84 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Me. Van Pelt: Yes, that is something that needs to be taken 

 into consideration. It struck me very forcible in figuring out the 

 earning capacity of an 80-acre farm. Of course, after the calves 

 get past the age of six months — at the same time the calves do not 

 need as much heavy feeding, and they can be running in the pas- 

 ture in the summer time. It would be possible to raise even more 

 silage. As I said before, this is a line to itself. We would also 

 need to figure the profits as well as the cost of raising. 



Question : Of course, if you wanted to keep 50 cows up, 

 wouldn't you have from 15 to 25 young stuff, from calves to 3 

 years old? 



Mr. Van Pelt: Yes, sir. 



Question : Could you keep so many cows, if you kept them on 

 this 80? 



Mr. Van Pelt : No ; unless you had side-lines, you would have 

 to have a larger farm. 



Question: Have you ever tried the sugar cane for silage? 



Mr. Van Pelt : Personally I never have. Those who have tried 

 do not like it as well as corn, for the reason that it forms more 

 lactic acid, and is not so palatable as com. 



Question : Have you tried sugar cane in its raw state ? 



Mr, Van Pelt : I have fed some. It has this one thing to recom- 

 mend it, that it is very palatable when put up in the form of hay. 

 That is another thing regarding the two methods of curing : it can 

 be shocked for fodder, and corn should be put in the silage. Any 

 animal needs a certain amount of dried matter before it is possible 

 to get it out of the silo. So that fed in the raw state, sugar cane 

 is quite valuable as a food. But the farmers say that sorghum 

 is quite hard upon the land. 



Question: I don't know whether I got a clear understanding. I 

 had the impression that 50 cows was the full limit of the capacity of 

 an 80-acre farm ; you spoke of the milk being worth 25 cents. Did 

 you intend that the other feed should be purchased or produced 

 outside of that farm; that the farm doesn't produce feed for the 

 pigs and calves? 



Mr. Van Pelt : Yes, that is true. I figured for the calves to be 

 sold at weaning time. 



Question : And the feed outside of the milk, should have to be 

 purchased outside of the product of the farm ? 



