Laurel outlook., 1945-02-28
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Feedd and
Succeed
BY JACK MAYNARD
NM6MNNN6NN66
BEET TOP SILAGE YIELDS
AND VALUE

Lore Og1lvle, pungent Denver o
scribe on matters agricultural, once
made the simple statement, "When
a certain agricultural practice has
become widespread and persists
drought the years it is generally
sound regardless of how much
theoretical opposition it may pro-
voke." His contention was that
mans average analysis was general
ly too biased and superficial to per-
ceive values that would become evil
dent if the practice were discon-
tinued.
Such has been the agricultural
practice of growing sugar beets and
~fattening livestock on beet by-pro-
ducts in the irrigated areas of this
intermountain region over a period
of some 40 years. Today the real
volume of livestock feeding in the
west is largely limited to these
beet growing areas because of the
economy in the beet by-products
fed with grain and hay. Many a
farmer has never fully realized the
replacement value of his beet tops
until he has been forced to get
along without them and to count
their absence in the dollars and
cents cost of the other feeds need
ed to replace thin.
Through the years and especially
during recent times there have been
decided agricultural Improvements in
the production of the beet crop with
still more in the immediate offing.
There have also been notable i'm
provements in the handling and feed
ing of the by-products. None of
these has been more effective than
the increased production and use of
beet TOW silage. Made from tops
sliced "green and c%lean," above
ground or in trench silos this sue
culent fattening feed has proved
equally valuable for lambs or cat
tie. :
For those who care to study some
practical examples of the actual
feeding value of tops in the form of
the following figures derived
a recent tour of feed lots near
Greeley and Eaton, Colo, may prove
of special interest. With a 1866
ton acre yield of beets there was
and average production of 5h tons
fed beet top silage per acre or al
average of $50 pounds produced per
of beets grown on the Reuben
Lebsack. farm near Lucerne. With
a 1888 ton acre yield of beets on
the Fred Seilbach farm there was
average production of about 5
IONS per acre or 725 pounds of top
silage per ton of beets. With a
yield of 1876 tons of beets, Folke
A. Johnson of La Sale averaged
'.25 tons of fed silage per acre or
ISL pounds per ton of beets while
Iohn Greenwalt with a yield of
,3.77 tons of beets on sandy ground
Produced a tons of top silage per
lcre or $40 pounds of fed silage
Der ton of beets.
With the customary variations in
,ield, depending on present methods
# gathering tops and making sill
Ige per acre or $40 pounds of fed
ilage per tons of beets.
With the customary variations in
fields, depending on present meth
dis of gathering tops and making
the average estimated yield
f fed silage produced from the
ops per ton of beets was SGT
'ounds in the above examples men,
The value of beet top sill
ge per ton as indicated by the
experiment station is 111%
hat of corn silage.
Many farmers who in the last few
ears have learned the true value of
eet top silage are looking forward
0 the day when mechanical harvest
RS will assist them in getting the
aluable nutrients contained in the
eet tops put into silage at the
anne time they harvest the root
rop. Experience of practical COM
lercial feeders is that very few
growing beets realize the
tremendous feed value contained in
Dps when properly conserved as
ilage. By using the basic value
nat the Colorado station secured
| comparison with corn silage, it
easy to estimate the value of
lage from an acre of bee tops.