•  
  •  
 

Keywords

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station contribution; no. 97-309-S; Report of progress (Kansas State University. Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service); 804; Cattlemen's Day, 1998; Beef; Mechanically processed; Corn silage; Growing cattle; Feedlot

Abstract

Sixty crossbred heifers and 12 crossbred steers were used to evaluate the effects of mechanically processing (crushing the kernels of) whole-plant corn silage on feedlot performance and nutrient digestibility. The three treatments were: preensiled processed, postensiled processed, and nonprocessed corn silages. Heifers fed the processed corn silages grew faster and were more efficient than those fed nonprocessed silage. Steers consuming the two processed silage rations had numerically higher DM, OM, NDF, and ADF digestibilities and significantly higher starch digestibilities than those fed the non- processed silage ration. These data suggest that processing whole-plant corn silage before or after ensiling has a positive effect on both rate and efficiency of gain and nutrient utilization, particularly when the kernels approach the black layer stage of maturity.

Download
COinS
 

Rights Statement

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted.
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.