Smyrna times., 1963-06-27
ANgaENcE TALK
khHL with George K. Yupua
AlE V Kent County Agricultural Agent

The five-pound liquid FED
group gained the same amount.
The three-pound dry fed pigs
gained .8o pound per day and
the three-pound liquid fed pigs
gained .8S pound per day.
There was some negligible
difference in the experiment In
which self-feeding was used.
The nquid-fed groups in this
case made smaller daily gains
than did the dry-fed pigs.
Dry-fed lot No. l gained an
average of liz pounds per
day. Liquid-fed lot No. 2gained
l.5o pounds. Lot No. l re-
quired BIS pounds of feed per
pound gained, and lot No. 2 re-
quired 3.34 pounds of feed per
pound gained.
While ms experiments tend
to offer no strong case for
liquid feeding, Clawson pointed
out that they are not conclusive.
He added that tests conducted
elsewhere have tended to sup
port liquid feeding over dry.
These, too, are inconclusive,
however.
%**&+%&&***##*&*
REDUCING LIVESTOCK
FEEDING labor costs is on the
minds of many livestock-men
today. This is especially true of
beef cattle producers. Many of
them are using horizontal silos
either the trench or bunker type.
Some have had success with
self-feeding from horizontal
silos.
Success with a horizontal silo
is dependent on the following,
says Tom King, Penn State live
stock specialist:
LOCATION Locate where 1t
is convenient to remove silage
daily or for cattle to self-feed.
Don't locate where surface
water from the surrounding
area will drain into the silo.
1t should be partially sheltered
from prevailing winds, espec-
tally If cattle are self lf-feeding.
Sometimes snow drifting is a
problem. The feeding surface
should be wide enough to allow
about one-fifth of the cattle to
eat at time.
FLOOR AND SIDES Solid
floor is absolutely necessary.
Too many trench silos become
quagmire In wet weather. Earth
sides on trench silos can crm-
BILE away. Sooner or later most
owners construct permanent
sides on their trenches.
PRESERVATION Proper
fermentation makes good 81
age. Pack forage Immediately.
Silage quality may be de-
termined within a few hours
after ensiling. Running a tractor
in all directions repeatedly over
the forage is probably the
easiest way to exclude the air.
silage has some advant-
ages over direct-cut silage, but
air from wilted sill
age is more difficult than with
silage. This places
more emphasis on rapid filling
and packing.
SURF ACE COVER AND
LEACHlNG-- Much loss occurs
when too much surface is ex-
posed to the air and ret. and
snow leach away nutrients.
USDA researchers found that
stlage saved by covering with
some of the modern plastic
sheetings was about three times
what the tight cover cost.
Covers we're weighted with saw
dust all over and with rail-
road ties at the edges.
*+**********&*&*
UNLIMITED FEEDING of all
dairy cows In a herd is gener-
ally not profitable, a US. De-
parunent of Agriculture scien-
list said last week.
If cows are fed. individually
according to their production,
a few might justify extra ra-
lions, Norman W. Hooven, Jr.,
Of USDA's Agricultural Re-
search Service told the Ameri-
can Dairy Science Association,
a meeting at Purdue
University.
In studies at Beltsville, Md,
MIR. Hooven and DR.. Ronald D.
Plowman found that a group of
cows on unlimited feed pro-
duced about the same amount
of milk as a group fed a con-
trolled amount. But they ate
more feed, gained more weight,
and converted feed to milk less
efficiently.
The AIRS dairy husbandmen
studied TWO groups of cows
during their second lactauons.
The cows selected for this test
had produced nearly the same
amount of milk during their
first lactation when fed rations
that met their requirements for
maintenance and production.
During this test, one group
was fed an unlimited ration
of grain, hay and silage. The
other group was fed similarly