FARMER

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7412, 20 December 1930, Page 18

FARMER

How to Make Ensilage

TIME TO CUT NOW. As in making good bay, material tor ensilage making should bo cut at the right time if ilrst-class ensilage is desired. Mixed grasses . should be cut when the predominating varieties are in bloom, cereals just when the grain is thickening from the milk to the dough stage, and maize when the cobs aro taking on a glazed appearance, and peas and tares between the blooming and early podding stages. Methods of Saving.

There aro three different methods of •making ensilage: —The pit, the stack, and the silo.

The silo has many advantages, especially if it can bo erected in a central position, so as to minimise the carting of green material, it should bo litted with a cutter and blower or clcvutor for economy in tilling, it is best to have two medium sized silos rather than ono large one. This enables the farmer to.be tilling one while the other is being used. This is a great advantage where silage is being used for summer feeding and when small quantities of material aro available from time to time. Where possible, in erecting silos a site should bo chosen where u fair depth of the silo may bo let into a bank. This secures economy in erecting and subsequent hoisting of material. -Where suitable banks are to be had in liaudy positions, the pit is a very lino way of making ensilage, and frequently a pit can be provided in each field or one can bo made where it will suit two or three paddocks. In choosing the site for a pit, caro should bo taken to sou that it can be conveniently filled from above and that a good road can be got from tho front of the pit for carting out the material. A round pit is muen better than a square one, as it is difficult to fill tho corners satisfactorily in the latter so as to exclude the air, and there is generally considerable loss from this cause. Tho walls should have a slight batter, 1 in 15 being about right. Tho opening to a round pic should, if possible, bo just wide enough to allow a dray to back in and where tho pit is to bo back in and where the pit is to bo permanent, tho corners of the opening should bo cemented so as to carry timber to close tho opening as the stack is being filled. In tho case of a temporary pit a good stout post may bo placed at these corners and timber for closing frho opening should not bo less than two-inch stuff. In filling a pit, great care should be taken to seo that it is evenly filled and that tho sides are well tramped, so that there is no possible chance of tho material leaving tho walls and admitting

air. Tho same precautions aro necessary in filling tho pit as in building a stack to see that the temperature Is properly controlled. Tho following table gives tho approximate holding capacity of round pits or silos:— 20 x 10—30 tons. 20 x 12—45 tons, 24 x 12 —55 tons. 20 x 1-4—50 tons. 30 x 12—-75 tons. 30 x 14—100 tons.

Tho stack on tho average farm will be tho system followed by the majority of farmers for a long time and has a great deal to recommend it in that the stack may be built in tho field where • tho material is < L ivn. This means a great saving of . auhigc. In building an ensilage stack it is very important that tho farmer shuuld have a lair idea of the quantity of material he has to put in and the size of tho stack required. Tho following figures may lie useful. A good average meadow hay crop will provide about 7 tons of green material; a fair crop 'of lucerne or-tem-porary pasture 7 to 1) tons, good crops up to 10 or 12 tons; special crops oi cereals or tares or peas about 10 tons, extra good giving as high as 12 to 14 tons per acre; millet 12 to 10 tons and maize about 00 tons, extra good crops running up to as high as 50 tons of grecq material per aero. About 20 tons is tho minimum amount of material which should bo put into an ensilage stack. The approximate sizes of stacks arc 20 to -10 tons 14 x 14, 50 to 70 tons 10 x 18, SO to 100 tons 20x 24. The best time to cut has already been dealt with, but it may again be repeated that the material should go in at its best aud while it retains sufficient sap to bring about tho necessary fermentation or cooking. Occasional showers during tho building of tho stack are generally an a.ivajtage aud necessary if the material has been allowed to become overripe. Having got cvorythfng ready for a.start cut sufficient material and build tho stack up to 8 or 0 feet the first day. Usually the material should bo cut aud put straight into the stack with tho exception of lucerne crops containing a lot of very succulent material like sow thistles. In such cases it may be allowed to wilt for a few hours before stacking. The stack having been built up to 8 or l) feet should bo allowed to stand for one or more days until it lias settled down properly and the temperature in the centre of tho stack is between 120 and 150 degrees, the best ensilage being mudclictween 120 and 140 degrees. The temperature having risen to tho proper point stacking may be continued from day to day, but if it is noticed that the stack is not settling or that the temperature is low give it a spell again for a day or two. The practice is this—lf the temperature is getting too high, add more material; if too low, refrain from adding material until it lias reached the desired point.

Experienced ensilage makers can tell from tho feel and appearance of ihe stack if the temperature is right, but beginners will find it a great help if they use a thermometer. All that is necessary is a piece of piping Jin. or lin. four to six feet long. Into one end of this a pointed stick should be placed and driven into the stack. The thermometer could then be attached to a picco of string and lowered .down the pipe. An ordinary milk thermomter would bo satisfactory. Tho thermometer may be pulled up from time to time as required to ascertain the temperature; when Toady to start building again remove tho pipe and thermometer, placing it in position again at tho end of tho day's work. When building the stack take great caro to sec that the outsido walls and

corners arc kept firm by tramping. The eentro should bo kept full, but not hearted up like a hay stack, the idea being to keep tho surface of tho stack as near level as possible during building, with the walls hard and firm to exclude air. When finishing the stack it should bo hearted up so that when earth is applied tho centre will be a little higher than the wall. During the process of building the stack should lie frequently pulled hard and the material thrown into the centre. If, while the stack is being built, tho wind is constant from one quarter, it will have a tendency to drive the heat to the lea side of tho stqek and cause uneven heating and settling, with tlic result that the stack sometimes topples over. To guard against this a sheet of some sort should bo hung on tho windy side while it is blowing. When tho building of the stack is finished it must be weighted to cause even settling ami control the temperature, and in most places earth is the most suitable for this. If the stack is hot and settling quickly the earth should be put on at once, but if tho settling is slow, it is best to wait a day or two before applying tho soil, as by this time tho height of tho stack will bo considerably reduced, and it will bo seen if the settling is even. It is good practieo |.o put .a, frame of some sort around the stack to hold the earth. This frame should go us near the edge as possible. Tho nearer tho pressure can bo got to the edge the less will be the wastage of material. (Sometimes a frarve of sawn timber, two G x 1 lengthways supported by 5 x 1 stays and braced lengthways and across with fencingwire is used; but the more common practice is to procure sonic poles, put them along tho sides aud ends, tying across with wiro and placing earth inside these. Another useful method is to run a wire around tho stack about two feet from the edge, tying it with cross wires, then, fill old mitnuro bags or benzine tins with soil and hang these to the wiro to serve as a frame. Others again simply put tho earth on and trust to luck in getting it as near the edge as possible. The fault of this system is that the loss around the stack is 1 greater. Tho soil should bo put on 9 to 10 inches ulong tho sides, running to 15 to 18 inches in the centre. The stack should bo watched for a week or two to see that it settles evenly, some of the earth being removed from place to place or more added if found necessary. Tho stack may be fed at any time, but it is better to stand a month or two; when ready to feed only open a small area of the stack at onco so that at least G inches of tho whole area will bo removed daily. Ensilago deteriorates rapidly when exposed to the air. In feeding, start with 2 or 31bs per cow until they got used to it,

gradually increasing up to 30 or 401bs, which should be tho maximum for or-

dinary purposes. During tho process of saving ensilage it is good policy to add salt, as it improves the quality of the silage and is a good way of feeding salt to the stock. Tho poorer tho material the more salt should be added. Use 4 tb Gibs per .ton of green material. Stock 'feeding on silage to which salt has been added will require plenty of good water.