16 



is even greater than is generally believed by the most progressive 

 feeders. 1 



CLOVER HAY ROUGHAGE MOST EXTENSIVELY USED. 



Clover hay seems to stand in a class by itself as a roughage to 

 feed with corn for fattening cattle. Practically all who reported, 

 use clover hay where it is available, and in the majority of cases, 

 they prefer it to any other roughage. The next feed in popularity 

 is corn stover, which is fed by nearly everyone who feeds cattle. 

 An interesting feature in this connection is that three times as many 

 prefer clover to timothy hay. The cattle feeding experiment con- 

 ducted during the winter of 1906-07 proved conclusively that it is 

 impractical to use timothy hay as a roughage for cattle if it is pos- ' 

 sible to get clover. 



METHODS OF UTILIZING CORN STALKS. 



Corn stalks are recognized as a necessary adjunct to the pro- 

 duction of corn. The experimental work of the Agronomy Depart- 

 ment has shown that practically one-half of the weight of the corn 

 crop is found in the ears and one-half in the stalk. It is also true 

 that 37 per cent of the digestible nutrients of the corn crop, grown 

 for grain, is in the stover and 63 per cent in the ears. 2 The question 

 of handling stalks, so that the cost of labor employed in cutting, 

 storing and curing them into a palatable form of roughage, will 

 not overbalance their feeding value, is one of immense concern to 

 the farmers of the state. It seems a large waste to allow one-half 

 of the weight of the corn crop to stand in the field and be pastured 

 off during the late fall and early winter rnonths. In summarizing 

 the answers to this question, it is found that 424 practice this method 

 as compared with 495 who cut their corn. Of those who shock their 

 corn, 64 per cent also shred it. As this does not increase the feed- 

 ing value of the material the benefit comes from convenience in 

 storing and feeding and from decreasing the amount of labor neces- 

 sary in handling the manure. 



SILAGE AS A FACTOR IN BEEF PRODUCTION. 



The question of whether or not it is profitable to use corn silage 

 in fattening cattle, is one that is being considered very carefully by 

 cattle feeders all over the corn belt. Seven per cent of the beef 

 cattle feeders in Indiana are using silage. A more careful study of 

 this question shows that practically all of them are using corn as 



1 See Bulletin 115, "Steer Feeding", Purdue Experiment Station. 



2 See Henry's " Feeds and Feeding ", p. 169. 



