Purdue University	Mimeo A.H.-198
Agricultural Experiment Station	April 17, 1957
Lafayette, Indiana
Feeding Value of Silages for Beef Cattle
T. W. Perry, Henry Mayo and W. M. Beeson Department of Animal Husbandry
The general group of feedstuffs falling under the classification of silages can be characterized by any one of several forage crops which are usually cut in the green stage and—through a ‘'pickling” process— preserved indefinitely at about the same quality as at •ime of harvest• Silage-making is a method of providing high quality roughage feeds for beef cattle and for other ruminant animals« When properly preserved silage is fed in a balanced ration to beef cattle, no additional dry roughage is required for growth, fattening or reproduction,. Greater utilization of high quality roughages is a method of lowering the cost of beef production—especially in fattening rations—when the silages are balanced nutritionally.
The purpose of this report is to discuss the role of silages in several phases of beef cattle production,,
Corn Silage
Response of Cattle to Corn Silage Feeding
The practice of ensiling the entire green corn plant is not new. In past years, such silage feed was fed in limited amounts—perhaps replacing one-half of the hay equivalent—to fattening cattle being fed approximately 2 percent of their liveweight, daily, as concentrates, and 1 percent as dry roughages. In addition, limited amounts have been included in the drylot rations of pregnant beef cows and in the drylot rations of growing cattle. Additional roughage was provided by hay or straw.
Research conducted at Purdue has shown that corn silage may be fed to beef cattle as the only source of roughage.
A full feed of corn silage, when fed with a relatively small amount of concentrates as a nutritional balance, will provide the major portion of a fattening ration for yearlings or calves.
In a series of six experiments (Table I), yearling steers have consistently grown and fattened at the rate of from 2.08 to 2.48 pounds per day on winter feeding trials ranging from 126 to 209 days in length. These yearlings displayed a definite liking for corn silage, when it was balanced with 3«5 pounds of Purdue Cattle Supplement A per steer daily, as indicated by an average daily intake of from 44 to 55 pounds per day.