C ORN silage is being utilized in increased quantities in beef cattle growing and fattening rations. The research data of Hammes et al. (1964), with various ratios of corn to corn silage in fattening rations, have demonstrated that higher levels of corn silage can be justified because gains between high grain and high silage rations are similar, whereas, use of higher silage rations permits the...

This study aimed to investigate the impact of storage time on bacterial community and fermentation profile silage prepared with alfalfa, whole-plant corn, their mixture. Fresh alfalfa corn were chopped combined in fresh weight ratios 1:0 (alfalfa, control), 0.8:0.2 (M1), 0.6:0.4 (M2), 0:1 (corn). Three silos each treatment analyzed after 30, 60, 90 d storage. With time, pH, acetic acid, propion...

It was hypothesized that Stylosanthes cv. Campo Grande (ES) silage could be used as the single source of dietary forage for beef cattle and that performance on ES would be similar to corn silage (CS) at a 50:50 forage:concentrate. The objectives of this study were to evaluate intake, total and partial digestibility of nutrients, ruminal pH, ruminal ammonia, and productive performance in growing...

The effects of four contrasting diets were determined on populations of three species of ruminal cellulolytic bacteria (Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, and Fibrobacter succinogenes) using oligonucleotide probes to rRNA. Diets based on alfalfa silage or corn silage as the primary fiber source were formulated to contain either 24 or 32% neutral detergent fiber measured after alpha-...

Forages are a necessary component of diets for lactating dairy cows because they provide coarse fiber needed to optimize rumen function. However, forages alone provide insufficient nutrients to achieve high milk yield and they must be supplemented with other feed ingredients. Because forage quality is highly variable, their quality must be assessed before diets are formulated. Forages have been...

Corn silage serves as a high-energy forage for dairy cows. This is most important for high-producing herds and on farms experiencing problems with making or buying highquality hay crop forage. Corn silage, with its relatively highenergy content, is also well adapted for use in low-cost rations for fattening cattle. Corn silage requires less labor per ton to produce than many other forage crops....

This study evaluated fermentation characteristics and fungal numbers of napiergrass silages prepared with and without added raw or heated corn meal (10%, fresh-weight basis) at ensiling. Corn was added to napiergrass so that the silage would contain concentrate similar to that of corn silage with minimum grain content. The silages treated with raw or heated corn were fed to dairy does to compar...

Two finishing experiments were conducted to determine the effects of concentration (Exp. 1) and composition of wet corn gluten feed (Exp. 2) in steam-flaked corn-based diets on feedlot steer performance. In Exp. 1, 192 English x Continental crossbred steer calves (299 +/- 0.6 kg) were used in a completely randomized design with six dietary treatments (four pens per treatment). Treatments were s...

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the effects of limit-feeding high-concentrate (LFHC) diets on dietary CP requirements of steer calves. When steer calves were fed 80% concentrate diets at 78 g/kg of BW.75, increasing dietary CP resulted in increased ADG (P less than .001). Average daily gain was increased in steers as daily monensin dosage increased from 120 to 180 mg (P less ...

Corn can produce high dry matter yields with one harvest. Corn is a good crop to recycle nutrients from manure and maintain water quality. Corn silage is easily ensiled and generally results in palatable forage with relatively consistent quality and higher energy content than other forages. Corn silage production requires less labor and machinery time than other harvested forages. Thus, the cos...