
These yields are not OF a certain year,
but averages OF three-year periods.
The 96 bushels were obtained In a
three.year rotation in which corn was
followed by oats in which clover was
sown; the next year clover alone, fol-
lowed by corn again. Stable manure
with commercial fertilizers was ap'
piled to the clover ground TO be plow-
cd under for corn. The difference IN
the yields obtained between the rota-
tion system where fertility was ap
piled and the straight corn cropping
without fertility was SO bushels per
acre or over two and half times that
Of the system Of continuous corn rails.
ing. A large proportion Of this differ
ence In yield Is clear profit, as tho
actual expense of producing the 90
bushels TO the acre was but little
more than In growing the ~, II the
results OF these two yields were fg-
ured down TO a nicely and the value OF
the land determined by the net in.
come, II would be found that the we'll
formed acres would be worth an enor'
nous price as compared with a gin
Of the land that produced the smaller
yield"
II Is not the intention OF tho writer
Of this article 10 leave the impression
that every man who raises corn should
have a silo, but there In no doubt but
what silo will pay a man who keeps
as many as 10 head OF beef cattle and
rs many AZ 10 head OF dairy cattlO.