642 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



words, that a ton of silage will furnish half the ration of an average- 

 cow for fifty days; and that an acre of good corn that will yield fifty 

 bushels to the acre will furnish from eight to twelve tons of silage. 



The farmer who has corn of this character and clover, or clover and 

 timothy, or alfalfa meadow that will yield from two to three tons of hay 

 per annum can easily figure on the number of cows he can keep on a 

 definite number of acres during the winter season. The number of acres 

 of pasture that will be required will depend upon the character of the 

 pasture and 'the season; but usually on the care he takes 'of his pasture. 



Every dairyman who is keeping from ten to twenty cows should, there- 

 fore, begin to study the silo question very thoroughly. This is one of 

 <the topics that should be discussed not merely at institutes, but at the 

 firesides in every dairying community. 



The great obstacle in the way of the individual farmer using the silo 

 is not the cost of building it, which, considering its capacity, is not as 

 great as the cost of a barn would be. It is rather in the cost of the ma- 

 chinery necessary to convert the corn into silage and of the help needed 

 at that particular time. Here is where co-operation comes in. 



Two farmers, or at the most three, can very well co-operate in the 

 purchase of power and silage cutters, and by co-operating can put say ten 

 acres of corn from each farm into the silo quite as cheaply as they can 

 harvest and shred it, or husk it in the usual way. To begin with, in 

 case corn is put in the shock, it should be cut with the harvester and 

 bound. The cost of the cutting is the same in either case. It is no more 

 trouble to put it on the wagon than to put it in the shock, nor indeed as 

 much. It is no more trouble to put it in the silo than to shred it. The 

 cost of the machinery does not differ much in either case. 



The advantage is that when corn is once in the silo it furnishes a 

 nutritious, succulent ration through the whole winter; and if any is left 

 over it pieces out short pasture in the summer season. If a man has 

 from ten to twenty cows he cannot afford to be without a silo. If he 

 will co-operate with his neighbors he can secure his own silage at the 

 minimum of expense. • 



Bear in mind that silage is not a balanced ration. It is half of a bal- 

 anced ration. The other half, as above stated, must be clover or alfalfa 

 hay. Cows that are fed silage must be well sheltered; for if you feed 

 a succulent or summer ration, you must give approximately summer 

 temperature. Hence it is not the thing for the farmer who allows his 

 cows the shelter of the south side of a barber wire fence when the ther- 

 mometer is down around zero. 



The farmer can well afford to put up more silage than his cows re- 

 quire. He can feed it to good advantage to his young stock; to his sheep; 

 to some extent to his hogs. If he is careful his horses will be better for 

 a small amount of it. 



We hope our readers who are engaged in dairying and keep over ten 

 cows will take- up this silage question in earnest. It will be money in 

 their pockets. We do not advise it for farmers who have less than ten 

 cows; for the reason that a small silo can not be built nearly as eco- 

 nomically as a large one. There is more friction, more exposure on the 

 sides and it does not have sufficient depth to give the weight necessary 

 to so thoroughly compact the silage as to exclude the air. 



