FEED FOR STOCK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19957, 26 November 1926, Page 4

FEED FOR STOCK.

SOME USEFUL VARIETIES. MAIZE, SORGHUM, AND MILLET. In a lecture by Mr A. G. Elliott, Instructor in Agriculture, broadcasted by IYA, ho rays: "The areas of maize tor green feed and ensilage are comparatively small, but are increasing each year as farmers l-ealise the value of the feed. In North Auckland where paspalum is established and well managed, it provides feed for the period when maize would be most wanted, and consequently meets the case itself. The green feed and ensilage areas are therefore found principally in the Waikato and central district areas. Seed is drilled in 28in rows at the rate of 40-601 b per acre. When broadcasted, it is often difficult to cover the seed, but a brush harrow ami rolling on light land will usually meet the case. Hickory King and Ninety Day are two varieties successfully used and provide succulent feed for March and April. The maize i 6 cut and fed out as required and is very useful in keeping up the condition of the herd. When used for ensilage the crop is cut in the flowering stage and made into a stack. By this method there is a fairly heavy loss in the material on the outside of the stack, but the feed produced is relished by stock. Another method is to make silage by cutting the material into lengths of |in to lin, and conveying it into a silo by a blower or elevator. This necessitates the erection of a permanent silo and purchase of machinery, but in view of the Rreat use of a silo on a dairy farm it is money well spent. In feeding from a silo there is no depreciation of the feed left in the silo after taking out each feedintr to the herd. Sorghum is a great drought resister, and a succulent feed for stock. It requires less moisture than maize and can consequently bo grown on drier areas where maize could not bo economically produced. Early amber cane and sorghum saccharatum are the two best varieties, and sowing on a well-pre-pared seed bed at the rate of 251 b per acre is recommended. If broadcasted the seedling should be a little heavier, but when drilled the rows should be. 28in apart to allow inter-cultivation at lea6t in the early stages. Sorghum should never be fed until it has reached the full flowering stage when it is fully matured. The best method is to cut and cart it out as with maize.

Japanese millet is a crop which has become very popular of recent years and it can cither be cut and carted out or fed off in breaks. I prefer the latter method as the crop is hard on the land, and it is often difficult to lay down the area in pasture after the crop has been cut and fed out. If sown by itself, seed at the rate of 15-201 b per acre in Tin drills, but if combined with red clover, when a good mixed feed is secured, sow 101 b of millet with 81b of clover seed per .acre. By growing one of the three forage crops discussed, farmers will be able to carry their herds through the dry summer and maintain the condition and butter-fat production of cows from December to May. Factory returns show a remarkable fall in supplies received during the period when the grasses are seeding. Top-dressed and well managed pastures and the growing of a suitable forage crop are the only means of maintaining the butter-fat output from the farm. This usually reaches its peak in December and later falls rapidly, unless extra feed is produced for the dairy stock.