250 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF A SILO TO THE IOWA DAIRYMAN. 



A. W. Mowbray, St. Charles Minnesota. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: It affords me great pleasure 

 to meet with you on this occasion. Although the greater part of my life 

 has been spent within sixty miles of your northern line. I have never 

 before been within the borders of your State. Some weeks ago I 

 received a letter from my old-time friend — your secretary — asking me to 

 read a paper at your annual meeting, on the subject, "The Advantage 

 of the Silo to the Dairyman." Why he should have assigned to me 

 this very important subject I can not understand, unless it be that hy 

 some means he learned that up in Minnesota I am dubbed the silo crank, 

 and thought possibly I might have a few ideas along this line. 



The silo in some form of construction has been in use for hundreds 

 of year.:' in various parts of the old world; while only little more than 

 a quarter of a century has elapsed since its first introduction in the 

 United States. Naturally its adoption was somewhat slow at first, hn^ 

 at the preent time silos are in use in eyerv State of the Union. 



The number of silos would not have increased sio rapidly in the last 

 few years had it not been clearly demonstrated that by no other means 

 was it possible to store so large a proportion of the winter's food supply 

 so economically. 



You will all agree with me that the best, most satisfactory single 

 feed for the dairy cow is pasture grass, and that in midsummer if pas- 

 tures are short and brown no supplementary feed of which we have 

 knowledge will give us so good results as green corn. This being th«> 

 case, it naturally follows that corn is pre-eminently the plant to be us'^d 

 for silage. 



On good soil, well fertilized, we can produce an average of fourteen 

 tons of green corn per acre — 28,000 pounds. Professor Haecker of the 

 Minnesota station, from the analysis of many samples of silage, draws 

 the conclusion that the average protein content is not less than two per 

 cent. That being true, in one acre of corn — or 28.000 pounds — we havo 

 five hundred and sixty pounds of protein. 



To incorporate sufficient protein in the ration for our dairy cows 

 to enable them to do their best work, is the problem ever before the 

 dairymen; but if we are feeding thirty pounds a day of good silage the 

 cow derives from that alone one third the amount of protein necessary 

 Hor very satisfactory dairy work. But simply the protein content of 

 corn silage is not the only advantage we gain. As in pasture grass the 

 cow finds something in corn silage that enables her to produce milk and 

 butter fat more economically than she can possibly do on any combina- 

 tion of dry feeds entirely. 



It is not entirely the high price we may obtain for lour dairy product 

 that marks our measure of success but the low price from which it can 

 be produced as well. 



If we feed a ration of thirty pounds of silage, twelve pounds of clover 

 hay and five pounds of corn meal, the average cost for a series bf years 



