An experiment was initiated at the James Valley Research and Extension Center, Redfield, during the summer of 1976 to determine the value of corn grain dried or preserved by different methods. A portion of the trial dealt with methods of administering vitamin A and these results will be reported at a later time

Embry, L. B.

Giles, J. F.

Luther, R. M.

English

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South Dakota State UniversityOpen PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information ExchangeSouth Dakota Cattle Feeders Field Day Proceedingsand Research Reports, 1976 Animal Science Reports1976Conventionally-Dried, Solar-Dried and Acid-Treated Corn for Finishing Beef CattleR. M. LutherSouth Dakota State UniversityL. B. EmbryJ. F. GilesFollow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_cattlefeed_1976This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Reports at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access InstitutionalRepository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in South Dakota Cattle Feeders Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports,1976 by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For moreinformation, please contact michael.biondo@sdstate.edu.Recommended CitationLuther, R. M.; Embry, L. B.; and Giles, J. F., "Conventionally-Dried, Solar-Dried and Acid-Treated Corn for Finishing Beef Cattle"(1976). South Dakota Cattle Feeders Field Day Proceedings and Research Reports, 1976. Paper 7.http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_cattlefeed_1976/7South Dakot a State Universit y Brookings , South Dakota Departmen t of Animal Science Agricultural Experiment St ation A. S. Series 76-17 Conven tionally-Dried, Solar-Dried and Acid-Treated Corn for Finishing Beef Cattle R. M. Luther, L. B. Emb ry and J ,  F. Giles Recen t concern about costs and availabilit y of energy for dryin g corn grain at harvest has led to a search for alternative methods of drying or preserving corn. The use of solar energy for drying or preservation with organic acids appear to b e  economical ways of handling wet corn in the storage struc ture. Limited information is available as to the nutritional value of corn sub j ected to these treatmen ts and fed to fattening beef cat tle. An experiment was initiated at the James Valley Research and Exten sion Center, Redfield, during the summer of 1976 to determine the value of corn grain dried or preserved by  different methods. A portion of the trial dealt with methods of administering vit amin A and these result s will b e  reported at a later time. Procedure Seven ty-eight crossbred st eers averaging 750 lb . were purchased through a livestock auction for the experiment. The cattle were from one owner. The steers were ear tagged, weighed and allot ted to 6 pens of 13 steers each. Initial and final weights were recorded following an 18-hour overnight stand without feed and water. The steers were vaccinated against IBR (Rednose) and Clostridium spp. (b lackleg , malignan t edema) and implanted with 36 mg zeranol at the start of the trial. The ration treatments were methods of drying and/or preserving whole corn grain. Whole shelled corn harvested from the 1975 crop was st ored in 1000-bushel quan tities in separate bins. Moisture con tent of corn at harvest was 24% for the solar-dried and 17% for the conventionally-dried corn and acid-treated corn. The corn was harvest ed b etween Novemb er 3 and 10. Differences in moisture con tent were due to corn variet ies with differing maturit y dates and dates of harvest . Conventionally-dried corn was dried with natural gas at a local elevator . Solar-dried corn was st ored in an experimental bin designed for drying with solar energy and equipped with a fan and motor. The acid-treated corn was prepared b y  applying Grain St orer P at the rate of 1. 3 gallon per ton (36 bu. ). This product supplied propionic acid in an amoun t to permit safe storage up to 1 year. Acid-treated corn was st ored in a granary bin of wood construction. The cat tle were fed chopped hay and oats grain for about a mon th prior to the start of the trial. During the first 2 weeks of the trial the cat tle were gradually shifted to a full feed of whole shelled corn with limited hay . Hay consumption was reduced from 11.5 lb . to 2 lb . of good quality, chopped alfalfa-b romegrass hay per head daily during this period. Hay consumption 24 - 2 -over the 106-day trial average d 2 . 6 7  lb . per s teer daily . Each corn treatment was replicated wi th two pens of catt le . The cattle in one repl ication re ce ived 1 lb . of  pelleted (1/4-inch ) supplement containin g  ground corn , ground lime­s t one , trace mineral s alt and vitamin A to provide 20 , 400 In ternat ional Unit s  (IU) of  vitamin A per s teer per day . In the second replicat ion , the cattle re ce ive d  no s upplement but were allowed a free-choice mineral composed of  ground limestone and trace mineral s alt with added vit amin A to provide 34 , 000 IU pe r ounce . It was ass umed , bas ed on a previous experiment at this location , that the cattl e would cons ume ab out 1/ 3 of an oun ce of  mineral (8 grams ) for a daily intake of about 9 , 600 IU of vit amin A per steer daily . Results The res ults of the experiment are presented in tab le 1. Table 1 .  Convent ionally-Dried , Solar-Dried and Acid-Tre ated Corn for Finishing Steers (Hay 25  to Septe mbe r  8 ,  19 76--106 day s )  Conven tionally­dried corn Solar­dried corn Acid-tre ated corn ·���������������� No . animals Avg . initial wt . ,  lb . Avg . final wt . ,  lb . Avg . daily gain , lb . Avg .  daily feed , lb . Whole corn Chopped hay Mineral Tot al 26 776 10 83 2 . 90 (as fed bas i s )  19 . 31 2 . 6 7 0 . 02 7  2 2 . 00 7  Feed / 10 0  lb . gain , Whole corn Chopped hay Supplement Mineral lb . Total 6 4 8  92 17 1 758  a One s t eer died of  unknown causes . 25a 773  10 7 1  2 . 8 1  19 . 5 2 2 . 6 7 0 . 0 85 22 . 2 75 6 7 7  9 5  18 3 793 2 6  7 7 6  10 90 2 .  96 20 . 16 2 . 6 7 0 . 05 2  2 2 . 882 663 90 17 2 772  Steer gains for  the three types of corn were es s entially the s ame with the gains o f  cattle fed s ol ar-dried corn being only s light ly lower than the other treatments . Cat tle fed s ol ar-dried corn and acid-treated corn consume d  more feed than cattle fed convent ionally-dried corn .  Di f ferences in feed required per unit of  gain were small with the lowes t  requiremen ts ob t ained with s t eers fed conven tionally-dried corn .  The corn treated with propionic acid was at a lower moisture level than was des ired for this treatment . Therefore , the b enefit s  observed in feeding high-mois ture corn , either untreated or acid-treate d , whi ch o ft en res ult in improved feed e fficiency over dry corn were not observed in this experiment . 2 5  - 3 -The weathe r at th is lo cation during the feeding period was extremely dry , res ulting in a natural de cline in mois ture con ten t of  the feeds fed . For examp le ,  the corn ( all treatmen ts ) checked in e arly August contained 7 to 8% moist ure . The who le corn appeared to be hard and tough and may have re sulted in reduced consump tion . However , corn consumpt ion was in the order o f  20 lb . per stee r .  A cons ide rab le quantity of  whole corn kernels were observed to pas s  through the an imals . The gains were in the order of  3 lb . per s teer and this along with feed consump tion indicate s atis factory performance for yearl ing cattle . Feed requiremen ts o f  less than 8 lb . per pound o f  gain indicate e f ficien t  utilization of the whole corn . A feeding experiment with yearling beef s te ers was conducted to compare the value of conven tionally-dried corn , so lar-dried corn and acid-tre ated corn . Steer gains were about the s ame for the three types o f  corn with the gains o f  cattle fed s olar-dried corn being only s light ly lower than the other treatmen ts . Dif ferences in feed consumpt ion and feed efficiency b etween corn storage treat­ments we re relat ively small . 2 6  

Conventionally-Dried, Solar-Dried and Acid-Treated Corn for Finishing Beef Cattle

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Conventionally-Dried, Solar-Dried and Acid-Treated Corn for Finishing Beef Cattle

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