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Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 2, 25 August 1931, Page 5

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POINTS FARMERS SHOULD CONSIDER. 'j AN EXCELLENT INSURANCE. Speaking to a farmers' meeting in Wanganui Mr. C. M. Hume, Fedrera-^ tion Supervisor of the Dominion Group Herd Testing Association, presented a very strong case for the use of ensilage. He stated that about Wanganui ensilage was known and use d, "'but in some parts it was not yet thought of. In the Waikato haymaking was difkcult, and ensilage was very popular. The speaker said it enabled grass ■ to be kept in the leaf stage, and as such it was equal to the best concen- i trated foods. Grass should never be allowed to get beyond the leaf stage if the full nutritive value were to be secure'd. It was almost impossible to make a really poor quality ensilage, and it was going to play an important part as a fodder in the future of dairy farming in New Zealand. Its j value was also now recognised by 1 sheepfarmers. Mr. Hume said he preferred the | silage trench as it provided the op- I portunity for the necessary consolidation by permitting the driving of the horses an.d sweeps through the trench as it was being filled and also permitted easy carting out. Silage possessed the f ollowing advantages : — It provided a high-class succulent fodder for any period of the year. For winter feeding it is cheaper than roots and is as efficient a food except under special cireumstances. Dairy cows yield no gre.ater produce from soilage than silage. When crops are properly ensilaged less of the nutrients are wasted through the process than are lost when the foliage is eut for hay. Silage from coarse plants is eaten practically without waste. Crops may be ensilaged when the weather does not permit hay making. Koughage may be utilised as stoclc -food. Weed seeds are destroyed when they have gone through the ensilage process. Silage can be stored in a smaller space than hay. Silage can be made from all fodder plants that stock are allowed to eat. Silage is safe from birds, vermin and fire. Crops may be saved at their best and pastures kept in good condition. Silage is the best insurance a farmer can have.