The digestibility of oat and tare silage

Abstract

During the last decade the production of silage has, in various parts of the country, become a matter of considerable importance, and many scientific investigations in connection with this practice have been carried out. The bulk of this work has been directed towards the study of the changes undergone by the crop in the silo, together with the determination of the character and the amount of the losses which occur. Little or no attention has been given to the question of the digestibility of silage, although it is of obvious interest to determine how the digestibilities of its ingredients compare with those of the green crop from which it has been made. The investigation to be described in this communication is preliminary to one of larger scope, which will have for its object the comparison of the digestibilities of the green fodder, hay and silage of the oat and tare crop. A knowledge of these comparative data, when considered in conjunction with the available information regarding the losses sustained by the crop in the making of hay and silage, will enable the question of the relative economy of hay and silage production to be settled.