Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-11-23

To assist farmers and stockmen in
feeding beef cattle economically dur
ing the coming winter specialists of
the United States Department of Agri-
culture point out the need for lib
eral use of roughage. The meat sit
uation in the United States requires
maximum of efficiency in feeding if
production is to be maintained in the
face of high costs for feed and labor.
Recommendations of the department
follow:
Economy should be the keynote in
production. However discretion must
be used so that economy will be con-
sistent with good gains. A ration
might be so economical as to merely
maintain the animal, but this would
not be economy, when gain in weight
was the object sought.
Greater Use of Cheaper Feeds.
AT the present time, when grain and
concentrates are so expensive, it is all
the more important that greater use
be made of cheaper feeds. The cheap
er feeds are those raised on the farm
and consist primarily Of roughages
Then, greater economy will depend up
on a greater use of roughag es, proper
ly balanced with some grain or protein
concentrate.
1t should be borne in mind that
balanced ration is not necessarily the
most economical A ration having a
nutritive ration of 1.6 might produce
the greatest daily gains on two-year-
old steer, yet, it might show better
judgment and more profit to feed a
ration with a ratio of Is, produced by
utilization of a greater amount of
cheaper roughages, and a lesser
amount of high-priced concentrates.
The practice of feeding high-priced
feeds, and not making a full use of
| roughages, is quite general throughout
the corn belt. In some of the middle
western states, very little straw is
used for feed, but practically all for
bedding. Quite often the cattle are
allowed TO run around the straw stack,
resulting in a waste of at Least 80
per cent of the straw. Straw, as dry
roughage, forms a very prominent
place in a ration for cattle, either in
the fattening lot OF when fed to stock
ers and feeders.
In some sections of Indiana cat
and wheat straw make up the entire
dry r0ughage for the greater part of
the feeding period. In certain parts
Of Nntar cylr xr-hn nj Fol ic
duced abundantly, the straw is used
only for bedding. Even where alfalfa
hay is fed, cattle will eat more or less
of good straw, if they have access to
it. 1t is good idea to keep some
straw before them. Let the cattle
bedding.
Waste Mo Straw.
Now is good time to look at your
straw stack Trim up the stack by rak-
ing down the sides and properly top
ping so as to shed the fall rains. By
spending day ON your straw stacks
now you will save many a ton of
straw which can be used in repla cling
considerable expensive hay next Win
ter.
In some states most of the corn is
cut. shocked, and husked out by hand
later in the season. Why not let a
shredder do the husking and have a
roughage left, the greater part of
which will be relished by the cattle?
The shredded fodder, which is refused
by the cattle, makes one of the very
best bedding materials.
Corn fodder, while it is a good
roughage, is not an economical one
There is very large waste in
handling. A large percentage of the
leaves are lost, and the corn itself is
about all the cattle get from the en-
tire corn plant. Run your fodder
through a shredder, feed the ear corn
separately, and the greater part of the
corn plant will be utilized. Corn fod-
der, however. can be used advanta-
geously at the beginning of the feeding
period in the fall or early winter.
Range cattle that have never seen corn
or grain of any kind can be put on
feed more rapidly by starting on green
or cured corn fodder. This kind of
cattle will begin nibbiing at the leaves
and gradually get to eating the corn.
On the other hand, If ear corn was
placed before them it would be days
before they would Abegin to eat it.
The use Of legume hays. where
grown on the farm, will obviate the
use of high-prieed protein concen-
trates. Good hay. however, is high
priced and should be fed in such
way as TO avoid any waste.
Corn stalks in the field, after the
corn has been removed, should be util
lied by turning sufficient number Of
cattle on them to clear them up COM
pletely before severe winter and SHOWS
come
Protect Contents OF SiIo.
The most important roughage, so
far as economical beef production is
concerned, is yet to be mentioned, and
that is silage. Silage is no longer
cheap feed, but in the strictest sense
of the word there is no cheap feed.
Silage is worth at the present time
from SO TO s13 ton, depending upon
local labor conditions and upon the