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Show SUGAR BEET TOPS By E. J. MAYNARD. in determining the value of pastur-! ed tops.. Two-year-old steers pastured' under ideal weather conditions re- j quired tops from only six tons of beets and 317 pounds of alfalfa hay to produce 100 pounds of gain. The next fall, with severe storms, it took the tops from 24 tons of beets and 2,137 pounds of alfalfa to produce pro-duce like gains. In a series of three tests, including two good and one bad years, at the Colorado station it payed best to haul the tops and feed in dry lot, but with normally only one bad fall out of five or six, it would be cheaper from the feed value standpoint to pasture. It undoutedly pays to pile tops in the field, good weather or bad, but pasturing pas-turing or feeding in dry lot is still a ' matter of preference. Tops ensiled in a trench silo were fed to cattle at the station for several years. They spoiled spoil-ed easily, caused scouring and did not give general satisfaction. Tops stacked with thin layers of straw have produced a juicy, palatable palat-able feed that has given good results in the fattening ration. There has been practically no waste with tops stacked in six-inch layers and with two-inch layers of loose straw between. be-tween. Tops stacked fairly green have produced the best silage. Fairly dry tops may charr in the stack. Cattle consume both tops and straw if straw is not used too extensively. About 70 per cent of the weight of the beet is represented by the green top, which is composed of about 25 per cent crown and 75 per cent green leaves. This top has an average moisture content of about 85 per cent when first cut. It is thrown into windrows wind-rows when the beet is topped and from then on its moisture content and nutritive value depends largely on weather conditions and methods used in handling it. In many cases much of the feeding value is lost. Gathering Ga-thering the tops from the windrows into small piles in the field insures against much loss caused by trampling, tramp-ling, drying, scattering and blowing, while, the piled tops, if covered with snow, are readily found whether they are to be pastured in the field or hauled and fed in dry loti As a rule, they cure well if piles are not larger than an inverted wash tub. Beet tops may be stacked with thin layers of straw or may be ensiloed. Neither method is used to any extent at present and most tops are pastured pas-tured in the field or hauled and fed in dry lot. Beet top silage like alfafa silage spoils quickly when exposed to air, and unless it is fed very carefully care-fully causes considerable scouring. Tops stacked with straw have been stored very satisfactorily but more work to determine relative feeding value is needed. The ordinary white mold that forms on stacked tops is harmless. In feeding tests conducted at the experiment stations, it has not killed guinea pigs, rabbits, sheep or cattle. Sugar beet tops are usually fed to range livestock during the fall months in the early part of the fattening fat-tening period. They return a much higher value when pastured or fed with proper supplemental feeds than when pastured pastur-ed or fed alone. Because of the possible variation in moisture content during the feeding season, they are generally considered in terms of tops per ton of beets produced. The tops from 14 ton of bets, if there is little or no waste, will furnish feed for 1,000 lambs for one day. If lambs have access to stubble stub-ble land, then the tops from seven tons of beets and one and one-half acres of alfalfa stubble and small grain stubble should , carry 1,000 lambs for one day. Lambs pastured or fed on tops and roughage will gain from fifteen-tenths fifteen-tenths to two-tenths pounds per head daily. In good weather lambs pastured pastur-ed on tops have made heavier and cheaper gains than lambs fed tops in dry lot. If tops are hauled and fed in dry lot, it is not good practice to feed them through panels. Lambs pull many through and trample and waste them. It is best to scatter over clean straw in the pen just what the lambs will clean up each day. The tops from a ton of beets fed with grain and alfalfa will replace about 20 pounds of grain and 100 pounds of alfalfa, provided there are no tops wasted. According to general feed prices then, tops would be worth from 50 cents to $1.00 per ton of beets produced. pro-duced. The feeder purchasing tops allows al-lows for loss due to possible weather conditions, consequently, tops rarely sell for over 50 cents per ton of beets; produced. Weather conditions are a big factor |