Whole or cracked

[ClinchValley86]

Feeding whole corn is easiest. I mix a bag of corn with a bag of feed which also contains 50% cracked corn for a 75% corn ration. It provides extra minerals and vitamins and other fillers. Right now the corn is $11.25 and the feed mix is $11.45.

Processor says I am producing high choice to low prime animals and he is pleased at what he sees, so I guess it is working.

I follow Jeanne's wsc approach and have added own tweaks here and there. Mostly just depends on the animal I'm feeding.


Our processor says he looks forward to working with what we bring him too. Customers rant and rave. Even have cattlemen buying bulk beef.

I have 8 55 gallon plastic barrels, I get corn bulk at a local farm that sells the neighborhood corn. Last I bought was 360 a ton. I expect it's gone up some.

I'm interested in this soaking the whole corn thing.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Wow - I googled trying to find the article "Farm and Dairy". I was amazed at all the new research proving WSC is better.

"Feeding whole corn is a viable option for cattle feeders. Dry processing (cracking, rolling) has only small effects on starch digestion. For long-fed calves (greater than 170 days), feeding whole corn may result in better gains and efficiencies than feeding dry processed corn."
"

"

Truth or fallacy: cattle cannot digest whole shelled corn?

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/truth-or-fallacy...

Aug 23, 2022 · Due to greater chewing and salivation when fed whole shelled corn, feeding whole shelled corn compared with processed corn may prevent the rumen pH from decreasing to a …"

From the study: "Dry processing (cracking, rolling) has only small effects on starch digestion. For long fed calves (greater than 170 days) feeding whole corn may result in better gains and efficiencies than feeding dry processed corn."

All I know, is hubby was a nutritionist and that is what he always advised. WSC is cheaper and healthier. Calves actually LIKE chunky feed vs fine ground feed. Smart little buggers.

 

[greybeard]

But sometime I have to get burnt to remind me that fire is always hot

We usually learn more from our mistakes than we do our achievements.

(If that were 100% true tho, I should be considered a genius by now)

 

[SBMF 2015]

That's one of the really cool things about cattle every one can feed them different and yet still come up with a fairly comparable product.
One feed lot I work with went through a complete feeding change when the younger generation took over. The old man grew cattle on silage and shell corn then finished them on a self feeder. . . of shell corn. It worked. They'll get big and fat.
The son didn't want to chop silage any more so the cattle now go straight to a self feeder of ground feed. They get big and finished (last load of 6 hfrs and 4 strs average 1450 live) and they cut 90-120 days off their finishing time. Huge savings on feed costs and turn over rate.

 

[Bob-s]

Was in Houston today so I stopped by the Bucees in Katy to check on their corn price; $10.95/bag. Not enough savings to warrant a purchase; I'll continue to spend the money more local. Funny though, it seems one cannot call any of the Bucees stores for things like checking prices; they don't have a published phone number. I'm sure they save a lot of man hours and money because no one has to answer the phone.

I ran out of the cracked corn so today I mixed with WSC; and while doing so I thought about this thread. Because of it, I saved money by not buying an electric cracking machine, I saved the wear and tear on my shoulders because I'm not cranking on the antique one. Finally, I made a mental note that I need to clean my shop because everything in it now has a layer of corn dust, amazing how that stuff floats around.

Thanks to everyone who posted, I gained a lot of information. Now if I could just cut 90 days off my feeding like SBMF 2015 talked about, I'd save a lot of $$.

Bob

 

[ChrisB2]

That's one of the really cool things about cattle every one can feed them different and yet still come up with a fairly comparable product.
One feed lot I work with went through a complete feeding change when the younger generation took over. The old man grew cattle on silage and shell corn then finished them on a self feeder. . . of shell corn. It worked. They'll get big and fat.
The son didn't want to chop silage any more so the cattle now go straight to a self feeder of ground feed. They get big and finished (last load of 6 hfrs and 4 strs average 1450 live) and they cut 90-120 days off their finishing time. Huge savings on feed costs and turn over rate.

Assuming these are colored cattle? What weight do they go on the self feeders?

Thanks

 

[kenny thomas]

Was in Houston today so I stopped by the Bucees in Katy to check on their corn price; $10.95/bag. Not enough savings to warrant a purchase; I'll continue to spend the money more local. Funny though, it seems one cannot call any of the Bucees stores for things like checking prices; they don't have a published phone number. I'm sure they save a lot of man hours and money because no one has to answer the phone.

I ran out of the cracked corn so today I mixed with WSC; and while doing so I thought about this thread. Because of it, I saved money by not buying an electric cracking machine, I saved the wear and tear on my shoulders because I'm not cranking on the antique one. Finally, I made a mental note that I need to clean my shop because everything in it now has a layer of corn dust, amazing how that stuff floats around.

Thanks to everyone who posted, I gained a lot of information. Now if I could just cut 90 days off my feeding like SBMF 2015 talked about, I'd save a lot of $$.

Bob

I dont think you can judge the price of corn by prices at Buc-ees. Theirs is normally deer corn.
As most here know I love Buc-ees but it's for the brisket not the corn.

 

[sstterry]

Was in Houston today so I stopped by the Bucees in Katy to check on their corn price; $10.95/bag.

Bob

Do not feed "deer corn" to cattle. Deer corn can contain very high levels of aflatoxin. That is poisonous to cattle but not a deer.

Buc-ees is not the place to buy your livestock feed!

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I have relatively larger feeders (PB Simmental). I start them right after weaning on 1% of their BW with WSC with a protein pellet added to make a 14% ration. I slowly increase the amount of corn - with the goal of feeding 3% of their BW. Never happens! LOL I slowly reduce the protein to 11-12%. I finish them out at 12-13 months of age with a hanging carcass of 750#, grading choice. But, like I said, these are heavy muscled, growthy calves. Can't do that with dairy cross calves.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Assuming these are colored cattle? What weight do they go on the self feeders?

Thanks

I'd say 75% blk with a few bwf and Simmentals and 20% pure bred Charolais.
The loads of feeder cattle usually weigh 550-675lbs average.
They step off the trailer and go right in with the self feeder.
Most are 15-16mos old when they go to the packers.
It can be easy to get the hfrs to finished. Yg4's are not uncommon.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

You want to be careful not to get them too fat - YG 4's can get you a discount on selling price. Heifers "generally" will finish out 100# lighter than their contemporaries. YG are from 1 - 5. 1 is the leanest, 5 the fattest. I believe 2's and 3's are the ideal.

 

[M.Magis]

Do not feed "deer corn" to cattle. Deer corn can contain very high levels of aflatoxin. That is poisonous to cattle but not a deer.

Buc-ees is not the place to buy your livestock feed!

Why would deer corn have higher amounts of aflatoxin? Its coming from the same places, the only difference being the amount of dust. As far as I know, aflatoxin can be dangerous to all animals, not just cattle. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing.

 

[SBMF 2015]

You want to be careful not to get them too fat - YG 4's can get you a discount on selling price. Heifers "generally" will finish out 100# lighter than their contemporaries. YG are from 1 - 5. 1 is the leanest, 5 the fattest. I believe 2's and 3's are the ideal.

You are correct. I prefer yg3's. A yg2 Prime is like a mythical creature, there almost impossible to find.
We sell everything live, no discounts. We also sell direct.
Our local sale barn has a couple "boutique" packing plants that buy there regularly. Last week blk (Angus), heavily finished, big, strs topped the sale $1.58-$1.62.

 

[Buck Randall]

Why would deer corn have higher amounts of aflatoxin? Its coming from the same places, the only difference being the amount of dust. As far as I know, aflatoxin can be dangerous to all animals, not just cattle. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing.

My guess would be that there are regulations on aflatoxin levels in corn sold for livestock feed, where there are none for "decorative" corn that gets fed to squirrels and deer.

 

[sstterry]

Why would deer corn have higher amounts of aflatoxin? Its coming from the same places, the only difference being the amount of dust. As far as I know, aflatoxin can be dangerous to all animals, not just cattle. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing.

I recall reading an article once that basically outlined what Buck said. Maybe it is safe, maybe it is not. Why run the risk? Plus, cattle will ingest more of it than deer would. Some deer corn is labeled "Do not feed to livestock".

• Use only feed grain that has been tested for aflatoxin and meets USDA approved levels for feeding to livestock. Grain sold specifically for wildlife may not have been tested and could contain dangerous levels of aflatoxin.

 

[Nick Wagner]

Why would deer corn have higher amounts of aflatoxin? Its coming from the same places, the only difference being the amount of dust. As far as I know, aflatoxin can be dangerous to all animals, not just cattle. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing.

Hogs will refuse to eat feed containing aflatoxin, cattle can handle some. Here in corn country, they test loads of corn for aflatoxin before dumping and most receivers have a limit they will accept. It can be difficult to find a buyer for corn with high levels of aflatoxin. So to answer your question, someone can buy truckloads of corn at a discount, bag it as deer corn, and sell it at a premium.

Truth is, you have to watch your local elevator as well. One time I miscalculated and ran out of corn before harvest, ran a wagon to town and bought corn right out of the side of a corn silo. My steers refused to eat the crap. I have no idea where all the dirt and dust in that corn came from, nothing like the golden colored corn I dumped there over the years.

 

[M.Magis]

At least around here, I would expect bagged "deer corn" more likely to be tested than cattle feed since any corn crossing state lines has to be tested. The local co-ops bagging local corn have no such restrictions that I'm aware of. Of course maybe there is and I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Years ago...early 80's our NYS Fair had a 4H steer show, then they were hauled to butcher and a grader would come out and grade them.
My daughter had Res Gr live, and Grand carcass. Graded Prime 1. PB Simmental
Very rare. Now, most of mine are Ch avg, Yg 2

If you can keep your steers in a good constant growing curve, they should finish faster.

 

[midTN_Brangusman]

For finishing steers out I always liked to use crushed corn. Felt like I got higher gains, could have been better genetics. You will have some pass through with whole corn.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Yes, you will SEE WSC in their manure, but it is in the manure with cracked corn - you just don't SEE it. If you had the microscope to analyze it - it's there.
You can believe what you think has happened for you, but research tells a different story.
If, cracked corn, rolled corn, etc worked better, believe me, I'd be using it on my show cattle. Showing cattle is how I am able to make a living raising cattle. Research has always said you would get about 8% better efficiency from processing the corn, but you will pay more than 8% difference.
You might look at the latest research I posted near the top of this page.
There is more differences in the CATTLE you feed than the FEED you feed.