764 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



condensed milk companies which formerly did not favor milk from 

 silage fed cows are now advising their patrons to put up silos. 

 Great care should be taken, however, to prevent the odor of silage 

 from contaminating the freshly drawn milk, which takes up odors 

 very quickly. It is best to feed the silage after milking and just 

 what will be eaten up clean at that feed. The silos should be shut 

 off from the barn proper. The idea still held by some, that corn 

 silage will destroy the teeth and digestive tract of the cow and 

 induce such diseases as tuberculosis, is erroneous. 



ROOT CROPS. 



Many of the root crops furnish succulence to the dairy cow in 

 very acceptable form, yet for the practical man they are too ex- 

 pensive as compared to corn silage to be fed in large quantities 

 or in the place of silage. 



BEET PULP. 



Beet pulp is a very good feed and farmers living near a beet 

 sugar factory usually secure the wet pulp for a very reasonable 

 price. Dried beet pulp is an excellent feed and when one cannot 

 have corn silage it proves to be a very valuable substitute. It is 

 best when soaked twelve hours before feeding, allowing from four 

 to seven pounds of dried beet pulp per cow per day when on full 

 feed. 



SOILING CROPS. 



The pastures upon most Iowa farms do not furnish enough feed 

 for the cattle during the hot, dry months of summer. The problem 

 of supplying the necessary succulent feed most economically is 

 important and may be solved by one, or a combination, of the 

 following methods: 



1. Better care and management of pastures. 



2. Use of summer silo. 



3. Use of soiling crops. 



Better care and management of pastures is absolutely necessary 

 to secure the best results from farms. In every neighborhood 

 a practical demonstration may be found that a little care given to 

 a pasture will greatly increase its production of feed. But the pas- 

 ture crop in itself is not enough for dairy farmers or for many beef 

 cattle growers. To secure the greatest possible returns from their 

 land, they find it to their advantage to keep more cattle than they 

 can properly pasture without the aid of silage or soiling crops. The 

 use of silage or soiling crops upon dairy farms results in a saving of 

 land, fencing, feed and manure, and in greater and more profitable 

 production of milk. 



SILAGE OR SOILING CROPS. 



Whether corn silage or soiling crops will be more economical 

 and efficient in supplementing the pasture will depend somewhat 

 on specific conditions. The experimental work which has been 

 conducted along this line has not furnished very conclusive evidence 

 in favor of either. Evidently a silo small in diameter filled for 

 summer use is the most satisfactory and economical solution of the 



