Corn Silage and Roots for Steers

This bulletin includes the results of two experiments in feeding corn silage to steers. The object of these experiments was to determine the value of silage as a sole ration for wintering steers; and also as a roughage, when fed with grain, for fattening operations. It was further desired to determine the value of different root crops when added to the grain ration for fattening steers

Rape Pasture for Pigs in Corn Field Kaoliang and Alfalfa Hay for Pigs

Some pod: producers in South Dakota practice the turning of their pigs in the cornfield during the late summer and early fall to pick their own feed instead of gathering the corn and hauling it to them. The practice is a good one because it saves much labor. Pigs do well under these conditions, probably because they secure more of a variety of forage with their corn than they would receive in a dry lot or even on a good pasture. By this practice they are required to take exercise which is also a benefit to the growing pig. In this connection we believe there would be less disease and ailments of different kinds if more exercise were required of the pig. We further believe that if the pig were required to take more exercise the body would be better developed and \u27We would hear less complaint of breeds of hogs running out.” The above picture shows that the pigs did a thorough piece of work. Even the kernels of corn were picked up, probably a cleaner job of picking than when the corn is picked by hand or with machinery. Before turning in the field we believe it a good practice to feed new corn cut from the field so that they may be brought to their new ration gradually. The number of pigs to put on an acre will depend on the condition of the corn. Because of the uncertainty of the weather in the late fall it is better to put on too many than not enough as a few will knock down the corn and eat part of the ears and make it difficult to husk. Then again the waste will be great under these conditions as there will be much shelled corn on the ground uneaten

Corn Silage for Steers and Mill Products for Steers

Summary1. The results show that all of the steers made good gains while receiving corn silage as the sole roughage ration.2. Oil meal, dried distilled grains and cottonseed meal are valuable feeds to mix with corn silage for the economical production of a pound of gain. The results show that their relative value ranks in the order mentioned above.3. The largest gains and .the most uniform gains were made by steers in lot that received oil meal and corn silage. The average daily gain compares favorably with the gains made by steers of a similar age receiving a full feed of corn and oil meal. However the latter was a much more expensive ration.4.The steers receiving oil meal consumed an average of ten pounds more of corn silage per head daily than those receiving cottonseed meal and silage and also made a larger and a cheaper gain than steers in other lots. 5. The results of this experiment show that the dried distilled grains feed was not as valuable as oil meal to mix with silage but more valuable than cottonseed meal. The gains were larger and more uniform than those that received cottonseed meal. Fewer pounds of silage and dried distilled feed were required for a pound of gain than with lot that reached silage and cottonseed meal.6. Corn silage and shelled corn does not make the best ration, it all being too carbonaceous. The steers in lot receiving oats and siIage made larger and more uniform gains than those that received shelled corn

Fattening Pigs

The production of pork is one of the principal industries in the corn-belt. The pig will yield a larger return for the feed consumed than either the sheep or the steer and will make a larger daily gain for his weight than any other animal on the farm. All animals fatten rapidly when receiving corn as a ration on account of its highly carbonaceous nature. But the question is often asked by farmers who are practicing dairying to a greater or less extent, what is the value of skim milk and buttermilk for the pig when fed in conjunction with corn? The Thirteenth Census Report of the United States shows that there has been an increase of 1934 per cent in the swine industry in South Dakota during the past ten years. There has also been a large increase in the number of dairy cows in the state during this time. This increase can justly be attributed to the prevailing high prices of dairy products, the influx of new settlers from dairying and corn-producing states, and the gradual extension of the corn-belt northward. Dairying and pork production go hand in hand, since the by-products of the creamery are unexcelled, when accessibility is considered, as a feed to increase the returns from a bushel of corn when fed to pigs

Breeding and Feeding Sheep

Sheep-farming has been practiced since the earliest times, and is one of the most profitable branches of the livestock industry. The modern breeds are the result of careful selection and breeding of those best adapted to the various localities, each breed being established for distinct purposes. Soil, climate and feed in these localities determined to a large extent the characteristics of the breed. Nearly all of the common breeds are of foreign origin, and the turn controlling factors in their development were the production of mutton and the production of wool. The sheep has been termed the plant scavenger of the farm. In fact, there are very few plants: sheep will not eat during some stage of its growth, and yet the cured fodders and grasses must be of the best quality to obtain the best results in feeding operations. Sheep require less pasture than any other animal on the farm. After the grain is cut and stacked, sheep are turned on the stubble to eat the weeds which otherwise would go to seed. Many farmers make a practice of turning lambs into the corn field in the early fall to gather up all the weeds. Many farmers in the corn belt sow rape with the grain to furnish additional feed since this affords an abundance of succulent forage late in the season up to the time of severe frosts. Bulletin 119 of this Station (edition exhausted) reports an average gain on lambs in a two year\u27s experiment pasturing sheep on rape of .34 and .37 of a pound daily. This gain is larger for the same breed, and was made much cheaper than the gain made by any of the lots in this six years\u27 experiment where grain and oilmeal were fed. A brief history of each of the six breeds used in this experiment is given to show the similarity in their blood lines. In this connection it will be noted that the oldest and best established breeds were the strongest breeders

Sunflower Silage for Steers Smutted Corn Silage for Cows

This bulletin includes the results of two experiments in feeding cattle as follows: Part I Sunflower Silage for Steers. Part II Corn Smut Silage for Pregnant Cows

Tankage and Other By-Products for Pigs. Shrunken Wheat for Swine.

The word by-product is applied to a class of substances which during the process of manufacture at the mills and factories remain after the more valuable materials have been extracted. There are several kinds of these by-products in the market for sale as feeding stuffs, such as gluten meal, cottonseed Meal, oil meal, tankage, blood meal, bran, etc., and some have boon found to be of great value Lo the stockman when fed in conjunction with our commonly grown grains. They are valuable for feeding purposes because they contain, in abundance, the protein or nitrogenous part of a feed so necessary for the growth of the animal

Speltz and Millet for the Production of Baby Beef

1. In feeding calves for the production of baby beef the following prices were obtained per bushel for grains used: Corn 47 cents, oats 26 cents, millet 38 cents and speltz 33 cents.2. They were shipped to Chicago under two years old; averaged 1,250 pounds, and sold on their merits in lots, same as they were fed, at the following prices per hundred pounds: The corn lot, $6.25; the oats lot,$6.00; the millet lot, $5.75; the speltz lot,$5.85.3. It required .37 of a pound more of ground millet seed than it did ground corn to produce a pound of gain on calves fattened for baby beef.4. Calves raised and fattened on Black Veronesh millet seed, sown on the 28th day of June on spring breaking of prairie sod, were made to average 1,175 pounds per head at 1 year, 10 months and 23 days of age, and brought $5.75 per hundred pounds on the Chicago market.5. Fat made by Black Veronesh millet seed was much softer to the touch than that made by either corn, oats or speltz.6. When fed as a fattening ration, this variety of millet seed seems to be more like oats than corn. This is shown by the fact that the lot fed on oats required practically the same quantity of hay per pound of gain as did the lot fed on millet.7. Black Veronesh millet seed produced a carcass equal in quality to that of corn, as is shown by the cut on page 74 of this Bulletin.8. The best gains were made with the ground millet during the fattening period, being 1.76 pounds per head daily, while the lot fed on corn meal produced 2.08 pounds per head daily during\u27 this period.9. The lot fattened on speltz made an average daily gain of 1.69 pounds, while the lot fattened on corn made an average daily gain of 1.84 pounds.10. During the grass period the lot fed on speltz gained 112 pounds more than did the lot fed on corn. It required only 5.16 pounds of speltz for a pound of gain, as compared with 7.03 pounds of corn to produce a pound of gain during the grass period.11. The lot fed on speltz did not consume as much hay per pound of gain as did other lots, indicating that the husk of speltz is a good substitute for hay.12. Speltz produces a hard fat, about the same as oats; and as good a quality of meat as corn, as may be seen by cut of rib and loin on page 73 of this Bulletin. 13. With the exception of the speltz lot, the spayed heifers brought the same price as the steers. In this case a reduction of 50 cents per hundred was made on account of the spayed heifer being smaller than the steers in the lot which brought$6.00 per hundred.14. Ground oats proved to be a profitable feed for the production of baby beef. From a careful examination of the lots before shipping these steers were nearly as fat as those fed on corn. The cut of rib and loin from an average carcass of the oat lot on page 74 of this Bulletin shows a high quality of meat.15. When calves were fed in lots on the same kind of grain from birth to maturity those which received the most highly carbonaceous grain produced the largest per cent of dressed meat

The Feeding Value of Speltz in Beef and Pork Production

Three subjects were investigated in this experiment:(1) The value of speltz, both whole and ground, for steers as compared to whole corn.(2) The value of speltz, both whole and ground for the production of pork.(3) The comparative value of speltz and corn for hogs when following steers fed in these grains.Speltz is of Russian origin and has evidently found a home in the semi-arid region of the Northwest. The real name is Emmer (Triticum dicocuum,) but speltz is the commonly accepted term. With the exception of three countries west of the Missouri River it is now grown in every county in the state. According to the second census report of South Dakota, published in 1905, of the crops for 1904, two-thirds of the speltz produced in this state was grown in a section lying east of the Missouri River and north of a line passing through the southern boundary of Brookings County westward to the Missouri River