Show I. I 4 Cost and Value of Corn Silage Conclusively Proven That Product in Ration Makes Big Rig Saving l must know know the cost of ot their feeds In order to determine I the best and most economical rations For this reason It Is necessary to investigate Investigate Iny In In- y the cost of ot making silage writes A. A I I. I L. L Haecker In the Iowa Homestead The Missouri Agricultural Agricultural I tural college last year ear showed a n cost of ot per ton for corn silage The They based this on the bushel yield creditIng creditIng credit- credit Ing lug the corn with 94 cents per bushel and charging actual costs which were liberal on all Items and above the i average now nom paid i f During the past 25 years many of ot 5 our experiment stations have ha published pub pub- lashed figures on cost of ot producing r silage but as conditions have ha radl radl- r call cally changed In costs these figures are of little value ulue at the present time It Is hoped that n new w fi figures res on this subject may be secured this year and that special care will be taken to give gt data produced on average farms Ways of Figuring There are two principal ways of ot figuring cost One Is based bused on the yield Iel i of ot corn corn which is the most common common com com- mon man mon and I believe the least reliable the other is based on land rental and actual actual cost of ot growing and acid harvesting the crop Thirty per cent of last years year's corn that went Into the sUo would not have made murl marketable grain due to the fact that it lacked maturity Frequently a field of cornat corn cornat cornat at at time Is so damaged by hot winds that the tho silk is dried diled or burned and the corn will fail fall to ear car Such a crop will still make silage f though It Is a n total failure as vas a grain crop Wl Where re the basis Is made mado on onland onland onland land rental and all costs a n more accurate accurate accurate ac ac- ac- ac curate accounting can be made Un Under r present day conditions it Is safe to conclude that silage can be ma made e where all costs are considered for tal from 5 to C G per ton Ion The following following fol fol- lowing figures may be used to der determine de de- r termine the worth of at silage e under good farm conditions When Whim butter butterfat fat Is selling for 45 cents per pel pound corn silage will bring the dalr dairy farmer 10 lo per ton and when fat steers are s selling for 9 G to 10 per hundredweight hundredweight hundred hundred- weight corn silage Is worth from 7 to 8 S per ton Then a farmer with kith a aBilo asilo asilo silo Bilo and a fair tall yield of crop can receive receive re re- e ceI a value from rom his corn made Into silage of 70 iO to 80 un an acre when fed to steers and when fed to good dairy cows Makes Big Saving It has hus been conclusively ely proven that silage in the ration makes a saving of considerable money With dairy animals the feeding of at sll silage g saves from 8 to 15 cents on the cost of producing producing pro pro- a pound of ot butter and from 30 to 50 GO cents on producing pounds of milk For beef beet production or fattening of animals the saving produced by silage silage Is is about 1 per pounds gain When we consider the growing of ot young oung stock the fredIng feeding feeding feed feed- fred fred- ing of dl dry cows and heifers heifer the wintering wintering wintering win win- of work horse horses and mules the silo becomes a necessity on the stock farm If there must be invariably a second second second sec sec- 1 ond thought should it be Invariably Is Is this common sense |