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Show County Agent's Department j , I I By E. J. MAYNARD SUGAR BEET TOPS Sugar beet tops properly cured have a definite fattening value according ac-cording to feeding tests conducted at several agricultural experiment stutions. At the Scotts Bluff experiment ex-periment station in western Nebraska Nebras-ka lambs fattened on grain and alfalfa gained 30.2 pounds while lambs fattened on grain, alfalfa and cured beet tops gained 34.8 pounds in the same length of time. In these experiments the tops from 16 tons of beets or, in other words, an acre of beet tops, replaced a ton of alfalfa hay and 491- pounds of grain. With alfalfa at $10 per ton and grain at 80 cents per cwt., the tops from an acre of of beets had a feed replacement value equal to $13.92. When it is planned ' to pasture tops in the field they may be cured properly by gathering them in small piles in the field. This practice prac-tice protects them from . being trambled into the ground and makes them available incase of a light covering of snow. In case it is desired to fall plow the beet land, the tops should be stacked near the feed lot by making alternate layers of tops and straw. In stacking tops with straw a layer of about 6 or 8 inches of tops from 10 to 14 feet wide is covered with two or three inches of loose straw and- the stack is built 10 to 12 feet high with alternate alter-nate layers of tops and straw. Best results are secured when the tops are fairly green when, stacked. The moisture in the tops permeates the straw and makes a very palatable ind nutritious feed. A feeding surface is maintained by cutting the stacked tops from one end of the compost with an ordinary or-dinary hay knife. Tops stacked in this manner may be kept in good condition and will furnish a good feed supply late into the spring. Beet- tops nave a high ash content con-tent containing such valuable minerals min-erals as potassium, sodium, mag- nesium, chlorin, sulphuric acid, silica and phosprlc acid which should not be taken away from the land. Because of this high ash content con-tent it is often advocated that tops be plowed under after the beets are topped in order to maintain the fertility of the soil, but this practice is not, economical when livestock can be fed and the manure returned to the. land. , , ' Because of their high mineral content, it is better to feed a limited quantity of beet, tops along with grain and hay than to attempt to pasture them alone. With a very conservative estimate that an acre of tops fed properly is equal to a. ton of alfalfa the saving especially in a .year when alfalfa is scarce and high priced is self evident. Beet tops properly curedj and fed can be made to replace thousands of tons of alfalfa in Utah this winter. |