Montana farmer-stockman. [volume], June 01, 1951, Image 1

About Montana farmer-stockman. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1947-1993

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
HELENA
-- — — — —-— June 1, 1951
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This IS Hay
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Alfalfa Silage Provides
Closest Thing to Green
Grass for Winter Feed
By JERRY LESTER, Roving Reporter
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ALFALFA SILAGE put up for the past
three years at the Mark Moorman ranch,
Broadwater county, has meant wet-or-dry
haying with only a three-man crew plus an
unspoilable supply of winter feed that is the
closest thing to green grass obtainable. .
Last year about 600 tons of ensilage was
put into the trench silos. "A large propor
tion of this was first cutting," Moorman re
marked, "which makes excellent feed with
no waste in stems or coarse hay. We usually
let the wind blow the water from the alfalfa
after a rain before we start chopping. We
have had good success with the quality of
our silage without giving it a long wilt
period, using 6 to 8 pounds of ordinary table
sugar per ton of silage as a preservative.
40 to 50 Tons Per Day
A farmer planning such a silage operation
must be prepared to handle heavier hay
tonnages, Moorman points out. Hand labor
has been almost eliminated, however. He
puts up 40 to 50 tons of alfalfa a day using
only one truck, and says that with two
trucks this amount could be doubled. And
this means every step from mowing to put
ting the, alfalfa in the trench silo.
Actually, one man operates the .mower
with attached windrower, another operates
the field chopper from the tractor seat and
another drives the truck alongside the chop
per and then to the trench silos.
The same truck driver also unloads the
truck by pulling a lever that causes the ma
nure spreader conveyor on the truck bed to
roll out the alfalfa. The four-ton truckload
is rolled out of the truck and into the pit in
a matter of four or five minutes.
Sprinkle With Sugar
The operation from here on consists of
packing down the layers of alfalfa in the
trench by driving ä track type tractor over
each layer of silage. This is usually done in
an hour or so in the evening, along with
sprinkling on. the sugar for fermentation.
Moorman uses table sugar to make the
silage and says it is the most economical
fermenting agent. The Sugar is also the eas
w
COVERS MONTANA AND NORTHERN WYOMING .
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ABOVE: Self-pewMAd
hoary duty chopper at
tha Mark Moorman
farm. Broadwater coun
ty, is chopping alfalfa
hay from the windrow
and blowing it into the . ,
truck for delivery to «
trench silos.
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;
.
I
RIGHT: A pull on a
lever and the truck
automatically puts off
the load of chopped al
falfa into the trench
silo. The job takes
about four or five min
utes. Power take off on
truck furnishes the
power for the simple
chain-angle iron con
veyor belt.
long and 18 feet across. Two of these
trenches were full of silage last fall, holding
iest to handle and adds food value to the ra
tion in its own right. About six to eight
pounds of sugar is needed per ton of silage.
This brings the fermenting cost of the silage
to probably less than 75 cents a ton.
The trench silos are dug into a gravelly
hillside and are about 12 feet deep, 130 feet
450 tons each.
Feeding value of the silage was probably
best explained when Moorman told about
some old dry cows that were sold for $24.75
per 100 pounds after a ration including the
grass silage. He said the cows weren't even
considered good culls when the feeding was
started but fattened up in fine shape.
Silage High in Nutrients
Alfalfa silage is high in nutrients and
vitamins and is very palatable," Moorman
14
explained. "In our experience we have
found it is better to feed both silage and dry
hay rather than either product alone. A year
ago we fed as high as 40 pounds of silage to
cows carrying calves along with what dry
hay they would eat and one pound of 20 per
cent protein pellets. The cows did very well
on this ration.
Last winter we fed 45 yearling steers the
following ration: 9 pounds of mixed steam
rolled grain (3 pounds each of barley, oats
and wheat), 1 pound of 32 percent pellets
and all the hay and silage they would eat.
While feeding silage to our livestock, we
have had. no bloating. The calves also were
fed silage and dry hay free choice.
I believe it is very profitable to feed any
and all farm grown grains and hay to cattle,
as there is profit in feeding the stock *ahd
there is profit in the manure available to put
back on the land," Moorman added.
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