SILAGE AND DAIRYING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19307, 21 April 1926, Page 17

SILAGE AND DAIRYING.

HIGH QUALITY OF FEED. LESS STORAGE SPACE. Silage furnishes a succulent, readily available feed of uniform high quality at low expense for any season of the year. It is cheaper than roots and of equal value except possibly for cows on test, when it may be found desirable to feed roots as well as silago. During the summer when pastures are poor it furnishes a succulence at less cost and bother than do soiling crops and still produces as good results. The silo enables the dairy farmer to secure the largest possible amount of digestible nutrients from a given acreage. This is due to the fact that less of nutrients are lost in the silo than are lost when field cured. Not only this, but silage made from corn and other coarse stalked plants such as the sorghums aro eaten up clean while a largo percentage of the dry fodder will not be eaten, even though of the best quality. The silo enables the dairy farmer to preserve his crops when conditions do not permit field curing. Hay crops can be run into tho silo during rain weather. Frosted corn and soi't corn also can be saved in this way, Losses during field curing caused by birds, insects and other pests can bo checked by ensiling tho ciop. During tho ensiling process practically all weed seeds are killed. lherefore, the silo is an excellent place to store weedy crops that if field cured not only would be inferior as a feed but would permit tho propagation of the weed seeds. Since less room is required for storing feed in the form of silage than in tho form of liny or other dry forago, less storage space is required. The acidity of the silage produced in the fermentation of the feed has an important value in regulating the bowels and checking undesirable putrefactive processes in the intestines, lhis together with its succulence accounts for tho favourable efiect of silago 011 the health of the animal.