MAKING OF ENSILAGE.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 September 1922, Page 8

MAKING OF ENSILAGE.

ADDRESS BY MR. J. W. DEEM. SOME VALUABLE ADVICE. There was a good attendance at Tikornngi on Friday afternoon, when Mr. J. W. Deem (field instructor for the Department of Agriculture) met the settlers for discussion on the question of ensilage making. Keen interest on this subject was shown by those present, and both instructor and the farmers were well satisfied with the meeting. Mt. Deem visited five of the ensilage stacks that had been made during last season in the district, and gave a general criticispi. sometimes favorable, sometimes the reverse, as the case warranted on the methods adopted. Generally speaking. Mr. Deem expressed himself more than satisfied with the quality of the ensilage he inspected. In most cases, he considered the quality really good, but here and there he found that the stack ha/cl become slightly overheated, and although the quality was not by any means spoilt, with a little more .attention /to that matter an improvement could be made! The stacks appeared to reo.uirc more attention as regards outside waste, and Mr. Deem advised settlers, when making their stacks to hare a hay-knife handy, when they would obtain a much firmer surface for laying timber, earth, etc., for covering the stack. The quantity cut off each day could be thrown back on the stack, and that would come to ensilage. By doing this, they would find that they would curtail the waste a lot. The best time to cut for ensilage was when the grass was in flower, oats when the grain was in the doughy stage: r-eas when the nod formed. Good grass and c’ovpts made splendid ensilage, and was often far more easier and economically obtained than peas, oats, etc. As regards stacking, ho advised reaching to a helebt of about six feet the first, day and then, generally sneaking, he would spell a day. and then continue daily until the job was done. He did not think it necessary to let the first lot'wilter a litt’e before making a start, except with. say. very green material, such as the first cut of lucerne. Generally, our grasses were sufficiently drv to do without wiltcring. If thev were at all doubtful, take the temperature and if it reached 130 thev could go on to 150. hut must pile, the material on quicker and kill the heat. As regards a round ctnei- he had never w-’de one. Imt h" 1 knew of settlers who had good results, and possibly it ndght minimise the wa«tn. but Im preferred a stack nearly square. As regards sour and evvoet silage, one was perhaps as good ns the other, but the sour was more obnoxious to vnrk: in fact, even our own kind kept away if they had much '.o do with sour silage However, the cattle were very fond of It and did well on it. The time was coming when root crops would be grown less: swedes were a verv expensive cron to grow with the diseases they had to erntend with. With good silage, the farmer reed not bqther with swedes, hut he liked to hnvr some carrots, say to last ;o August and then hv that time mangolds should be well ripened, and they would carry on until the grass came. Salt greatly improved sitage. and it would renuire about 4 Ih to 6 lb tn the ton. end salt, as thev nil knew, was very hcimfiefal to stock. He found that sufficient earth had been placed on the stacks, bur. peHinns on some nnt nuite soon enough. Ouestioned as to whether it was necessary to have ront crops stmh as mangolds and r.ar- ’ rots. Mr. Deem said that no doubt with siloge tlmv could do without either, but he liked I ron-e n’l the same. At tlm same time, h’ knew farmers who never had either, and thev got along well without them. He did not think It was neccssarv to hav P hay with it, bv‘ here again he liked a little, tut ‘here

was no doubt, silage, such as he had inspected that day was a good . On silage, calving trouble was practically unknown, and he mentioned a case of his own knowledge where the same number were tried three seasons, one lot on hay and the others silage, arid the latter were easily the best. Respecting waste, he thought if they did as he said,, they would cut that out a lot, and they must, all admit there was often a lot of waste in hay. Ensilage had everything to recommend it. Some people said it was hard work; it was so, but still It was pleasant, and weather.conditions did not worry the farmer. Questioned as to whether it was better to open the whole stack, or cut the silage out in sections!'Mr Deem said he favored the latter. < Certainly the air did penetrate where cut, Isjit taking from- the cut he thought ybu wotfid lose -a little unless one. could take soml? - al? oYer thestnclc every day or so. ,The best stay to-'get earth was to dig a space around the' stack and then refill again when -.he earth'. was ■ removed. He thought In time silagp would he more general, and although with soft ttWnips DTohahlv’ rows may give a little .more. milk, he thought they would be in better condition on silage. In the early summer the graSg got away well ,and could , ■ cut, otherwise it would be walte, and thus the farlner would turn waste into a very profitable proposition. —Mail.