Hay and silage crops are integral parts of beef production in the Great Plains. In the southern Great Plains, a growing dairy industry is adding demand for silage and hay. Corn silage has long served the region well, producing consistent high quality silage. However, many areas of the southern Great Plains no longer have the irrigation capacity to successfully produce corn silage. Forage sorghu...

the replacement of corn silage with varying levels of ammonia gassed wheat straw on performance, digestibility, fermentation parameters, chewing activities, blood metabolites and profitability of holstein heifers have been evaluated. fifteen holstein heifer with 9-10 months of age were assigned in a completely randomized design with 3 treatment as 1) 36% corn silage, 2) 18% corn silage and 18% ...

Two finishing trials and a metabolism trial were conducted to evaluate the effect of forage source and particle size in dry-rolled corn finishing diets. In Exp. 1, 224 crossbred yearling steers (BW = 342+/-11 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design consisting of seven treatments. Treatments were an all-concentrate diet or diets containing equal NDF levels provided by alfalfa hay or ...

Two finishing trials and a metabolism trial were conducted to evaluate the effect of forage source and particle size in dry-rolled corn finishing diets. In Exp. 1, 224 crossbred yearling steers (BW = 342 ± 11 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design consisting of seven treatments. Treatments were an all-concentrate diet or diets containing equal NDF levels provided by alfalfa hay or ...

Three hundred fifteen crossbred steers (732 ± 9 lb) were used to determine the effects of feeding high levels of Sweet Bran ® during the grain adaptation period on steer performance and carcass characteristics compared with steers fed a steam-flaked corn and alfalfa-based adaptation diet containing 20% Sweet Bran. A traditional step-up procedure was compared to four strategies which utilized Sw...

Plant essential plant oils (EO) are volatile aromatic compounds with antimicrobial activity that can alter ruminal fermentation when used as dietary supplements. A feeding trial was conducted to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of periparturient and early lactation dairy cows with a specific mixture of EO. Forty multiparous Holstein cows were randomly assigned to either control ...