379 



Value per acre of products from different methods of 



harvestmg corn. 



Method of Harvesting. 



Only ears harvested 



Ears and tops harvested 



Ears and entire stalks harvested. 



Value of 



grain. 



15 70 

 13 59 

 13 14 



Value of 

 forage. 



0.00 

 1.56 

 5.26 



Value of 

 total pro- 

 duct. 



15.70 

 15 15 

 18.40 



At the prices assumed above, the highest value was se- 

 cured by cutting and curing the entire stalks, this process 

 showing a gain of $2.70 per acre over harvesting only the 

 ears. Will this amount cover the cost of handling a weight 

 of fresh stalks sufficient to produce about one ton of cured 

 stalks? That is a local question the answer to which is 

 largely dependent on the price and efficiency of labor. The 

 value assumed for entire stalks, or stover, is necessary only on 

 estimate, as the feeding value of stover fi'om large southern 

 corn has never been determined. 



The low price of 25 cents per 100 lbs. of stalks has been 

 assumed because of the immense waste in feeding the coarse 

 forage, a waste which is inevitable unless one purchases a 

 shredding machine and expends considerable labor in pre- 

 paring shredded forage. Chemical analysis shows that even 

 the butt of the stalk, the part which, unless shredded, is re- 

 jected by cattle, has some feeding value. 



In an experiment at the Georgia Experiment Station, 

 (Bulletin 30), where a shredder was used, a price of 40 

 cents per 100 lbs. was assumed for the cured stalks. In that test 

 no reduction in yield of grain resulted from cutting the en- 

 tire stalks, and at 40 cents per 100 lbs. of stalks, this method 

 afforded a total product valued at $9.59 per acre more than 

 the worth of the grain alone. 



