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Corn versus Oat Silages as a Roughage for Dairy Cattle¹

Departments of Dairy, Farm Crops, and Agricultural Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing

ABSTRACT

Two double-reversal milk production trials, two digestion trials, and a 46-day heifer growth study were conducted to compare corn and oat silages as roughages for dairy cattle. The studies were conducted with 1956 and 1957 crops. The corn was harvested in the early dent stage and the oats in the early dough stage.

Digestion trials showed that the corn and oat silages had average TDN values of 65.4 and 61.4% on a dry matter basis, respectively. Milk production data showed that when oat silage supplied 63% of the total roughage intake it was superior in feeding value to corn silage, but when the silages supplied a higher proportion of the total roughage intake (77%), oat silage produced significantly less 4% FCM than corn silage. Cows consumed significantly less roughage dry matter when fed oat silage than when fed corn silage.

Dairy heifers fed oat silage as the sole source of roughage made significantly lower average daily gains in body weight than heifers fed either corn silage or alfalfa hay. Heifers fed either oat or corn silage consumed significantly less roughage dry matter than heifers fed hay.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station as Journal Article No. 2250.