Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-04-16
Cheap Feeds for Live stock

In meeting the requirements of the
press of war situation, il is necessary
for us to increase the number and va
riety of live stock maintained on our
farms. How to do this most economi-
cally becomes a question, therefore, OF
paramount Importance. Statistics show
that we should increase our yield of
hay crops or substitutes therefor by at
least 100000 tons, and there would be
no objection If we increased our forage
crops to the extent of 100000 tons. In
the first place. we are not producing
enough food of this character either per
acre or to meet the needs of the live
stock we already have On hand. In Geor-
gia alone it appeared last year that the
number of our dairy cows increased by
about $4,000, and of beef cattle by ap-
proximately 10000. To even maintain
this proportion of increase OF live stock
during the fall and winter of 191S-13
will call for greatly increased supplies
Of forage crops or substitutes therefor.
There must also have been a consider
able increase in live stock in the othe"
southeastern states so that the farmers
and landowners in the section of the
country mentioned should now prepare
to provide plenty of roughage for winter
feeding. Again il is our duty, if we
meet the requirements imposed upon US
by the government of feeding ourselves,
to increase both the number of beef ana
dairy cattle quite materially. The re-
suits obtained last year show that, this
can be done, and it is believed now that
the final record for 1915 will show ad-
ditions to both beef and dairy herds.
not only in Georgia, but the other south
eastern states. We must, therefore, for
tify ourselves for the coming winter
by growing increased supplies of forage
crops.
How can this be done most cheaply?
This is a question of vital interest and
concern to every stock grower. The old
method was to raise hay crops, using for
this purpose, say cowpeas and millet
or sorghum and cowpeas, or corn slower
and forage crops of a similar nature.
This was probably good practice at the
time il was instituted, but should not
be followed at the present time, because
there are cheaper and better ways Of
providing the food which il needed in
a more palatabIe form. Crops for hav
in Georgia, for instance, are credited
with yielding a little better than one
ton of cured feed per acre. OF course.
this is 2 very low yield, and there is
no reason why il should not be in
creased. On the other hand, through
the medium Of the silo, yields of ten to
twelve tons of succulent food per acre
may be obtained thereby greatly in
creasing the carrying capacity of each
acre of land devoted to these crops and
providing \ much more wholesome ami
desirable form of roughage for the
classes of live stock mentioned in this
article. AS silage crops may be planted
in Georgia and the other southeastern
states for the next three to three and
= half months. there is ample time in
which to produce enough of them 20
fill as many siios as we can possibly
build in the interim,
Various types of silos can be con-
structed, and even with the present
scarcity Of labor and materials, struc-
lures of this kind can be erected on
many farms at a comparatively small
cost. There is no form of building
which can be used for the preservation
of food in a highly palatable form to
greater advantage than the silo. 1t is
the one building on every farm which
will pay for itself the first year it is
used. a silo is not difficult to con-
struct or maintain. The feed needed
for the winter maintenance of live stock
can be preserved more cheaply and eff
fectively in a suitable silo than in any
other way. Their adaptability for use
in the southwest was long ago demon
strated. Every farmer who is inter-
ested in maintaining or handling live
stock and so trying to meet our national
needs at this time for an increased food
supply should therefore endeavor to
grow not only variety of crops suit
able for the silo, but erect one of these
silos in which TO preserve the crops in
question in the most desirable form.
Any one wishing information concerning
siIos can obtain the plans and specifi-
cations free of cost on application to
the State College of Agriculture, at
Athens.
The southeast is particularly fortu-
nate in the number and variety of crops
adapted for use in the silo. First of
all. corn alone may be used, and as
every one knows, it can be cultivated