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The Corn Plant for Wintering Stock Calves

University of Nebraska

Abstract

Throughout the Corn Belt it is not uncommon to see approximately one-third the tonnage of the corn crop harvested for grain and the other two-thirds (the stalks) cut and burned. This unused fodder, if properly utilized, would furnish a large part of the winter ration for a good many head of livestock. In Nebraska, at least until recently, the most common method of using this roughage, where it was used at all, was to feed it from the shock as whole or cut fodder. A few farmers at one time ensiled their corn crop, but later complained that the method seemed expensive and laborious. The reason why more farmers did not try the silo was that they questioned the value of silage for beef cattle. Realizing the increasing importance of the winter roughage problem in Corn Belt cattle feeding operations the Nebraska station in 1929 started a series of cattle wintering experiments.

In these tests the corn plant formed the basic ration and was fed as shelled corn, as corn silage, and as ground corn fodder. Besides gains and economy of those gains, returns per acre of crop were considered since most men feeding cattle are farmers first and cattle feeders second. The results reported in this paper represent an average of three such trials averaging 143 days in duration.