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Corn Straw in Dairy Cattle

Forum: Using Corn Straw in Dairy Cattle Rations

Published: September 22, 2012
By: Duygu Ekin

Hello Everybody,

The forage prices is very high in Turkey in 2012. Wheat straw is 217.4€/mt and 326.1€/mt for alfalfa hay. In this situation it is very difficult to held a dairy cattle farming. So we have started looking for alternative forage sources.

One guy from Israel has adviced me to use corn straw. I have made quick research about it. I got different kind of opinion from people. First group said "if it is not cut up finely, it could damage mouth and rumen of dairy cattle". Second group said "it can be used very effectively".

I had doubts so I made a trial. I collected some corn straw from the field and I made TMR with it. I was thinking that the TMR mixer wagon can cut it up finely but it did not. In the TMR there were a lot of corncob which is not good because animals would not eat. so It was useless.

But in some countries it is used very effectively, even in some parts of Turkey.

We are selling TMR which we produce. So I do not want to take a risk by using corn straw in my TMR ration. But I would like to know If there is anybody else that has used it before and what was the result. Also how it is used in rations etc.

I would be very glad if you share your info about it. 

Thank you very much,

Duygu

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Duygu Ekin
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Hafiz Wasi Muhammad Khan
25 de septiembre de 2012

I have been using corn stalk for my dairy cattle successfully without any problem as my area is corn growing area
Roughly i can say it is acceptable by dairy animals and it is a good substitute of wheat straw and at the same time it is much cheaper as corn grower is in a hurry to get his field clear. Now i have options for two types of stalks
1. green stalk after the farmer has removed green maize cob for sale in the market while the field is still green and the crop is at half milking stage. This type of stuff has better nutritional value like CP 3% as compared to 2nd type .
2. the dry corn stalks when the crop is free from cobs which were meant for grain production. Again this is much cheaper as corn grower wants to get rid of to get his field clear. This type has almost equal nutritional value of wheat straw
Both these types are chopped like fodder and mixed it with green fodder or some concentrate.
Important thing is to know the nutritional value of the corn stalk you want to feed once you know you can mix different ingredients to elevate the value of this material for the health requirements of your animals. Normally i mix mineral mixture,maize gluten. molasses,wheat bran etc whatever is cheaper. Once any livestock farmer knows the feed value requirement of his animals he can play around with this material very easily,economically and successfully

Dr. Malik Muhammad Ali
Maxim International (Pvt) Ltd.
25 de septiembre de 2012

Cut corn stover in green stage and try to get a chop of 3/8 inch. add molasses and urea based on your total NPN in ration. this give good feed for dry cows and heifers and can also be used in dairy cattle ration up to 5-12 Kg.

Ramachandran Balagopal
25 de septiembre de 2012

Sir,
Interesting article about Corn Straw in Dairy Cattle. In India the staple dry fodder is Paddy straw and next in order is Corn Stover/ straw. This is being fed as such but the waste is unavoidable. So nowadays it is being chaffed in the chaff cutting machine and fed to animals and there is no chance e for damaging the mm of mouth. We used feed 1 % of the live weight of the animal in the form of Corn stover/ straw and during the green fodder scarcity we try to balance the dry matter requirement in terms of dry fodder.

Jonaed Ahmad Faisal
26 de septiembre de 2012
All of you are really outstanding.
Dr. N.r.sarker
26 de septiembre de 2012

Dear Dr. Ekin
I did some research works on utilization corn straw/stover in dairy cattle ration and for fattening purpose. For utilization of corn straw in the TMR we have to chop it 2-3 inches and then grind and mix with other ingredients. Or after chopping 2-3 inches mixed with molasses and directly feed to dairy cows. Further, you prepare pellet feeds mixed 40-50% grinded corn straw as roughage and another 60-50 % concentrate ingredients. I got very good results both in dairy and fattening cattle.

Dr. N.R. Sarker
Senior Scientist
&
Head, Animal Production Research Division
BLRI, Savar, Dhaka-1341

Dr.P.George Kunju John
26 de septiembre de 2012
Dr. Ekin, At this juncture of high cost for feeeds and fodder one should seriously ponder on technologies to increase the dry matter digestibility of feeds. If corn straw is used in TMR that is processed with latest feed technology it would prove economical. Indian dairyong is based on crop residue feeding. The suitanle feed technology helped. Therefore developing feed technologies to increae conversion of dry fodder would goa long way in ameleorating animal production. We must accept the challenge that green forage is ot a must for animal feeding when we can substitute it with feed technologies
Abdulhadi Basaran
27 de septiembre de 2012
Dear D. Ekin First of all, I congratulate you for trying to feed livestock with the different forage resources by means of TMR. Corn Stover is used for animal feed with simple processes, you know, for many years at Black Sea Region and in these days at Kahraman Maras, in Turkey. I gave some of the web sites at below, which will be useful to you. http://www.tarimtv.gov.tr/HD1833_misir-sapi-ekonomiye-kazandiriliyor.html http://www.thecattlesite.com/articles/1125/feeding-corn-stover-to-ruminants http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/36553000/px-based_v3.2/presentations/pdf/2007/wde2007/wde2007_shinners.pdf
Ben Kimoro
4 de octubre de 2012
First of all I want to thank the contributors for the useful contributions regarding the use of corn/maize stover. It is a very ubiquitous by product in the tropics but unfortunately it's use especially in Africa has been inadequate due to lack of information on its utilization. The trick with use of poor quality roughages is either to manipulate them to improve rumen fermentation or create favourable rumen conditions for their breakdown. The former is quite easy and seems easier to undertake. I work for a smallholder dairy Project as an advisor and we've worked to encourage utilization of crop-products and especially maize stovers. Our experience with some innovator farmers is that of pre-fermenting the maize stovers in an TMR where it's chopped and mixed with wheat bran/pollard, fodder yeast, molasses and Urea in specific proportions and soaked for at least 3 days in tightly enclosed containers. Once this is done be assured that utilization will improve.
Samy  Ibrahim Barakat
17 de octubre de 2012

Please can you explain to me iDM -CP -NE in this ration and the percentage of mixing to premix this one the other quistion is: How many KG per head aded to how many KG premix to have TMR?

Joe Magadi
UFAC
23 de octubre de 2012

Ben,

I worked in Kenya in the 80s conducting research into the utlisation of poultry manure as source of non-protein nitrogen in ruminant nutrition. Combining it with molasses and mixing it with maize stover might result in a safer more and more degradable feedingstuff than using urea with the high toxic potential. Moreover, poultry manure has some content of spilled feed which adds to its feed value.

S. M. A. Halim
10 de noviembre de 2012
In Bangladesh corn straw are using cattle pellet feed. By using corn straw in pellet feed there is no need to add any other roughes. Only corn straw pellet feed full fill the all nutrient of cattle. Some body have any ida how can we using corn straw in cattle pellet feed.
Hafiz Wasi Muhammad Khan
10 de noviembre de 2012

Using corn straw in animal feed is generally easy using different %ages as per suitable according to the availability by the farmer in economic terms. However when you intend to use it in pellet feed you will have to grind it for proper mixing and being part of pellet feed. I have been grinding rhodes grass for the same purpose. Grinding will be best at 12% moisture. More moisture than 12% will cause more problem in proper grinding procedure.

Ratan Sukhadeo Jadhav
11 de enero de 2013

The forage prices is very high in Turkey in 2012. Wheat straw is 217.4€/mt and 326.1€/mt for alfalfa hay. In this situation it is very difficult to held a dairy cattle farming. So we have started looking for alternative forage sources.

One guy from Israel has adviced me to use corn straw. I have made quick research about it. I got different kind of opinion from people. First group said "if it is not cut up finely, it could damage mouth and rumen of dairy cattle". Second group said "it can be used very effectively".

I had doubts so I made a trial. I collected some corn straw from the field and I made TMR with it. I was thinking that the TMR mixer wagon can cut it up finely but it did not. In the TMR there were a lot of corncob which is not good because animals would not eat. so It was useless.

But in some countries it is used very effectively, even in some parts of Turkey.

We are selling TMR which we produce. So I do not want to take a risk by using corn straw in my TMR ration. But I would like to know If there is anybody else that has used it before and what was the result. Also how it is used in rations etc.

I would be very glad if you share your info about it.

Corn straw is used as filler in ruminat ration in low milk producting group instaesd of costly jowar straw
Dr. Jadhav

Hani Maslamani
28 de enero de 2013

Dear all
I am a producer of TMR pellets in Sudan. We used to market our product localy and it is expanding. Our TMR is based on Alfalfa hay, Guar meal Peanut meal, Molases and Sudan grass. We are expecting to supply the near countries and Tukey with our products very soon. I dont know what prices will be offered but the cost FOB portsudan will be about 360 US$ I think it will cost another 40 US$ for sea frieght. Can any one feed me back with prices of pellets of very high quality in some contries? Are our prices going to be competing? I will appreciate feedback. 

Hani Maslamani

BVR  Chowdary
14 de diciembre de 2020
I am having dairy farm and as such I want to produce maize straw and use it as feed to the cattle
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