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NEW HAMPSHIRE

AGRICULTURAL

Experiment station,

HANOVER. N. H.,

BULLETIN NO. 14.

Ensilage in Dairy Farming,

MIJLY 1S91,

ENSILAGE IN DAIRY FARMING.

The following Bulletin is put out at this time, not because
of the original* investigation which it records, but more as an aid
to those farmers who may be thinking of adopting the silo as a
means of increasing the profits of dairy farming, by decreasing
the labor item in the production and storing of the required food.

The present outlook for an abundant hay crop, while not
positively discouraging, is not especially flattering, and I have
no hesitation, after five years of practical experience with ensil-
age, in saying that no dairy farmer in the State can afford to be
without a silo. Even on the so-called " natural grass farms " a
moderate use of ensilage will prove beneficial. Now, if this is
true, and I am sure that time will fully demonstrate that it is,
then the more rapidly farmers adopt the system the better, and
I am led to issue this Bulletin for the purpose of calling the at- "
tention of as many as possible to the matter, at a time when it
is possible to take immediate steps towards guarding against a
shortage in the hay crop.

There is now time to extend the acreage of corn for the
silo; even as far north as Hanover we have produced good
crops of fair quality when planted as late as June loth, and cer-
tainly throughout the greater part of the State, from the first to
the tenth of June would not be too late for ordinary seasons.

ADVANTAGES OF ENSILAGE.

ist. More actual food material can be produced from an
acre of corn than from any other of our common farm crops .
Land capable of producing two tons of hay will, as a rule, pro-
duce twenty tons of ensilage, having at least twenty five per
cent, of dry substance, or actual food material.

40,000 lbs. of ensilage equals r 0,000 lbs. dry matter.
4,000 lbs. of hay equals 3,000 lbs. dry matter.

It is safe to say, therefore, that three times as much dry
substance may be produced from a given area of corn as from a
like area I of grass.

3

2nd. The cost of a hundred pounds of dry matter is sUghtly
less in corn than in hay.

In our experience we have found the following figures to be
substantially true :

I GO lbs. dry matter in ensilage cost 42 cents.
100 lbs. dry matter in hay cost 44^ cents.

3d. Green food is especially favorable to the production
of milk. The succulent pasture grass in May and June is with-
out an equal as a milk producing food. Mangels and other
roots, when fed in combination with dry fodders, are known to
have a very beneficial effect, and with ensilage the same has
been observed.

In an experiment, carried on at this Station, where hay and
ensilage were compared, the following averages were obtained :
Ensilage ration, containing 16.45 ^^s. digestible dry matter, pro-
duced 21 lbs. milk.
Hay ration, containing 16.83 ^^s. digestible dry matter, produced
18.4 lbs. milk.

There are those who claim that a pound of digestible mat-
,ter in one substance is as good as a pound in any and all other
substances, and that succulence adds nothing to the value of
a food. This I do not regard as proven by practice. In Bul-
letin No. II of this Sation it was shown that one hundred pounds
of digestible matter in a ration made up of skim-milk and corn
wm/was equal to 146.6 lbs. of digestible matter in a ration
chemically identical, but made up of corn meal and middlings.
Practically, there can be no doubt that a pound of food material
in the skim-milk ration was superior to a pound in the mixed
grain ration, and I believe this was due largely to the favorable
condition in which the digestive and assimilative organs were
kept by the former ration. This being true of skim-milk, 1 see
no season why pasture grass, roots, or ensilage, may not be like-
wise more valuable than dried fodders. In fact, 1 am convinced
that foods containing a large per cent, of water keep the ani-
mal system in such tone that it is able to make better use of the
food digested. I'he efficiency of the steam boiler is very largely
affected by the deposit of soot on its flues, not that the boiler or
its flues are changed, or that the combustion of the coal is less
perfect, but, rather, that the heat produced by this combustion
is not utilized in steam making. So, although the same amount

3

of food may be digested in one ration as in another, yet the phys-
iological condition of the animal may be such that this digested
matter may in one case be utilized to far better advantage than
in another. The problem, then, is not one of efficiency of food
so much as of efficiency of the machine, /. e., the animal, and it is
this animal efficiency which succulent or watery foods increase.
The fact exists, that in every day practice two hundred and fifty
pounds of average ensilage will fully take the place of one hund-
dred pounds of hay, and in most cases the milk yield will increase
on this rate of substitution :

The 250 lbs. of ensilage will contain 41 lbs. digestible mat-
ter, ^hile io« lbs. of hay will contain 51 lbs. digestible matter,
or, 100 lbs. of digestible matter in ensilage is fully equal to 125
lbs. in mixed hay, and as the proportion of albuminoids to non-
albuminoids is not essentially different, this gain must be due to
the condition of the two foods.

4th. Convenience and cheapness of storing : A corn crop
having been produced, it must in some way be preserved for win-
ter feeding. " Topping the stalks," bindiog and stooking them,
leaving the ears and butt stalks to dry out, was at one time the
prevalent method, but it involved too much hand labor. Stook-
ing the entire crop as soon as the ears are well glazed, and al-
lowing them to dry for a month or more, husking the ears and
mowing away the stalks, reduces the labor, but still there is the
cost of husking, grinding the grain, etc., which, at the present
period of low prices for milk and dairy products, bears too heav-
ily on the raw material item in the problem. To " reduce the
cost of production " is the great problem in agricultural progress,
and it must be done by reducing the amount of human labor
which enters into farm products. A system of stooking corn in
large stooks and leaving them in the field until wanted for feed-
ing purposes has been, and is practiced, to some extent, it saves
labor, but wastes the crop, and is inconvenient in many ways.
Curing the crop and storing is practically impossible on a large
scale, since the amount or water to be dried out is very great,
and the weather frequently unfavorable ; in a small way it can
be practiced, but the disadvantages more than ofiset the advant-
ages. The silo, while not an ideal storage vault, does combine
more good points and less bad ones than any method yet devised
for preserving the corn crop, for the following reasons :

4

(a). The farmer who has a silo is about as independent of
the weather as any man can be. Heavy rain, it is true, will pre-
vent the storage of ensilage, but, aside from rain, nothing in-
terrupts this kind of harvesting: light rain and showers, while
making the work disagreeable, do not put a stop to it necessari-
ly, and when once in the silo all danger of imperfect curing,
which so often injures the crop harvested in the old way, is past.

(b). The season is practically lengthened from two to three
weeks, since it is not desirable to have the corn for the silo much
past the "boiling or roasting" stage, hence, a variety may be
planted for this purpose, which stands no show for ripening, even'
one year in ten, and as the later varieties of corn are of larger
growth and produce more actual food per acre, this gain is by
no means unimportant in the more northern parts of New Hamp-
shire. Again, if from unfavorable weather in May, planting is
delayed, as already stated, until the first days of June, there is
very little risk connected with the crop for the silo, where a crop
for husking would be almost certain to be cut off by the fall frosts.

(d). The early date at which the land is cleared makes it
possible to either seed down to grass or winter grain. Corn for
the silo should be stored at about the same time at which corn for
h usking should be stocked, and as the stocked corn must dry
out for about a month before husking can begin, it follows, that
practically the whole of this time is gained for working the land
for the next crop.

(e). The cost of harvesting, provided the crop is planted
within reasonable distance of the silo, is reduced to a low point.
It is true a large bulk of water has to be handled, and very
much depends upon the conveniences for handling; an attempt
was made to determine the lowest cost at which ensilage might
be handled per acre and per ton with steam power for cutting
and elevating into silo, and with an abundance of help, on a two
acre field, the average distance of which was seventy rods from
the silo, with ihe following results :

Cutting the corn in field, per acre, $2.00

Loading and drawing to barn, 3.75

Cutting and packing in silo, 2.40

Use of engine and cutter, 1.25

Yield per acre, 15 tons. Total cost, ^9.40

Cost, per ton, 62^

5

The crew consisted ot three men cutting, three helping load,
three teams, and four men to run the work at the silo. With
this crew 24^ tons were put in the pit in 4^ hours.

In 1884, under;" more favorable circumstances as to distance
and location, a seven acre field of corn was harvested with the
greatest economy possible, and with the following results per
acre:

Cutting and stooking.

Drawing in fodder and cribbing corn,

Husking,

$2.16

2.56

5.00

1.50

1.80

Drawing corn to mill,
Grinding,

Total, $13.02

While I do not have the exact figures as to the per cent, of
dry matter in each crop, yet there was not above 6,000 pounds
in the husked crop, as against 7,500 pounds in the crop put in
silo. Allowing then a less of twenty per cent, for fermentation
in silo, and no loss in the stored dry fodder, there would be an
equal amount of dry substance to feed out.

One hundred pounds of dry matter at time of feeding out
would cost, for harvesting alone, 25 cents in the husked crop,
and 15^ cents in the silo. Add to this the greater efficiency of
the dry matter, pound for pound, and it is evident that from an
economic standpoint the silo has the advantage.

It may be argued that these results are exceptionally low,
but both are equally so, I think, and are fairly comparable, since
the labor is charged at the same price in each.

To those who have had expeiience with both methods of
harvesting, it will seem unnecessary to argue that a crop of corn
may be disposed of quicker, with less risk on account of weath-
er, and with less actual expenditure for labor, in the silo than in
any other way.

KIND OF CORN.

The kind of corn depends upon location. A corn well
adapted to southern New Hampshire might be loo late for the
northern part of the State. I'he points of importance are: 1st,
to get a variety of corn that will have a laige per cent, of ears fit
to boil by September 5th ; 2nd, to get a variety that will produce
the largest possible growth, and still meet the first condition.

6

For a general variety for this State I know of nothiag bet-
ter than the Sanford corn, a white flint corn, intermediate be-
tween field and sweet corn. On good soil and with heavy ma-
nuring we have produced twenty-five tons per acre, its average
product would probably be about fifteen tons, ft is a leafy corn,
ears heavily, keeps well in the silo, and grows very rapidly.

AMOUNT OF SEED PER ACRE.

Contrary to the practice of many, I have always believed in
heavy seeding : One bushel of Southern or Western dent corn,
fourteen to sixteen quarts of Sanford, and ten to twelve quarts of
northern field corn per acre, have given better results than a less
quantity; on poor soil I would use less, but on well fertilize 1 land
the above quantities are not excessive when planted in rows
three feet apart.

THE SILO.

The day of costly silos is past, and it is this fact alone which
enables the rapid extension of this system of storage. A wood-
en silo keeps its contents with less loss than a stone or cement
one, chiefly because of the penetration of air through mortar
and cement.

A silo built independent of the barn, having its own
frame, roof, etc., can be built for one dollar per ton of capac-
ity, if above seventy-five tons capacity. Contracts can be let
for the construction of a one hundred ton silo, the contractor
to furnish everything, for $100.00. If built in a corner of the
barn the cost of material and labor will be about one-half that
sum, but on most farms, where there is lumber, and where much
of the work can be done by the farm help, this cost can be re-
duced almost, if not quite, to an actual cash outlay of $25.00.

A silo, 16x16x25 feet, will hold 100 tons. If built in a barn
it will require :

40 pieces studding, 3x8, 25 feet long, 2000 feet

4 pieces, basement sills, 8x8, 17 feet long, ^,1360 feet

Boards for inside walls, 3500 feet

The boards'should not Ibe over 'seven inches wide, planed
on one side, and the 'inside 'course'made to^break -joints with the
outside course, ijt Matching the^boards is'not only'useless, but an
injury. Common covering boards, free 'from loose knots, are
good enough, and should not cost over $12.00 per thousand.
In many cases the barn frame and studding can be partly util-

7

ized, and the above quantity.of lumber be considerably reduced.
A cement bottom, though not necessary, is desirable.

Don't say " you can't afford to build a silo," it is just the other
way, yoii can't afford to be without one.

Don't conclude to wait until next year, build one this year, you
can easily find time to do it before haying, and then when
the early fall frost hits your corn crop you will have a place
where it can be put at once and saved.

Don't waste money on a stone or cement silo — unless you want
to for I he fun of the thing — a wooden one is better.

Don't subscribe to the doctrine that ensila2:e is too watery to be
good for anything. Remember that ttas'fure i^^ass in June has
more water in it than ensilage has.

Don't plant Western corn, or Southern corn, but get some vari-
ety that will perfect the kernels and produce a good num-
ber of ears.

Don't forget that you can soon double the supply of fodder by
adopting this system ; more fodder means more milk, and more
milk, more cash.

THINGS TO BE DONE.

Plant two or three acres more of corn as soon as possible.

Select a place in your barn that is convenient, and see how
much lumber, and of what dimensions, will be necessary.

Get the lumber, and at odd times put in a silo, and before
the fall frosts c:>me, or immediately after, put your corn into it;
have it cut into i>^ inch lengths if you can, but if this is too
much trouble pack it in whole.

To sum up : Don't throw this Bulletin aside without think-
ing the matter over, but consider the subject well, and build a
fifty ton silo and try it, the results will convince you.

G. H. WHITCHER, Director.

8

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