Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1922-09-21
The Pit or Trench NiLO
By j. 6. HANEf, Agricultural Extension Department
International Harvester COMPANY.

will be uniform in other particulars
especially If the silo is carefully filled
When a silo Of a certain size is filled
it can be estimated very closely how
long it will feed, and how much one
may secure from it in the way of milk
growth, or fart.
The Cost of Silage
There are SO many features which
enter into the production of a crop,
and the cost of handling it, that it
would be quite impossible to put down
any set of figures which will definite
+ly answer this question. In this region
there is little question but that corr
must be grown in the rotation. The
cost of this would vary somewhat with
the necessity Of growing such a crop.
The items of cost would be rem on the
land, blowing, narrowing, seed and
seeding, cultivation, cutting, and fill
ing of the silo. The tonnage secured
per acre would be determined by very
many factors such as the variety of
the corn, seasonable conditions, fer
tility of the soil, etc.
There have been a great many es-
Inmates made of the actual cost of
silage per ton, and this of course
varies as all the other items which
enter into the cost. The figures vary
all the way from $3.50 to $500 per
ton. The actual cost of filling the
silos, after the crop has been grown
may vary from less than so cents to
slightly more than $1.00 per ton. As
a general thing, the larger the silo,
the less the cost per ton in filling.
This is doubtless because of the fact
that when the machines are once
started, and the crew at work, they
will accomplish more than in handling
a smaller job.
The Feeding Value of Silage
1t is also quite difficult to place an
actual feeding value upon silage, be-
cause this would vary with the kind of
material that was put into it. For
instance, if a large growing variety
of corn is used, which does not have
would PROFESSIONALLY be less feeding
value per ton than with a smaller
growing variety which would practic-
ally mature.
The question has often been asked
as to which would furnish the larger
feeding value per acre, a large grow
ing corr which does not have time to
mature but would produce a large
tonnage, or a small growing corn
which will mature, but produce only a
small tonnage. This question is so
asked in this region, that
for the purpose of getting further in
the question was put up to
half a dozen of the experiment sta
tions in the central part of the United
States. Not one of them was able to
definitely answer this question, but
the, general opinion was that a corr
the glazed stage before frost.
1t is also generally considered that
corn that is practically mature makes
a sweeter and more palatable silage.
Ordinarily, in figuring the value of
corn silage will be rated at
to SIS per ton, though it is quite evil
lent that if our small growing corns
are put into the silo when practically
mature, our silage will be worth a
great deal more than that, on account
If the fact that a large proportion of
he small corns will be ears. In fact,
samples weighed out have
shown as high as 40 per tent ears by
Such silage would undoubt-
sdly have several times the feeding
value of the large growing green
,orns, which would have practically
no mature grain in them.
The following table by Professor
Hacker, will give some idea of the
placed on silage at the Nebraska
Experiment Station:
One ton of silsge equals one ton of
beets.
Three and one-half tons of silage
EQUALS one ton of alfalfa hay.
Two and one-fourth IONS of silage
EQUALS one ton Of marsh hay.
Three and one-half tons of silage
EQUALS one ton Of prairie hay.
One-half ton Of silage equals one
Of pumpkins.
Below he gives his estimate of the
.ost of putting up silage and hay and
he number of cubic feet occupied by !
One ton of silage, cost 70 put up, So
'ents- !
One ton Of hay. cost to put up,
I1.5O.
One ton Of hay occupies 500 cubic
One ton OF silage occupies so cubic
'erf Il