496 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



775. Corn silage. Silage from well-matured corn, carrying an 

 abundance of ears and consequently a high proportion of corn grain, is 

 the best of all silage for beef cattle. (296-9) Such silage aids materially 

 in reducing the amount of concentrates which need be supplied in ad- 

 dition. To show the good results from feeding corn silage there are 

 summarized in the following table the results of 20 trials where a full 

 feed of corn silage was added twice a day to the already excellent ration 

 of shelled corn, cottonseed or linseed meal, and clover or alfalfa hay. 

 In these trials a total of 377 two-year-old steers averaging 978 Ibs. in 

 weight were fed for an average of 153 days. 



Value of corn silage when added to an already excellent ration 



Feed for 100 Ibs. gain Feed cost 



Daily Concen- Hay Silage of 100 



Average ration gain trates Ibs. gain 



Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Dollars 



Lot 7, no silage* 



Legume hay, 11.3 Ibs. 

 Shelled corn, 16.8 Ibs. 



Supplement, 2.7 Ibs 2.41 810 474 13.47 



Lot II Jed silage* 

 Corn silage, 26.4 Ibs. 

 Legume hay, 3.4 Ibs. 

 Shelled corn, 13.9 Ibs. 

 Supplement 2.7 Ibs 2.43 685 141 1,101 12.25 



*Average of 14 trials by Skinner, Cochel, and King (Ind. Buls. 129, 136, 153, 167, 178, 191, and 206); 

 2 by Evvard and Pew, Iowa Station (Breeder's Gaz., 61, 1912, p. 1,040, and Iowa Bui. 182); 2 by Gram- 

 lich, Nebr. Station (Information to the authors); 1 by Allison (Mo. Bui. 112) ; and 1 by Peters and Carnes, 

 Minn. Station (Information to the authors). 



The steers in Lot II, fed silage, consumed 26.4 Ibs. per head daily and 

 ate 2.9 Ibs. less corn and 7.9 Ibs. less legume hay than those in Lot I. 

 The silage ration did not produce appreciably larger gains than did 

 legume hay fed as the only roughage. The chief advantage from feeding 

 silage was the cheapness of the gains when this economical feed was used. 

 Silage feeding reduced the feed cost of each 100 Ibs. gain 41.22, a sum 

 which would often make the difference between a loss and a profit on the 

 feeding operations. 



In these trials each ton of corn silage saved on the average 227 Ibs. 

 of concentrates (practically all corn) plus 605 Ibs. clover hay. With 

 concentrates at only $20.00 per ton and clover hay at $14.00 per ton, 

 corn silage was worth $6.50 a ton. This is considerably more than the 

 cost of production on most farms, showing plainly the economy of silage 

 for beef production under corn-belt conditions. In 2 trials with calves 

 being fattened for baby beef by Cochel at the Kansas Station, 101 silage 

 had a similar high value, showing it is just as satisfactory for younger 

 steers as for 2-year-olds. 



For silage in the northern states a variety of corn should be grown 

 which will nearly mature in the average season, rather than attempting 

 to grow a rank-growing, late-maturing kind. Immature, watery silage 

 is of much lower feeding value than that from corn cut when the kernels 



^Information to the authors. 



