Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 92, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 February 1918 — The Neighborhood Corner [ARTICLE]

The Neighborhood Corner

Department of Farm Welfare Conductsd by County Agent Stewart Learning.

The Conservation of Farm Manures A paper prepared for the North Union Farmers’ club by R. L. Budd: The American people as a people are so constituted that it is useless to talk to them on conservation of any substance so long as that substance is plenteous. Not many years ago it was no uncommon sight to see large piles of logs rolled together and burned to get rid of them, whereas now everything possible of the trees is saved, even to the sawdust, for some purpose or other. And the same might be said of hundreds of other industries; objects one once considered a nuisance are now saved with great care and have become sources of large revenues. But the American people must be shown, they will not save until there is vital need for it So it must be well at the beginning of my talk to again bring to your attention the value olf farm manures in general. Experiments earried on —inthcstate of Indiana

show values per ton of manure of from $1.62 to $1.45 for the increase in the crop due to its use. These values were based on the pre-1 war prices of 50c and $1 for. corn and $2 for wheat places a value of j from $2.34 to $8.90 per ton. The lower figure is due to the fact tna. the ground where the manure was applied was much better to begin with than the latter figure. Therefore we would say that one means of conservation would be to place our manure on our poorer ground. Experimtents conducted over a ( period of twenty years in England j on a good type of soil show an aver-1 age increase of bushels of wheat per ton of manure applied, at present prices meaning a value of about $5 per ton. Experiments at Purdue show an average of almost four bushels of corn per ton of manure applied, at present prices meaning a value of almost $4. So you can see it is well worth our while to save every bit possible. Now, that we may get a better idea of the ways to save this valuable product, let us see of what it consists, and their relation to the body as a whole. We find that manure is made u>p of the ten principal constituents that make it a complete plant food. Of these we will mention only three as almost all soils have the other parts in abundance. These three are nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. The first of these, nitrogen, is generally considered the most important as

then is nothing that so helps a crop like an abundance of this part and there is nothing so readily removed by cropping and also by poor farm practices, one of which that might be stated here is the practice of farming ground wet. (However, nature seems to have given us an ample sufficiency of nitrogen for our present needs. Nitrogen is found chiefly in the liquid part of the manure. Next comes the phosphoric acid, which is found almost entirely in the dry matter olf the manure. Then we have the potash, which being a salt and very soluble is found almost entirely in the liquid. So, to keep the manure at its best proportion, we must keep it thoroughly mixed.

There are several methods in vogue of caring for the farm manures. Probably the oldest method Is that of throwing the manure out of the stable window. This method cannot be too much condemned for it does not take many rains to wash out the most valuable parts. One experiment showed a loss of 70 per cent of the fertilizing value of manure when stored in an open yard for a period of twelve months. This loss will be sustained much sooner when the manure is stored under the eaves. The average manure contains about 11 pounds of potash to the i ton- and about Ift pounds of -this 'is soluble with the 14 pounds of nitrogen contained in that same i ton is gradually washed away. Another method that has been ! practiced for many years is to put ( plenty of bedding in the stables 1 and allow the manure to lay there until hauled to the field. This is one of the best methods known if one has plenty of bedding material. By putting a bhiek layer of straw or other material in the stable before turning in the stock, the stock will tramp the bedding down so compactly that none of ! the liquid will seep through. And also the manure as made will be ' tramped so as to prevent the entrance of air. which causes heating or so-called firing.

- This process. i5....a very damaging one as it is a chemical change that allows the nitrogen to escape into the air. When this method is used it is best to allow the stock the run of the stables. The cement floor has been of great benefit in the saving of manure as it prevents leaching through the floor. But I do not believe there is any improvement on the farm more abused than a cement floor. For on by far too many farms the fertilizing elements saved by the aid of cement floors are throwed out on a pile to be lost by both firing and leaching. The farmer following such a method might almost as well have saved IhfmseW the trouble and expense of putting in the floor. I have in

mind a picture of a large barn capable oft' holding about fifty head of stock, with the liquid manure running out through the overflow into a ditch at the lower end of the barn. This could well have been prevented by a more liberal use of bedding. One method of handling manure that, while It is much better than, leaving it piled under the eaves, still leaves much to be desired. That is the practice of hauling it out and piling it up in small stacks in the field. This method does not stop the loss by firing yet leaves most of the fertility under the piles and the remaining soil gets comparatively little plant food. One of the best ways of handling manure is the manure pit in conjunction with t'he cement floor. The stables are cleaned as often as convenient, the manure being piled in the pit where it should be wet down and thoroughly tramped to prevent firing. If convenient, the pit should be placed so that the stock would be compelled to go through it to and from the stable. It is generally conceded that the best way to handle manure is to load it each day and take it to the field and spread it. But this cannot always be done. The use of the spreader for this purpose and its benefits, both in the even distribution of the manure and the saving of labor are too well known to need much mention here. There are two other' origins of considerable loss of (fertility in our community and doubtless also in many others, that should demand considerable study on our part. One is the loss of manure in our barnlots. This could be remedied by cementing the yard. The other is the use of a permanent stock yard. One has only to realize that 90 per cent of the potash of straw leaches out within two minutes after tlhe straw is thoroughly wet to know that this loss is enormous, especially when the potash is as scarce as It is now. All straw that cannot be housed should be stacked in a field that can be cultivat-

ed. This will also help lessen the loss in the tbarnyard as the stock ■ will spend less time in the yard if they are allowed the run of the stack. We believe the fertility thus saved will well pay you for the trouble of hauling in a little bedding occasionally. We must not forget the manure from the poultry house, as this is very rich in fertilizing elements. It has always been our practice to keep the place under the roosts as well bedded with worn out litter from the scratching pen, and we have been well pleased with the results. $2.27 a Bushel for Corn J. F. Meader has turned tn a report on his hog feeding demonstra-

tion for the month of January in J which he is feeding twenty-five pigs | under the direction of the Better Farming association. His report is as follows: Weight January 30......... 1670 Weight January 5 ..... .... 1200 Gain 4 70 COST 22 bushels corn ... ... . . .$22.00 217 lbs. tankage 10.80 1250 lbs. milk ........... 3.13 $35.93 Cost per 100 lbs. gain...... $7.64 5 Value of gain at 15c $70.50 Cost of milk and tankage. .. 13.93 Returns on 22 bu. c0rn....556.67 Returns per bushel corn . .$2.57 In discussing his feeding operations Mr. Meader says: "How can we feed our brood sows and the litter they will produce in the spring, during the coming surwmer months? This is the question that is being asked by many Indiana farmers. It will require all our ingenuity as farmers to do this ho successfully as to fulfill Uncle Sam’s request for an increase of 20 per cent in hog production in the state. But it can be done in spite oif difficulties, for Hoosier farmers have the will to finish what they start; and they started out last fall to increase hog production in Indiana 20 per cent. “There is plenty of soft corn to feed the most of the hogs during the winter, but it is none too soon to look ahead and budget our hogfeeding needs for the coining spring and summer. If the corn is so soft that it is evident it cannot be kept and used for feeding next summer. If you do not know what feeds to buy, if you do not know what to plant to obtain the proper succession of forage crops, if you have questions about how to Ifeed th® brood sow and her litter during farrowing and weaning time, you county agent or the Purdue university extension department can help you. "Don’t put this important matter of planning and providing for hog feeds next summer off until au emergency arises.. Think the matter over now. See you county agent or write the extension department at Lafayette, Indiana, before you forget it. The sooner you let them know what your wants will be, the more efficiently they can help you. Let’s be foresighted in our emergency hog production for Uncle Sam.”