Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1912 — FEEDING CORN FODDER [ARTICLE]

FEEDING CORN FODDER

Exptrljnetits Show that Corn Stover Is Valuable in Beef Production— Ccrn S'over Is One of the Many By-Products of the Farm. (By J. E. Waggoner of the I H C Service Bureau) Profit is a stimulus which causes men to engage In some one or more of the many phases of busim'ss. *lt may be commerce, the industries, banking, farming or some other activity, yet when all is said, the profit trom that particular line of work is usually the attractive feature. Competition has become so strong that profit in many undertakings is made only by practising the strictest principles of economy and exercising unusual care in looking after the small things and what might be termed “by-products.” For instance, one, of the sources of the banker’s income is the small increase in the rate of interest on money loaned over what it cost him. The same is true of the farmer. The increase in the value of land has. putting farming on more cf a business basis in order to realize a profit on the investment.

Much has been said and written regarding saving and utilizing the waste products of the farm, and it is encouraging to note that more farmers are making better use of all the products of their farms than ever before. One of the most serious wastes has been the neglect to save and utilize the entire corn crop. The principal market demand has been for the grain. This, combined with an abundance of hay, has not been conducive to the use of corn fodder as a rough forage. Conditions have changed the past few years; among other things, hay has advanced in price to such an extent that it is only good business practice for a farmer to supply his rough forage in the form of corn fodder and put his hay on the market. Every grower of an acre of corn should know the feeding value of the entire crop. It is quite generally known what returns can be expected from the grain, but few farme/s know the feeding value of the corn stover (stalks without the ears). Reports from the Nebraska Experiment Station on experiments made comparing combinations of shelled corn, snapped corn, alfalfa and corn stover show that when stover is used as half of the roughage it reduces the cost of gains on two-year-old steers from 40 to 48 cents per hundred. The stover w’as found to be actually worth $3.55 per ton as compared with alfalfa fed alone at $6.00 per ten. The farm value of alfalfa and other hay crops reached a mark of more than twice this amount the past year, thus increasing the value of corn stover from 18.00 to 512.00 per ton.

With these figures before us, it is plain to see that the corn belt farmer is neglecting one of his important sources of income by letting his cornstalks stand in the field. Considering the small yield of only one ton of stover to the acre, the returns of the American farmer would have been increased millions of dollars last year if this what might be called by-product had been saved. Coming back to the Individual farmer, he would have realized his proportion of this profit. During this summer is the time to plan on cutting the corn for fodder this fall and utilizing to the best advantage the entire corn crop. We find that the Nebraska bulletin No. 100 says: “By feeding corn fodder, we utilize the stalk and yet are put to no extra labor husking it. In fact, corn can be cut with a harvester and put in the shock cheaper than it can be picked arid cribbed, inasmuch as three men with a team and harvester can cut and shock seven acres per day. Records from the farm department of this experiment station show that it costs sl.lß per acre to cut and shock corn, which figure does not allow for the wear’ and tear on the machine. Three cents per bushel should cover the cost of harvesting corn with a machine and putting it in the shocks.”

The logical way of saving the corn crop is to shred the fodder. Extensive experiments at the Wisconsin Experiment station show that about 24 per cent of the feeding value of fodder is lost if left exposed to the elements. By shredding and storing, this loss will be prevented. The fodder is also in a much more convenient form for handling, and is relished more by the stock. Shredded fodder does not occupy as much room for storing as the unshredded, and the stable manure is much easier handled. In summing up the results of various feeding experiments with corn in all forms it is found that the best way to utilize the corn crop is to save the stalks either in the form of ensilage or shredded fodder. The records of the Nebraska Experiment Station dispel any doubt as to the economy of harvesting corn by the use of the corn binder as compared w;ith husking the standing corn in the field. Under ths latter condition the stalks would be lost. The value of the stalks as a rough feed, considering hay at the present price, is at least SB.OO per ton. An ordinary yield of corn will produce two or three tons of stover to the acre. Compare this value with the price of fifty cents per acre, which is usually paid for stalks standing in the field. When corn is fed as shredded fodder, the loss of stock due to cornstalk di=e?se is entirely prevented. Every farmer that has stock to feed should plan to turply the most of his roughage in the of shredded corn fodder, thu= utilizing In the l est possible way his entire corn crcp.