122 SILAGE IN BEEF PRODUCTION. 



Results at the North Carolina Station given in Bulletin 222 

 show that "Beef cattle fed on corn silage as the roughage portion 

 of the feed in conjunction with cotton seed meal will not only use 

 the meal more economically during a continuous feeding period, 

 but they will finish in better condition and command a higher 

 price than cattle fed on dry roughage. In all of the lots where 

 corn silage was fed as a whole or a part of the roughage, the daily 

 gains were more uniform throughout the feeding period than the 

 gains made by the lot fed cotton-seed hulls." 



Prof. H. P. Rusk of the Illinois Experiment Station, says that 

 "one of the most common mistakes in the use of silage is attempt- 

 ing to make it take the place of part or all of the concentrates in 

 the ration. 



"Corn silage is a roughage and not a concentrate. Its profit- 

 able utilization in the finishing ration depends not so much upon 

 its nutritive value as on its cheapness, its palatability and succu- 

 lent nature, the steer's ability to consume large quantities of it, 

 and the possibility of utilizing the entire corn plant, a large por- 

 tion of which would otherwise be wasted. 



"Used in its proper combination with other feeds, corn silage 

 is one of the most economical roughages available in the corn belt. 

 However, it should be remembered that corn silage, like corn it- 

 self, is low in protein and must be fed in combination with some 

 highly nitrogenous feed in order to offset this deficiency. This 

 fact was demonstrated in the early studies made on silage at the 

 Purdue experiment station when a ration of shelled corn, clover 

 hay and corn silage was fed in comparison with a similar ration 

 to which cotton seed meal was added in sufficient quantities to 

 balance the nutrients. The lot receiving cotton-seed meal made an 

 average daily gain of 2.7 pounds during the 150-day feeding period 

 while the lot that did not receive cottonseed meal made an average 

 daily gain of only 1.8 pounds. The cost of gains was $9.11 per cwt., 

 where cottonseed meal was fed as compared to $11.07 per cwt. in 

 the lot to which it was not fed. A noteworthy fact shown in the 

 results of this experiment is that the addition of 2.6 pounds of 

 cottonseed meal to the daily ration did not decrease the steer's 

 capacity for other feeds. I.i fact, the steers receiving the balanced 

 ration consumed a little over four pounds of feed more per head 

 daily than those not receiving cottonseed meal. This effect is one 

 that is commonly noted when rations lacking in protein are bal- 

 anced with some highly nitrogenous concentrate, or even when 

 the common non-leguminous roughages in such rations are re- 

 placed by clover or alfalfa hay. 



"Where liberal allowances of corn silage are used, a leguminous 

 roughage such as clover hay or alfalfa hay cannot be relied upon 

 to furnish sufficient protein. The only way to properly balance 

 such a ration is to add some nitrogenous concentrate such as cot- 



