The Algona Upper Des Moines from Algona, Iowa • Page 22

"Top Yields Cut Feed Costs" is stiff in livestock fanning today. If you hope to make top profit and still be operating 10 years from now, you have to put the latest money-making ideas to work in your setup for increased efficiency and top returns. Farm management specialists admit that good management doesn't come have to work at it. Common sense is the a willingness to accept new ideas that can make your operation really click. As these farm management experts pointed out at the "Com and Soybean Clinics" throughout the midwest last year, there is no set formula for profits.

Smart fanning pays it's a day- to-day proposition. The accent is on the first syllable of management behind every suc- cessful farming operation is a. top-notch manager. Harold Elliott has welded his resources into a highly efficient corn and beef operation near Cropsy, Illinois. Typical of many livestock feeders today, husky, hard driving Elliott is so busy he talks to you over his shoulder while he goes on with his work.

"My main aim in fanning today is to squeeze as much feed as possible out of every acre I farm," says Elliott. "The more I raise, the less I have to buy. "I need a lot of feed for all the cattle I market every year, and the difference between a good yield and a poor yield is a matter of real money." Elliott feeds out 500 to 750 head of cattle Kills germs that kill profits CCIIF HOW TO USE ANTI-GERM 50 Disinfectant-Sanitizer Deodorizer IMs'ilMcM Mmd rf cowpoMrft to- ifcMd to oMtta MHiMW WtcUU activity MM to Mfk kvd tutor tran. Mi wtuUHty Mjkto to hi iMtite- DIVISION CHAS. PFIZER 4 PNC.

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each-year. Until this year he fed anywhere from 300 to 800 head of hogs a year. While continually trying to increase his feeding power, here are some of the things he accomplished during the past yean Entered the DeKalb 200 Bushel Corn Club with a test plot of XL-45 which measured 147.38 bushels per acre of No. 2 corn. Raised over 45,000 bushels of corn on 300 acres, averaging nearly 150 bushels per acre.

Calendarized his corn planting so that harvesting was spread out during the fall, allowing him more time to handle his livestock chores, and permitting him to harvest all his corn in its peak condition. Turned to heavy silage rations to take full advantage of big yields and further cut his feed costs. These things, along with sound soil management and the gumption to try something new, have raised Elliott's yields to bin-busting proportions and cut his'feed bill to the bone. You needn't make a personal visit to the Elliott place to learn that he's a firm believer in feeding plenty of obvious from more than a mile away. Three tall silos tower over, his well- automated feedlot, which has taken much of the backache out of beef feeding for him.

"I feed a lot of corn silage," Elliott explains. "I'm fully convinced that the more roughage I can stuff into my cattle, the farther I'm stretching my rations and the more I'm cutting feed costs. I'm sure I'm getting more T.D.N. per acre by harvesting the whole plant rather than just the grain." Last summer he filled in with Sudax until he could start cutting silage. Elliott is constantly on the alert for new practices which might hike his efficiency and give extra profits.

In spite of the high average yield from his corn acres last year, Elliott is stiU far from satisfied. He's already looking forward to this fall's harvest when yields should be even better. Elliott's corn yields weren't always this good. "I used to just plant corn' like everyone else, until I realized one day that it takes just as much work to grow a poor yield as a good yield," he explains. "With the number of acres I have in corn, just a 5-bushel increase can mean about 1700 extra bushels of corn.

So I decided to try a little harder." Elliott did a lot of reading, talked with some of the people at the DeKalb Agricultural Association, and attended various meetings stich as the Corn and Soybean Clinic. Then I went out to my test plot, and tried some of these new-fangled ideas," he says. "I didn't try anything big right away. Sometimes certain crops and methods work better on one farm than the next, so I usually play it safe and try a little at a time." He tried several new hybrids, including the XL-45 which he is now so fond of, and moved to heavier fertilization. Gaining confidence through his test plot results, he applied what he learned on the bulk of his acreage.

This year he averaged 20 to 22,000 plants per acre. He applied 100 Ibs. of potash last fall, put down 135 Ibs. of actual nitrogen at the pre-plant stage and added 100 Ibs. of a commercial blend.

On some fields he applied as much as 150 Ibs, of actual nitrogen, And he already plants to fertilize at a higher rate next year..