^^^ Illinois State Dairymen's Association. 



on the average a larger amount of digestible feed can be 

 obtained from an acre in the form of silage than in any other 

 way at like expense. Making corn into silage is then both an 

 economical and compact method of storing feed. 



Much damage has been done to the cause of silage by the 

 extravagant claims of its over-enthusiastic friends. Although 

 corn silage is not a complete and balanced ration in itself, it is 

 so well relisihed 'that large quantities are consumed. Being 

 a succulent feed, it tends to heavy milk production, and should 

 be given an important place in the ration of dairy cows. It has 

 proved an important factor in steer feeding as well as in milk 

 production, but a steer cannot be finished on silage alone, any 

 more than a cow can produce her best yield of milk on such a 

 ration. To obtain the most economical returns, some dry rough- 

 age should be fed in connection with silage, and a legume hay, 

 as alfalfa, clover, or cowpeas, is the best feed for this purpose, 

 particularly for young stock and cows. Economical milk can 

 be produced from these feeds without the addition of grain, if 

 the cows are not giving more than two gallons of milk a day, 

 providing the corn was well eared and both the silage and the 

 legume hay are of excellent quality. Cows giving a larger 

 yield must have grain added to their ration. 



Value of Silage In Place of Soiling. 



A pasture will carry much more stock during spring, early 

 summer, and fall, than it will through the hot, dry weather of 

 midsummer. By helping the pasture out at this season with 

 partial soiling, the cattle not only have better feed during this 

 critical period, but more stock can be carried on a given area 

 than by pasturing alone. As land increases in value and farm- 

 ing becomes more intensive, there is greater need for soiling, 

 and the most satisfactory method of providing a substitute is by 

 means of the silo. It requires too much labor to cut green crops 

 every day and haul them to the cows, and besides there is neces- 

 sarily a great loss in being obliged to feed the crops before they 

 are fully mature and after they are over-ripe. 



No crop furnishes more feed to the acre than corn, and with' 

 the silo it can be utilized for soiling, thus permitting the whole 

 crop to be harvested when at the right stage of maturity and fed 

 when needed, saving both feed and labor. 



