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ground corn or corn silage?

R

RedJA

Member
Been thinking about feeding out about ten steers. I have 5 acres
that I could grow corn for feed. I have the equipment to grow the
corn and a hammer mill to grind it . Would have to buy a corn
puller or silage cutter. I have seen used pullers sell under
1000.00 and small silage cutter around 2 to 3 thousand. Would
silage put the weight on about the same or what?
 
i'm just curious what's a puller do you mean corn picker ? and by cutter i guess you mean chopper?i think you might be better off doing hay silage will spoil rather quickly if not stored properly in a pit or such hopefully someone that knows much more will chime in for you
 
Ground ear corn is a great way thru a 1in screen on the hammermill no problem keeping and if the picker picks dirty all the better. You didnt say what they weigh now but you will be a little short on corn unless you get a 175 or so yeild for 10 head.
 
What weight do you plan to buy the 10 head of cattle at? You could plant the 5 acres to alfalfa or plant corn and ear pick it. Corn for sileage would be good but after chopping it you would have to put it in a silo or have it bagged in a plastic bagger. If you planted alfalfa, you could mow it and round bale it then have it wet wrapped, which is essentially hay sileage. You could get 4 cuttings a year easily with alfalfa as its ready to mow every 30 days.
 
They would be around 350 too 400 lbs. now. I would probally
have to mix some bought feed with the ground corn and some
minerals. Don't want to have to dig a pit so if it can't be stored
in a grain bin I would go with grinding corn with the hammer
mill. How long could you store ground corn in barrels with lids.
 
If you don't want to dig a pit you can try a packed stack. I did one by unloading the silage wagon slowly then driving on top of that silage when dumping the next row. Made a stack 12 feet wide by 100 feet long. Had 20 big loads In it and it was only 30 inches high and kept very well.
 
You can make a silage stack and they will last a year without too much loss if packed well. we did one every year. You rarely loose enough to pay for bags, at least in our area. It might be some worse in hot climates. My friend Jeff does a pit every year and this year didn't cover it with plastic as he did in the past. So far the loss is the same with or without cover. Over summer that may change tho.
 
I raise about that many per year. We've had good luck with fanned corn( ground more than cracked but not fine, local mill does it) with some mineral and around 200 lbs of soy meal mixed in per ton of corn. I buy them a little bigger usually angus or semi crosses around 600lbs and they are 800lbs +/- at 14 months old. I think I figured at one time I go through about 100 bushel of corn/head. I keep that and grass hay in front of them all the time. I'd think ear corn would be fine too. Could just up the corn a little and down the hay.
 
The first year I did a pile and packed the crap out if it. I had so much I had to go wider than I wanted and took out half at a time because I couldn't keep up with the face. The problem was the side you are leaving behind would spoil a few inches an I didn't like the waste. The next year I put round bales two wide the width I wanted for the face then lined it with plywood. Packed the crap out of it then covered it. Was better but still didn't like the four inches or so of waste on top. The next year I didn't do any because I was frustrated with the waste and i still believe if you don't have a good set up don't bother. Then I looked into bags. About 180 tons fit in a 200x8' bag. If you loose only 15% of 180 tons in a pit that is 27 ton or $945 of wasted feed if you replaced it at $35 per ton. The bag costs me $400 including bagger with no loss so that's a good way to go for me. Corn silage gives you a considerable amount more feed if your set up for it properly but if not then pick it and be done with it.
 
Depending on where you are of course, but you should be able to buy an old pull type chopper real cheap, being it would only be for 5 acres or so. Most people that really chop a lot don't want smaller older ones.
 
This may sound crazy but is a cheap way to feed cattle. Have high quality alfalfa or similar high protein feed in front of them at all times, then feed about 10% of their body weight in corn daily. This will give max wt gain at lowest cost.
 
Yes, it does sound crazy. You have obviously never fed cattle. Any feedlot following your advice would be broke in a week. Two bushels of corn per day for an 1120 lb steer? Plus free choice high protein alfalfa hay? Oh they'll never get sick on that will they?
 
All those who talk about chopping silage, putting it on a pile, no cover, no feed loss......are full of the product at the back end of the steer!

You asked about the difference between feeding silage vs corn grain. Silage, and other roughage, like alfalfa hay, provides a slower growth rate cuz it builds frame on the animal, compared to a shelled corn, barley, other grain mix, (with the necessary protein supplement, that builds muscle (meat).

So no, a steer fed a lot of roughage, like silage and hay, will finish later, compared to a steer fed grain and protein pellets.
 
Look into a product called tend r lean. Most mills can make a pellet similar to it if it's not available. Feed the stuff with whole shell corn. A xvery cheap and easy way to put the pounds on.
 
I think you missed the point alfalfa is the protein, which builds muscle, the corn is the Carbs. that is needed for energy. Doing this means you do not have to feed expensive pellets
 
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