Feeding Dairy Cattle 

 is the entire corn plant harvested with the ears on, if there 

 are any ears. It used to be grown sown broadcast, but few 

 farmers would do that in modern times. A variety should 

 be chosen that is reasonably sure to mature so that the grain 

 and stover may be obtained. Immature corn fodder with 

 half grown nubbins has practically no more value than corn 

 stover from which the corn grain (ears) has been removed. 

 Comparative analysis shows the total digestible nutrients in 

 corn fodder to be 1074 per ton and in corn stover 932 per ton. 

 Therefore, one should be sure to choose a variety suited to 

 one's climate in order to grow all the grain in the plant 

 possible -and if the plant cannot be put into a silo pick off the 

 best of the ears for husking and feed the rest as fodder. 



Right here let it be urged that the field is no place to 

 house corn stover. The more soluble digestible nutrients 

 and much of the palatability of the plant is washed away by 

 this treatment and this material washed out is of no use to 

 the soil since it is largely carbohydrate in nature. Therefore, 

 preserve the corn fodder under a roof as soon as it is cured 

 enough so that it will not mold too badly in storage in order 

 to have as much total digestible nutrients in the fodder as 

 possible. 



XXVI. Concentrates Derived from the Corn Plant 



A KERNEL of corn is a most useful bit of food from 

 either the human or animal point of view. A study 

 of its analysis in comparison with other foods will 

 show that it is low in mineral matter and low in fiber. The 

 first must be overcome by proper combination with other 

 foods in order that the proper mineral elements may be 

 found in the ration. The fact that corn is low in fiber is a 

 very useful thing in that this is one of the principal factors 

 that gives corn its great value as a food for hogs. The upper 

 ■hmit of fiber in an ideal ration for hogs seems to be about 

 6 per cent, although hogs can handle a ration with 10 per 

 cent, fiber but they will not do so well. 



Corn is low in protein and the proteins need to be sup- 

 plemented with feeds from other sources and of course corn 

 grain must be supplemented by foods in the ration from the 

 leafy portions of plants which are derived from the roughage 

 parts of the ration. The palatabihty of corn and its great 

 amount of easily digestible carbohydrates (starch) give it its 

 high place among all of our grain feeds. 



Page One Hundred Eleven 



