Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 160, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1916 — PUTTING SHOCK CORN IN SILO ANY TIME [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PUTTING SHOCK CORN IN SILO ANY TIME

(By C. H. "ECKLES, Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station.) Dry corn fodder may be put into the silo any time during the fall or winter with good results, although it is better to put It in at the proper stage, according to the results obtained at the Missouri station. It is very difficult to make silage in the winter time on farms which do not have water systems, which makes it easy to add a ton of water for every ton of silage. It will not do to rely upon supplying the water through the cutter, as only about a third enough can be added in this way. No better results are obtained if the water is poured on the top after the filling has been completed. Channels”form and drain the upper portion of the silo, leaving most of the fodder dry. There is little danger of adding too much water, but of course ft makes unnecessary work. Of ten or twelve farmers who made silage from shock corn and furnished samples for analysis, one who added apparently too little water says: “The silage was good at first, but got drier and drier toward the bottom." In a number of cates the silage molded, and in every such case it was found that too little water had been added. If the filling is done during wet weather, the fodder may be so damp that less need be added, but the only way to be sure of getting good results is to measure the amount of water sprayed on by the hose per minute and adjust the hose and the cutter in such a way that a ton of water will be even-

ly distributed over every ton of dry fodder cut into silage. The conclusions of the college dorived from filling three small silos at different dates, and with the addition of different amounts of water, agree closely with the opinions of the farmers who had used such silage, and may be summarized py saying that (1) the feed was satisfactory and more palatable than the shock corn, (2) such silage is not equal to that made by putting in the corn at the proper stage in the fall, (3) such refilling prevents the loss in feeding value, which occurs when the fodder is left in the shock; (4) silage is more convenient than shock fodder to feed, and (5) the stalk is more completely eaten. One of the farmers who have had experience says: "I would recommend putting shock corn in the sUo any time up to February, believing it to be much more valuable as silage than when fed to cattle from the shock. I prefer putting it in the silo at the proper stage, however.” Another farmer writes: “We filled a silo in the middle of the winter. Supplied the water with a hose in the silo. Water was taken up rapidly. Silage became very hot in 24 hours. The silage was in fine condition when fed. Stock ate the silage practically as well as fresh corn silage. Better to fill one silo three times than to build two or three, especially on account of the greater facility in getting help.”

Filling a Silo at the Missouri College of Agriculture.