THE WEEK

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27410, 24 July 1954, Page 5

THE WEEK

HAY AND SILAGE Recent American work on the feed value of hay and silage were quoted by Mr H. C. Mclntosh, Dairy Board consulting officer, to farmers at the silage field day last week. The figures were arrived at by the Beltsville research station, one of the leading agricultural institutions in the United States after exhaustive tests on silage, on hay made in good weather without rain, and on hay which had rain on it during curing. The tests showed that where dry matter in the standing crop was 100, the figure for silage was 84, for dry hay 75, and for wet hay 60. For protein the figures were 84 for silage, 69 for dry hay, and 49 for wet hay. For carotene, silage gave a figure of 28 as against 100 for the standing crop, dry hay gave a figure of 3, and wet hay 1. THE ILL WIND “Growth of pasture and greenfeed crops continued throughout June because of the warm soil conditions, and this has reduced supplementary hay and silage feeding,” Dr. M. M. Burns, director, reported to the Board of Governors of Lincoln College at its July meeting. “Soil conditions have also favoured continued feeding by grass grub and porina, with the result that it was necesary to topdress seven pastures on the College farms with D.D.T.” Dr Burns said that cultivation was well up to date except deep ploughing of old pasture. Subsoil conditions were very dry and this ploughing had been purposely delayed in anticipation of rain to make it easier and more effective. “Notwithstanding the weather in the near future, postponement of this work cannot continue very much further into July,” he said.