Imperial Valley press., 1929-06-08
BY V. w. DE TAR
Farm Advisor

Now is the time for Imperial
county dairymen to decide whether
they wish to feed silage next winter
The most popular silage crop in this
county is honey sorghum and the
best planting date for this crop is
the early part of June.
Many Imperial county dairymen
have never used silage and therefore
are not well acquainted with its
value. Il is a fact though, that GER
tain Imperial county dairymen have
used silos for several years, and
without exception they consider
silage a valuable dairy feed for this
district
The use of a silo offers many ad
vantages to dairymen. Some of these
are: lD \ silo will prevent feed
shortage. (2t Silage will assist in
balancing the dairy ration. (3) y
silo makes it possible to keep more
stock per acre. a. Silagc replaces
pasture during rainy weather or
when pasture is short. 90 a silage
crop rotated with alfalfa makes it
possible for the dairy to remain con
tinuously ON one farm.
The value Of silage as dairy feed
is shown by dairy cost accounts kept
in this county during the past three
years. These records were kept by
Imperial county dairymen in coope-
ration with the Agricultural Exten-
sion Service. They show that during
1926, 1927 and 1928, those dairymen
who fed silage earned larger farm
income per cow than did those dairy
men who fed no silage. In 1926 this
difference was $43.85 per cow, in
1927 it was $2S.6l per COW, and in
1928 it was $j3.il per COW. This
represents an average difference of
$4l.sJ per COW. This means that a
80 COW dairy which was fed silage
earned an average of $l2Jj more
farm income per year than 30 cow
dairy which was fed no silage. These
figures indicate that it pays to feed
silage.
Records Of the Imperial County
cow testing association also indicate
that silage is a good dairy feed in
Imperial county. During 1928 two
Of The three highest producing herds
III the cow testing association were
fed silagc. and several of the high
est producing COWS and first calf
heifers were fed silage. Since only
five Of the - herds included in this
report were fed silage, this would in
dicate silage resulted in higher pro-
duction.
Many dairymcn recognize the val
uc Of silage as a dairy feed, but they
feel that they cannot afford to build
"A silo. 1t is true that a 100 ton
cement stave silo will cost approx
mately $3.50, but is also true that a
100 ton dirt walled trench silo will
cost only about $50 to 500. 1t is
possible. therefore, TO grow a silage
crop, build such trench silo and fill
il with silage and have the total
cost not more than $3.50 per ton of
silage stored. Silage at this price
is equivalent to alfalfa hay at $l4
per loIl anu 10, lucifAOiti not an
expensive feed. These trench sdos
have now been used in this county
for two years and it has been demon
strated that they are quite satisfac-
tory If they are properly built and
some care is used to have the silage
well packed and we'll covered. 1t
seepls reasonable, therefore, that
even dairymen who are renting can
afford to build this type of silo and
thus have the advantages which sill
age affords.
As | have already stated, honey
sorghum is the most popular silage
crop in this county, and the best
planting date for this crop is the
early part Of June. Honey sorghum