Corn Silage: a new look at an old friend.

Jeff Pastoor, Senior Cattle Consultant, P.A.S.

 Corn silage is a great feed for cattle.  It carries both energy and roughage and it adds palatability to the diet.  Historically, it has been viewed as a way to maximize the amount of beef produced per acre of crop ground.

 Over the last 10 years it has fallen out of favor in many feedlots because of economics.  Based on crop input, harvesting, and storage costs, corn silage has commonly come into the diet at ~$25/ton.  With corn at or below $2/bu, the availability of wet co-products and ground hay (or corn stalks) it was often more cost effective to formulate feedlot diets without corn silage.

 Today, with higher corn and hay costs, corn silage has a much greater value then it has had for many years.  With corn at $3/bu and hay at $100/ton, corn silage actually has a nutrient worth of about $40/ton.  The old thumb-rule of corn silage being 10x the value of corn/bu still seems to be a good guideline. 

 For those that wear two hats (farmer and feeder) you can keep both sides happy.  Currently, corn silage at 10x corn will help make a competitively priced ration for the feeder.  For the farmer, corn silage can increase revenue per acre; for example corn at $3/bu and 180 bu/acre will pay $540/acre, while silage at $30/ton and 25 ton/acre will pay $750/acre.

 Because of demand for both feed and bedding, baling corn stalks is a common practice.  If we combine the corn and then bale the stalks, how does that compare to chopping corn silage?  Based on published custom rates for 2007, chopping silage will cost about $15/acre more then combining the corn and then raking and baling the corn stalks.  However, this added cost is offset by the greater revenue per acre as well as the greater nutrient yield per acre from corn silage – the roughage in wet corn silage carries more energy and protein then corn stalks.  With corn silage, you will harvest nearly 30% more dry matter per acre, and at current values you will get 12% more net income per acre.

 I have had some questions on nutrient removal (via the corn stalks) at this time of high fertilizer costs.  That is a valid concern, but I think easily remedied.  If we are chopping silage, then cattle are being fed.  If possible, be sure to chop a field that can also be used for spreading manure.  In this way, you will put back more nutrients then you remove.  And because of those high fertilizer prices we can afford to haul manure further then we used to.

 Corn silage is also a very effective feed for cow/calf diets.  Corn silage makes it easy to put body condition back on the cows and it makes a good carrier for dry co-products in the diet.  Several producers are finding that limit fed diets with corn silage and co-products can save 50-80¢/cow/day in feed costs when compared with free choice hay.

 With silage having a higher value, then silage management also pays higher dividends as well.   Always use a high quality inoculant such as BioMax 5.  Be sure the silage is packed properly and covered tightly.  University trials show that these practices significantly reduce shrink, increase nutrient availability and the return on investment is high.  Silage must be fed at a rate sufficient to stay ahead of spoilage.  Bunkers that are too wide can result in excessive spoilage and loss.

 What if you no longer have good chopping equipment?  The alternative is to hire a good custom chopper.  Many feedlots have found that having a custom chopper reduces the time spent on chopping as well as the investment of a chopper and wagons.  This can also gives you a more accurate cost per ton on your corn silage.  The only challenge is that custom choppers can be so fast it becomes difficult to keep up with them at the blower, bagger or the bunker.  I’ve seen bunkers that weren’t properly packed because the corn silage went in too fast – be ready with a second packing tractor and be sure you have enough total weight packing for you.

 For many feedlots this year, corn silage deserves another look.  It is nutrient dense, palatable, and cost effective.  There are other articles on www.Beeflinks.com that address good silage management in more detail.  Be sure to contact your local coop Beef Specialist to ask for their input on nutrition and NutriSave inoculants.