The Bulletin 55 



This is an important consideration in preparing silage. The only objection 

 to corn for silage is its low protein content. This can be overcome, however, 

 by feeding legumes in connection with it. Some advise the mixing of clovers, 

 cowpeas or alfalfa with the corn when siloing it, but this is not advisable if 

 these feeds can be satisfactorily cured in any other way. 



The variety of corn for silage is a matter of soil and climatic conditions. 

 Any good corn produced for the dry corn will make a good silage crop. For 

 beef cattle feeding purposes the writer is strongly in favor of a well eared 

 variety to balance the one-sided nature of cottonseed meal. This in conjunc- 

 tion with the succulence gives the South a ration which it is difficult to 

 duplicate from an economical standpoint. 



The sorghum crops are of special importance in the West and South where 

 the rainfall is light or irregular. Both saccharine and non-saccharine sor- 

 ghums may be made into silage. Their superiority to corn as drought resist- 

 ant crops makes them more dependable, both in yield and quality. The Kan- 

 sas Station reports that if sorghums are harvested at the proper maturity, 

 when the seed has hardened, they will make silage less acid and more palat- 

 able than that made from corn. Experiments show that there is little differ- 

 ence in the feeding values of these two silages. Mixtures of corn and sorg- 

 hum have been generally satisfactory. Usually they are mixed half and 

 half by running first a load of corn and then a load of sorghum through the 

 cutter. It has been found that corn too dry for making good silage can be 

 materially improved by adding a little sorghum because of the juice which 

 it contains. 



Kafir corn is a drought resistant crop, and in this respect is like the sor- 

 ghum in substituting corn. It yields about the same amount of silage per 

 acre as sorghum, and like sorghum should be mature before being put into 

 the silo. It was found at the Kansas station that kafir corn ranks next to 

 corn silage as a milk producer. This crop is more largely used in the dry 

 sections of Texas where it makes a good substitute for corn. Some sections 

 of the South are no doubt adapted to a crop with these characteristics. In 

 Texas and Western Kansas the cheapest and most practical manner of stor- 

 ing kafir corn is in the silo. When so preserved the shrinkage is small, and 

 there is no loss from the weather or otherwise unless improperly put in the 

 silo. 



Sudan grass has not been tested as a silage crop, although, judging from 

 its palatability and succulence, it would prove excellent for the purpose. A 

 mixture of it with the legume crops would apparently be excellent. Its use 

 as a silage crop, however, will probably be limited, owing to the large yields, 

 the ease of curing the grass and the small amount of waste in feeding it. 

 This latter factor, in conjunction with the preservation of the succulence, is 

 the main reason for siloing a crop. Crops which are otherwise palatable 

 and useful in the dry condition are of greater s'ervice in stock feeding than 

 when siloed. This argument applies directly to the clovers and grass crops. 

 The crop which makes the largest yield and retains its succulence and pal- 

 atability is the crop best adapted to siloing purposes. There seems to be 

 no all-round substitute for corn excepting, perhaps, the sorghums and kafir 

 corns, which can be used either alone or in a mixture. 



The practice of storing dry fodder corn in the silo is deserving of considera- 

 tion in the South. In the West this practice is followed with good results. 

 The green corn is first placed in the silo in the fall, and after this is fed out 

 the dry corn fodder is cut and run into the silo with liberal quantities of 

 water. While the quality and feeding value of corn prepared in this way 

 is not equal to that of regular corn silage, it is much more palatable than 

 the dry corn, and there is considerably less waste in feeding it. 



The discussion on silage crops for the South to the writer is not as much 

 a problem of determining the crops best adapted as it is in getting larger 

 quantities of corn silage used on live stock farms, principally those producing 

 beef and dairy cattle. The incentives which are now being offered for corn 

 growing will bring this crop into greater prominence as a silage crop. While 

 the South has drawbacks in curing the leguminous hays and other crops now 

 produced, it is believed that better methods of curing in the air-dry condition 

 will render them of greater service than in the silo. Unless silage undergoes 

 a normal fermentation it becomes a dangerous feed for stock. As before 



