248 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



thirty dollars worth of feed that was bought, he sold two thousand three 

 hundred dollars worth of cream. Some may say, perhaps, that was ice 

 cream, but it was not. The cream sold for twenty-two and one-half cents 

 for butterfat. Two thousand three hundred dollars from twenty-eight cows, 

 about eighty dollars a cow. On the same farm he sold three hundred and 

 sixty dollars worth of hogs, one hundred dollars worth of potatoes and fifty 

 dollars worth of hay. What was he doing selling hay on that little farm? 

 Well, he had two silos. The increase in the stock on that farm amounted 

 to two hundred dollars, making a total revenue of about three thousand 

 dollars on that fifty acres. 



This is an encouragement to young farmers who can not have a big 

 farm. He had a silo about eighteen or twenty feet in diameter and thirty- 

 two feet deep for winter feeding, and then another silo for summer feeding. 

 He fed those cows all the corn ensilage they would eat, both winter and sum- 

 mer, and that was the secret of getting so much off a small farm. 



Of course he took good care of his cows; used the Babcock test and scales 

 to weed out the poor ones, and it is a fact that he started about ten years 

 ago with a silo, good care, the Babcock scales and tester. I asked him the 

 secret of his success and he said, "the first thing that started me was close 

 attention to the cows and weeding out the poor ones, and then I could not 

 get along without the use of the silo." 



DISCUSSION. 



Professor Smith: How big a silo do you allow for your 

 herd? 



Mr. Trow: I want the silo to be not less than twenty-four to 

 thirty feet high. The higher the better; then wide enough so 

 it will last the herd from fall until spring. You need to feed off 

 one and one-half to two inches a day; it would be better to 

 take off more. Some people recommend two silos, but the 

 trouble would be the expense. It is with some reluctance T 

 advise farmers to build two silos. It is hard enough to get them 

 to build one. Take one ten feet in diameter, it holds only one- 

 quarter as much as one twenty feet in diameter, and it costs 

 one-half as much, so you can see in building a small silo it costs 

 twice as much for a capacity as one twenty feet. 



Professor Smith : How many square feet do you allow? 



Mr. Trow : We figure that a cow will eat about one cubic 

 foot per day. My cows are consuming from thirty -five to fifty 

 pounds at the present time. Another thing I did not mention, 

 all that feed last year came from thirteen and one- half acres. 



Mr. Anderson: How did you plant your corn? 



