The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-08-23
THE SILO AS FARM WARTIME
EQUIPMENT IN ST. FRANCOIS
COUNTY

The silo is now recognized as war;
time institution, for it aids the far
mer in large and helpful way in
meeting the country's need.
1t is estimated that from 80 to 35
per cent OF the feeding value of the
corn is in the stalk and leaves. In
this time of agricultural preparedness,
the possibilities of the silo as menas
Of conserving the food supply looms
( high. 1t not only saves the entire
corn plant and turns it into a valuable
feed, but insures supply during the
winter when other feeds are scarce
and higi in price. 1t will not be pos
sible, nor perhaps desirable, to feed
all the corn crop through the silo an
other year. However, farmers
should plan to utilize a larger part of
the crop than they have used hereto
fore. The farmer will be rendering
real service to the country when he
utilities the corn crop in the produc-
ton of meat and dairy products.
Experiments conducted by exper-
iment stations demonstrate that silage
is superior to corn fodder for dairy
cows. Cows receiving silage in the
ration produced Is percent more milk
than cows receiving corn fodder.
Henry III Feeds and Feeding, atates
that, "Silage gives better results than
dry corn fodder for the reason that
cows fed the succulent, palatable sill
age usually consume heavier ration
than those fed the dry fodder and
hence ave larger amount of mt
rients available for milk production
otter the maintenance requirments of
the body have been met"
The Purdue University Animal Hus-
bandry Department states that corn
silage is, without doubt, he most &C.
onomical roughage ever used for feed
ing the cattle at Purdue University |
The extensive use of this roughage for
the wintering and fattehing of c;ttle |
will do more to keep the beef cattle in |
dustry on a thriving basis than my
other one factor. The addition of |
one-half feed of silage to ration Of |
corn, cotton seed meal and hay re-
duced the cost of gain $1.09 pei hun
dred pounds, on an average of five |
trials with fattening cattle. The adj
dition of silage twice daily to re-
ton of corn, cotton-seed meal and hay, |
on an average of four trials reduced |
the cost of gain $1.70 per hundred !
pounds. Every acre of corn put into
the silo has returned practically twice
as much as the same acre would have
returned had it not been so preserved.
In tests conducted by the Purdue
Experiment Station it was found that
when cattle were fed a ration of corn,
corn slower and oat straw, 10 pounds
Of corn were required to produce .
pound of beef. A second carload Of
cattle fed corn, corn silage, cotton
seed meal and clover hay, required
only seven pounds of corn for pound
of gain. While the cotton-seed meal
and clover hay added protein to the
ration of the second lot and thus in
creased its value, yet at the same
time, the corn silage was a big fac
tor in reducing the amount of grain
necessary for the increased gains.
If the silo makes it possible to Sc
cure larger amount Of meat from
one hundred pounds of corn, then pa
triotic farmer sllor,d employ the bet,
ter method and secure the largest
of pounds of food stuffs from
every acre of corn grown.
A silo also increases the life-stoci;
of the farm. Using the
eight-year cattle-feeding data from
the Purdue Experiment Station, it is
calculated that the acres needed to
grow the feed for a two-year-old
steer for $50 days could be decreased
20 to 10 per cent by the use of silage
in the ration. In feeding carload Of
20 steers, it required approximately
38 ga acres to grow the feed needed
for $50 days, when corn, oil meal. cat
straw and slower were fed. Thirty
five acres were required when corn
and clover hay were fed, while only
% acres were used when corn, cotton
seed meal, clover hay and silage was
the ration. If a balanced ration in
Guiding silage will decrease the
amount of land by more than IA acres
in the feeding of carload Of steers,
surely livestock feeders at this time
should be willing to adopt this ration.
Just the other day farmer in this
county who has silo, said he didn't
believe he would fill his silo this year
because corn was worth too much.
a n ID II X n t ~ 3 4lH ftr.