Ensilage.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 27 April 1910, Page 4

Ensilage.

AS COMPARED WITH OTHER ROUUHAGE. Professor A. L. Haecker of the Nebraska Agricultural College, estimates the feeding value of corn ensilage as follows:—One ton of ensilage equal to one ton sugar beets. Three tons of ensilage equal one ton clover hay. Three and one half tons of ensilage equal oim ton alfalfa bay. Two ami one-fourth tons of ensil ago equal one ton marsh hay. Threw and one half tons of ensilage equal one ton prairie ibay. One half ton of ensilage equals oik* ton pumpkins. Uelow he gives his estimates of the cost of putting up ensilage and hav and the number of cubic feet occupied by each. One ton of ensilage cost to put up 2s 7jd, one ton of hay cost to put up Gs 3d, one ton of ensilage occupies 50 cubic feet, ono ton of hav occupies 500 cubic feet. To this statement he adds tlio following :— It will be seen that ten times more spn.ee is required for bay than ensilage, and I do not believo it possible to construct even a olieip hay sited, to say nothing of a bar.i, for the price required to store the same quantity of ensilage. With the ordinary hay loft in n good dairy barn, the cost of storage space would be three times that of the silo. The table a'lso gives a comparison between the cost of harvesting corn silage as compared with hay. It will be seen that corn ensilage can be put up for almost one-third the cost of hay. These figures do not allow for interest on money invested in machinery or storage. While hay is about three times richer ir food elements, it is still an expensive roughage as compared with ensilage. Until the feeder can find a food equal to corn silage for even twi'-e the cost, lie had better seriously consider the silo. Under present, conditions, T believe that one-fourth of nil the farmers keeping stock in the corn belt will find tbo silo in economic equipment. An acre of cr>rn put in the silo T value nt .fillwhile the same corn standing in the field and husked in tlio usual manner T value at £» Bs. This is ncc/Minting for all cost of harvesting. Then an in the silo is worth two in the field, or. putting it another ivnv, the silo doubles' the valin o® the corn oiwn.