Purdue University	Mimeo. A. S. 244
Agricultural Experiment Station	August 22, 1958
Lafayette, Indiana
Low vs. High Moisture Shelled Corn for
Growing-Finishing Swine W. M. Beeson and J. H. Conrad Department of Animal Science
Air-tight structures have given the swine producer another alternative for handling and storing shelled corn. By the use of air-tight storage, corn containing over 20 percent moisture can be shelled and stored without drying. Growing-finishing swine are fed a large percentage of the shelled corn that is stored as high moisture corn.
Therefore, a series of three experiments have been conducted with the following objective in view:
1. to compare the relative feeding value of low moisture shelled corn (11.5 to 18.5$ moisture) and ensiled high moisture shelled corn (26 to 32$ moisture) for growing-finishing swine.
Experimental Procedure
Pigs used were thrifty Duroc weanling pigs averaging 40 pounds in Experiments
1	and 2, and 32 pounds in Experiment 3« Allotment to treatment was equalized according to age, sex liveweight and general appearance. All groups of pigs were fed either low or high moisture shelled corn and protein supplement free-choice. In all three feeding trials, the pigs were confined to concrete and had no access to either soil or pasture.
Shelled corn used in a particular feeding experiment was harvested from the same field so that the source of corn was identical. As a result, the major difference between the two kinds of corn fed was the way in which the corn was stored. The high moisture shelled corn was picked by a mechanical corn picker when the corn grain contained approximately 30 percent moisture, immediately shelled and blown into an airtight glass-lined silo. The silo was sealed and the corn was removed from the bottom of the silo by a mechanical unloader (Experiment 1) or a 6-inch auger (Experiments
2 and 3)* The low moisture shelled corn was picked by a mechanical corn picker approximately 4 to 6 weeks after the high moisture corn was picked. In Experiment 1, the low moisture corn was shelled and stored as shelled corn; in Experiment 2, the corn was shelled and hot-air dried to 11.5$ moisture; and, in Experiment 3, the corn was stored as ear corn, then shelled. The average chemical composition of the two kinds of corn fed in Experiment 1 is as follows:
Acknowledgement is made to the A. 0. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin, for furnishing the Harvestore used for ensiling the high moisture shelled corn. Also to Fred Vandergraff and associates for feeding and caring for the experimental animals.