15 

 PART II 



A LIMITED FEED OF CORN AS COMPARED WITH A 

 FULL FEED OF CORN FOR FATTENING CATTLE 



Cattle are coming to be considered on the corn belt farms pri- 

 marily as instruments for the disposition of the rough feed produced 

 in order that the market value may be secured for this by-product of 

 corn production and the soil fertility returned to the land. Since 

 the price of corn continues higher and is more fully utilized by hogs 

 than by cattle, the desirability of reducing the quantity of corn neces- 

 sary to fatten cattle is readily apparent. This is especially true if it 

 is possible to make good cattle on the roughage produced on the 

 farm, and which when sold, commands a comparatively low price 

 when the soil fertility removed is considered. Also cattle are pre- 

 eminently the greatest users of roughage available for use in the 

 corn belt. This is especially true for corn silage. Therefore, the 

 desirability of reducing, as far as possible, the corn required to fat- 

 ten cattle and substituting therefor corn silage which is produced in 

 such abundance on the farm, is highly important. In order to test the 

 feasibility of using corn silage more largely for fattening cattle Lot 

 i in this trial was fed a ration of corn silage, clover hay, and cot- 

 tonseed meal. During the first month no corn was fed. The fol- 

 lowing amounts of corn were fed thereafter: second month, five 

 pounds daily per steer; third month, seven pounds daily per steer; 

 fourth month, eight pounds daily per steer; and fifth month, nine 

 pounds daily per steer. The cattle in Lot 4 were fed a ration of 

 corn, cottonseed meal, clover hay, and corn silage. The corn was 

 fed in such quantities as the cattle would consume after they had 

 been gradually worked onto a full feed. 



DAILY RATION. The average daily feed consumed per head 

 is shown in Table V. 



It will be noted that the cattle receiving a limited feed of corn 

 ate larger quantities of both clover hay and corn silage than the 

 cattle on full feed. The greatest difference in silage consumption 

 occurred in the fourth month while the greatest difference in hay 

 consumption occurred during the first month. The average of the 

 entire period showed that the cattle receiving a limited feed of corn 

 consumed 3.09 pounds of hay and 33.01 pounds of corn silage as 

 compared with 2.04 pounds of clover hay and 28.64 pounds of corn 

 silage by the cattle receiving a full feed of corn. The average dif- 

 ference in corn consumption was 4,01 pounds daily during the entire 

 period. 



