74 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



What Foods to Choose, On every farm some 

 feeding stuffs are grown that possess little commer- 

 cial value. These should form the basis of that 

 ration. Corn stover, the straws, legume hays, and 

 silage are all splendid bulk foods, are easily raised 

 on the farm and should be used freely in ration mak- 

 ing. They will supply also the greater part of the 

 carbohydrates and fat. The farm, therefore, is the 

 best factory for the production of the fuel nutrients. 

 In the legumes and cereal grains much of the pro- 

 tein will be obtained. If any protein shortage exists 

 it is good business sense to meet it, even though 

 expensive concentrates must be purchased. 



The wise farmer will figure the cost of foodstuffs 

 very carefully to find out what is most profitable to 

 feed. It is often best to sell some of the food having 

 a wide nutritive ratio, such as timothy, corn, oats, 

 and wheat, and to purchase foods having a narrow 

 nutritive ratio, such as the oil meals, and the factory 

 by-products. Very often this exchange is made; 

 and not only is the ration improved, thus bringing 

 about better results from the animals under feed, 

 but a money profit is secured in addition to that 

 obtained because of the greater efficiency of the 

 ration. 



