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SILAGE
FARMERS' SALVATION IN
DROUGHTS
INTERESTING FACTS AND FIGURES
.. "That silage may be the salvation of furm
ers in , dry districts hardly, anyone will deny
these days. If losses which have overtaken
farmer's in' seasoiis of drought are carefully
analysed, it will be found that the most seri-;
ous deficiencies have been not those incur
red by the failure or partial failure of the
grain harvest, but those represented by loss
of stock. The truth of this will be realised
when it is recalled how easily <i farmer can
'gel ou his feet again' who lias his livestock'
undiminished.'? '•
With the foregoing observation, an officer
of the Department of Agriculture introduces
the subject of fodder conservation in general
and ensilage as^a farm investment in par
ticular. Judging by the" total quantity of fod
der conserved each year, lie continues, farmers
and graziers have'evidently yet to appreciate
its. value. Perhaps i£> large capital were re
quired for'.the* purpose, or if special skill or
knowledge : were .^required to make a good
sample, there .would bq less reluctance to em
bark 011 the itask; but neither capital nor
spceial;' skill are necessary. The commercial
value of silage was indicated when, towards
the end of the drought of 1919, the manager
of the Wagga Experiment Farm was offered
£9 per ton for silage, which, after ploughing;
seeding, manuring, cutting, and carting in]
had cost no more'" than 13s 4d.
WORK IT OUT
At that time, hay was worth £15 "per ton,
and to supply: lib. per head daily meant an
outlay of £7 10s per day for 1000 sheep. The
difference in favour of, say,' 21b. per head
daily of silage w*hicli had cost only 13s 4d per
ton in the pit is easy to calculate. When out
recalls the straits to which some farmers
are' reduced in periods of drought, and the
hurried appeals'that have to be mad^ to the
Rural Industries Board for hay or chaff at
high prices, the neglect of. opportunities so
easily available must ever be a matter of sur
prise. When one further recalls that with a
good many the losses made during a drought
ljave barely :been made good before anothet
puts the farmer' back where he was, sur
prise only increases.
• The making'of sijage pata. a - farmer who
runs shegp of cattle} in a position in' whicK
he v can regard . drought with. absolute equai.
:"mitv. " ,
PROCESS OF PITTING
At theVWagjja jEaqperimeiit Farm two pits
hav.e been excavate'd on the side of a gentle
slope by: plough irig'a-nd - scooping... Th o dimen:
siops are 18 feet wide, 7 or 8 feet (or;.even 9
feet) dsep., and about 70 feet long. The
capacity .of tl|(e pit _ caii be. increased? or do
creased by increasing'or ^decreasing the^lengthj
but it is riot wise to vary very mifcli the
width or"" depth from thb-^figures giveij. Th$
si^,es o^^the .pit should-be.quite; .pei-penaicular-j
go|that. -the fodder- can sink, dow,n ;unli^ndered",
aiitl at eai?h .end a. ba^tcxishpuldjb^ formed :o£"
onfe in. thi;ee.-j;
The approxiiisite cost1 of exca"Vating| such a
pi^ should-tie *16 per cubic \yard-;;. As |i cubic'
ya*d"' contains '%^rokiiiiat$ly half a|ton -of.
8ilftge,,.a ^pit capat)le_[ol* Jroldirig1100 jjtons !of
sifage need8"kti exik^at%'fl.T5f 200-cubit yards,
or^approximately £10. A drain'ali'ould jbe con
structed-bvutside°^^ pit to take' away any
water ^thftt ini^ht run "in. - • V ;
^The materials with which a' pit |ca-n be
filled .-are innumerable; - If, for ;.insfence, a
faTjner fhas a paddock",, that is <tir|y with wild
oajs, hfe could make,.no. better.-.start to clean
it^up than to plough it and sow it early ijj
.Skinl^ £)£ patpe barle^^or with
an early-maturing' Variety gf Vats, such as
Sunrise, aiid, .then .cut-jthfl - .ro'p rather earlier
than for In -that *wayv tiie wild oats are
harvested b'eforp >thqy arc: ripej and the growth,
is turned to valtiable account, for wild oats
make as good silage aa-_any crop. ."
THOROUGH PACKING IMPORTANT
As , soon as ths crop has been cut Avith a
reaper aii'd, binder itis. eaitdd; to the' pits and
thfi sheaves laid lengthways and the band*
cut. It is, essential that the material pack
well together,- oiMt will not euro into good
silage. The air pockets that are bound to oc
cur'if the stuff {is", tumbled'iii any way or if
t.lie sheaves are pillowed to cross on&junother
would ruin the fodder. In carting • in, the
horses and waggons are drawn straight through
the pitj serving the double.purpose of making
it easiervto unload and of consolidating the
greenstuff already Parted, in. To Iccilitale
the movement of the horses and waggons it i
permifcsible, perhaps-, to put one or two layers
across the- rest..vwJien .the':pit is half full, but
solid packing- nrifst ever« be>kept-in. view.
The pit is-fijietl to.3 or 4 feet above gi-vtind
level, and, having settled, in a few days is
filled again. This is repeated several times
until the settling down has ceased, and then
about 13 inches , of earth is' scooped bask oil
to the top of='the pit. /
When thei pitUias to. be opened, the soil is
thrown back • about . 5 or ti feet, aiid the
silage is cut in square blocks with a hay
knife or a lieart-shaped spade, the edges of
which have be^ii sharpened, and loaded on to
drays to be fetl to stock. j
Properly inside, silage will keep without i
deteriordation for year's-—exactly how long
it is hard to say, but samples have been seen
of excellent fodder 14 years old.
i Silage is the nearest approach to actual
green fodder; it is inexpensively conserved,
it is unaffected by rodents or by fire, and a
ton of it daily, together with a little dry feed
in the paddocks, will keep 1000 slieep in fair
I condition.
I . : I
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