Value of Ensilage

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1040, 2 August 1930, Page 27

Value of Ensilage

Proved in Recent Cold Spell

rIE past v eek has been one of the coldest experienced in the Auckland Province for many years. In spite of this, however, stock are reported to be standing up to the inclement weather conditions exceptionally well.

Reports from all parts of the produce during the week have indicated ,hat, although the weather has been jtensely cold, and, although snow has alien in many parts, stock generally. ,re not going back as much as might jars been reasonably expected. For lie most part, dairymen are well jiocked up with reserves of ensilage, and this is enabling them to make up dr the shortage of pasture which, tren fertilisers and light stocking, could not counteract in face of the ,old weather of the past month which as cut down everything before it. j The wisdom of placing pasture stir■loses of the early summer into the 1 disilage stack has been shown very dearly during the past winter, when [lere have been few farmers who have iot welcomed the chance of drawing a supplementary fodder. It is only iperiences such as those of recent teeks which bring home to the man m the land the folly of working from Sand to mouth and relying only on :op-dressing to carry the stock ilrough. Last summer’s harvest of nsilage constituted a record for la province; this summer it is constantly expected that even more will W saved. The argument used against supplementary crops such as turnips, uangolds or pumpkins, that they do not pay for the ploughing in and resowing of the pastures when compared itth top-dressing, cannot be applied to the saving of ensilage. There should b«no well run farm of any size In the province which does not have a surplus of grass in the early summer, and it ia this surplus that can be saved quite economically and placed in the ensilage stack. Nine cases out of ten [ls farm benefits by the cutting of the juture. There Is no doubt that by a rational programme of top-dressing rotational piling, and the placing of surplus

fodder in the ensilage stack, a farmer can go a long way toward getting the most out of his holding. The present spell of cold weather will do little real harm to the country, unpleasant though it may seem at the moment. For one thing, the land is getting more or less of a “rest” and that does no-t do any harm, particularly in these days of forced production; for another, the cold must do much to kill off many of the parasites which tend to attack plant life. Indications are that the coming spring will be one of prolific growth, and that in the early summer, unless farmers adopt the idea of cutting all surplus feed for ensilage, difficulty will be experienced in keeping pastures under control.