SHEEP FEED

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 10 December 1927, Page 12

SHEEP FEED

SUNFLOWERS RECOMMENDED.

AS BETTER THAN CORN.

In digestion experiments with sheep, conducted by Jerry Sotola of the depatment of animal husbandary at the State Agricultural College, Pullman, Wash., it has been found that under average conditions an acre of sunflowers grown for silage will produce much more digestible nutrients than an aere of corn Tho results show that 2763 pounds of total digestible nutrients were secured from 4868 pounds of sunflower silage taken from an acre while 2372 pounds were contained in 3538 pounds of corn silage obtained from an equal area. These figures were taken on the dry matter basis. At the Washington experiment station. Pullman, sunflower yielded 12 tons of green feed per acre, while corn grown on adjacent fields produced only six and seven-tenths tons. As many as thirty and forty tons of green sunflowers have been produced from plantings of the Mammoth Russian on irrigated fields. Due to their unusually large yield and-because they make both nutritious and palatable feed, sunflowers are favoured among stockmen as a silage crop, Sotola contends. This is especially true in sections whore corn does not grow well, due to either high altitude, cold nights or a short growing season varies in length from 72 to ninety days. Sunflowers are handled in a manner similar to corn. Most satisfactory yields are reported when rows nre drilled eighteen inches apart and the seed planted six inches deep under irrigation. Rows should be 36 inches apart under dry land conditions.’’