502 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



in net energy and therefore differ radically in their feed requirements 

 from cattle which are being fattened. These need rations high in di- 

 gestible nutrients and net energy, to permit rapid gains in weight. (80, 

 129-130) It is evident, therefore, that corn stover silage is not a very 

 good substitute for corn silage for fattening cattle. In a trial by 

 Winchester at the Kansas Station 112 yearling steers fed corn silage con- 

 taining all the ears, along with 1 Ib. of cottonseed meal per head daily 

 to balance the ration, but with no other feeds, gained 1.87 Ibs. per 

 head daily. On the other hand, when corn stover silage was substituted 

 for the corn silage, steers gained only 0.33 Ib. daily. Gayle likewise 

 found corn-stover silage a very inefficient feed for fattening steers com- 

 pared with normal corn silage, in a trial at the Mississippi Station. 113 

 While corn stover silage is much inferior to corn silage for fattening 

 cattle, it is decidedly better than dry corn stover, as it is more palatable 

 and is consumed with less waste. 



Similar results were secured in 2 trials by Brown at the Michigan 

 Station. 114 Steers fed normal corn silage, with clover hay, a small 

 amount of cottonseed or linseed meal, and 4.7 Ibs. corn gained 2.16 Ibs. 

 a head daily. Other steers fed corn stover silage instead of normal silage 

 gained only 1.57 Ibs. a head daily, even tho they were fed 0.7 Ib. more 

 shelled corn per head daily. A third lot, fed similarly on corn stover 

 silage, except that the allowance of shelled corn was increased to 8.4 Ibs. 

 a day, gained only 1.80 Ibs. With normal silage at $4.00 a ton and corn 

 stover silage at only $1.60 a ton, the feed cost of 100 Ibs. gain, after 

 crediting the gains made by the pigs following the steers, was decidedly 

 lower when normal silage was fed. This shows that the corn stover 

 silage was not even worth 40 per ct. as much a ton as normal corn 

 silage in these trials. 



These trials, together with the results which have been secured with 

 dairy cattle (301, 632), show that it is a waste not only of labor but also 

 of feed to husk corn before ensiling it for animals being fed for pro- 

 duction. On the other hand, corn stover silage may be a very economical 

 feed for maintaining beef breeding cows or for wintering stocker steers, 

 as is pointed out in the next chapter. 



Many farmers think that a considerable part of the feeding value of 

 the corn grain is lost when the whole crop is ensiled. They believe that 

 if they husk out the corn and later feed it with silage made from the 

 stover, the feeding value of the crop is greater. Winchester found, 

 however, that the opposite is true. Steers fed corn stover silage plus 

 the corn which had been removed when the crop was ensiled, made 

 smaller and less economical gains than those fed the silage containing 

 the ears. In fact, in this trial the corn grain in the silage was worth 

 12 per ct. more than the same amount of corn husked out, shelled, and 

 fed in this form to the steers. 



112 Kan. Cir. 92. "'Information to the authors. 



113 Miss. Bui. 182. 



