The courier-index., 1918-07-05
MAKE PROVISION TO
HANDLE CORN CROP
Beat Way To Utilize the Entire Plank
On the Farm is BY Max
inc Plenty Of Silaqe.
BY ]. II. Mcleod, Livestock Specialist
Extension Division. University
of Arkansas.

With the pros pect of producing
large corn crop this year. Arkansas
people should make provision for
handling this crop in the best possible
| manner. 1t is true there will De
| money in the grain and that many VIII
pull fodder. but would il not be an ex-
cellent plan TO utilize the entire corn
plant and produce the most meat ana
milk at the cheapest price? The besi
way TO utilize the entire plant on the
| farm is by making silage. Silos have
come into general use in the last 80
wears in every section in the United
| States where livestock growing is
profitable and silage is universally
recognized as a good and cheap feed
for farm animals,
Since the price of grain will prop
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 De
done by combining corn or sorghum
silage with alfalfa or legume hay;
very cheap feed for both meat aud
milk production can thus be secured
Naturally. this combination, silage feo
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 siiaee and hay
RATION.
Siios 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 In
form of silage) and at the same time
they help keep up the fertility OF the
soil by the fertility they return in the
form of manure. 1t is significant
fact that wherever livestock are kept
rotation is more generally practfceo
and the fertility of the land better
maintained.
1t is certain that with our corn and
cotton system of farming We will 10
! 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 d period
of so years was carried on by Illinois
| Experiment Station. The summary OF
\ the experiment is given below:
"At this station the yield on 2 typ
| cal soil has decreased under continu-
| Gus corn raising from 20 bushels 10
the acre to 2. bushels to the acre dur
| ing this period, while under a system
| OF crop rotation and proper fertiliza-
| tion the Weld on portion of the same
| field has been increased during the
same period to sc bushels per acre.
| These Yields are not Of certain year,
but averages of three-year periods
| The SO bushels were obtained in q
| tbree-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 10 be pillow
ed under for corn The difference 4
the Yields Obtained between the rota
! ton system where fertility was ap
piled and the straight corn croppsn'
without fertility was e9 bushels pc
acre or over two and half times tina
OF the system OF continuous corn rails
ing. A large proportion OF this differ
ence in yield is clear profit as tn
actual expense OF producing the y
bushels TO the acre was but litti
more than in growing the "a. II tn
results OF these two Yields were fie
ured down TO nicely and the value Q
the land determined by the net in
come. il would be found that the vel
formed acres would be worth an enoi
nous price az compared with gil
OF the land that produced the Emalie
WELD"
Ii is not the intention OF the write
OF this article TO leave the impression
that every man who raises corn shout
: have a silo but there is no doubt bu
what a silo will pay man who keep
: as many as Is head OF beef cattle an
as many as 10 head OF dairy cattle