Corn Stover Silage versus Corn Silage for Milk Production

The information available on the feeding value of corn stover silage is limited and no experimental data has been reported comparing corn stover silage, made from cured corn stalks, with corn silage, as feeds for milk production. Rusk, of the Illinois Experiment Station, successfully maintained breeding beef cows through the winter on corn stover silage, and one pound of cotton seed meal daily. Long, of the Missouri Station reports that breeding beef cows gained in weight on a ration of corn stover silage and wheat straw. In Wisconsin very little of the corn is husked as standing corn. The stalks are needed for feed and are usually harvested with the grain to be made into silage or are fed separate in the dry form. Claims have been made that corn stover silage, that is the stalks with ears removed, is equal in feeding value to ordinary corn silage. I t was the purpose of the experiment reported here to obtain information that would corroborate or refute these claims, with reference to milk production.