NEW USE FOR OLD STRAW STACKS

Southland Times, Issue 23141, 6 March 1937, Page 14

NEW USE FOR OLD STRAW STACKS

MAKING ENSILAGE A novel method of making ensilage is being tried by Mr S. B. La Trobe, of Brockton, Charing Heath, Kent. His “silo” is the centre of an old stack of pea and bean straw. Mr La Trobe told The Farmers’ Weekly that the idea occurred to him when he had to face the problem of using up a piece of growing maize, which could not be fed to the cattle immediately owing to the abundance of grass. “I had no silo or pit,” he said, “and I decided to use the walls of the old stack, the straw of which could only be used for litter. The centre of the stack was cut away in two sections, leaving a pit of about 16 feet by eight feet, and 18 feet deep. The walls were three feet wide on the longest sides, and five feet wide at the ends. On one side of the pit I left a quantity of straw to be used, if necessary, in filling up the pit, and to soak up the juices from the ensilage. “During the filling of the pit, the maize was cut into short lengths, and pressed down tightly. When the pit was nearly full, a load of grass was placed on top of the maize. Then the stack was covered with wheat chaff, and the remaining walls were pushed over to form the roof. I must now await the results of my experiment.”