Because feeding whole corn is the easiest and cheapest way of feeding cattle, and because it is almost labor free, it allows many producers to finish cattle at home without the expense of grinding, corn silage, mixer wagons, feed bunks, etc. When finishing cattle with whole shelled corn at home, a producer can compete on feed costs with large feedlots and save around 10 cents per pound of gain in yardage and other costs. This could amount to $40 to $50 savings per steer.

Do I feed roughage with it?
You either need to feed low roughage or no roughage with the SLR/whole-shelled-corn finishing program. By low roughage, I mean that you have the ability to restrict hay intake to 2 pounds per head per day. By no roughage, I mean the cattle get only whole shelled corn and TrendSetter SLR without any hay, silage or grass. Roughage will increase the rate of passage of the whole shelled corn resulting in decreased gain and a whole lot of corn in the manure. Unless you can control the roughage consumption and keep it to a maximum of 2 pounds per head per day, you are better off to feed no roughage at all.

Isn't feeding whole shelled corn dangerous?
It can be if not done properly. In the mid 1970s many producers fed whole shelled corn to finish cattle and had problems with acidosis and founder. The concept of whole shelled corn feeding is to have feed in front of the cattle all the time. When a storm is brewing, nature tells cattle to tank up on feed. That causes cattle to eat too much, too quickly, resulting in acidosis and founder.

But with MFA's new TrendSetter SLR, the feed restricts the cattle from "tanking up." SLR is the safety valve that allows for whole shelled corn to be fed.

What about the corn I see in the manure?
The corn you see represents only 3 percent of what's being fed. Therefore, out of every 100 pounds of corn fed, 3 pounds make it through the animal to lay on the ground. If you feed 100 steers, that's about 60 pounds of whole corn per day that ends up on the ground. Calculate that amount for a week (7 x 60 pounds = 420 pounds) or for a month (30 x 60 pounds = 1,800 pounds) and you see what's left on the ground. At 5 months, the amount of corn left behind reaches 9,000 pounds. This may seem an excessive amount of corn to leave on the ground, but it's actually less than if the corn was ground, flaked or cracked. The difference is that you see it whole and on the ground.

Yes, Dan, but I don't want to see any corn in the manure.
The simple fact is that if all feed was digested, there would not be any manure. What a wonderful world that would be. However, this isn't reality. The point is that there is more corn in the manure with cracked and ground rations than with whole shelled corn. It just isn't as noticeable.

How come I don't see the corn in the manure when I grind it?
It's there, but it is not as obvious. If everything was fully digested, there would not be any manure. Actually the amount digested is referred to as digestibility. Whole shelled corn without roughage has a higher digestibility--in other words less corn in the manure than ground or cracked. But because the 3 percent of whole corn passing through is more conspicuous to the human eye, it appears that there is more whole corn in the manure than when feeding processed. The key to this efficiency is minimal roughage or no roughage.

Is there seasonal variation between processed corn and whole corn?
Yes there is. It is not a major issue in performance unless we have extreme weather conditions. When it is hot, whole shelled corn has an advantage over processed corn because there is less heat produced. This is because there is less digestion in the rumen and more in the intestine than with processed corn. On the other hand, when weather is cold, processed corn, along with roughage, will produce more heat allowing the cattle to handle extremely cold temperatures better than cattle fed whole shelled corn with little to no roughage.

How To
Whole shelled corn fed with TrendSetter SLR is a simple, economical program. As with all high-grain feeding programs there needs to be a 3- week adaptation to grain feeding. This can be done by hand feeding 5 pounds of corn and SLR and increasing it by 1 pound every other day until they leave some feed. At this time they will be adjusted. Fill the feeder and never let it run out.

Another adjustment would be to mix the grain with silage in a mixer wagon at 10 percent grain on an as-fed basis. Every other day, increase the corn and SLR with less silage at 1 pound corn and SLR replacing 3 pounds of silage until they are on full feed. Feed no more silage and keep feed in the feeders.

How much do I mix?
Be sure to adjust the cattle as described. Once cattle are on full feed, fill a feeder with whole corn and TrendSetter SLR (mixed at 1,500 pounds whole corn per 500 pounds pelleted TrendSetter SLR). Feed this mixture until cattle weigh 1,000 pounds. Then mix 1,750 pounds whole corn and 250 pounds TrendSetter SLR until the cattle are finished. Feed little to no roughage. Do not place a bale of hay or straw out for free choice consumption with the thought that they won't eat very much of it.

Precautions

1. Start cattle slow--allowing 3 weeks for adjustment to grain.
2. Check to make sure you didn't get separation of the corn and SLR. Actually this is more of a problem with processed than whole corn.
3. Do not allow cattle to consume pasture. A small amount of picking won't hurt but don't have cattle in a pasture with a lot of grass available.
4. Confine cattle to a small enough area that they will not roam very far. When allowed too large an area, feed intakes will go down and maintenance energy will increase. Both hurt gains and feed efficiency.
5. To maximize carcass value, allow for cattle to be on whole corn and SLR, preferably up to 150 days. Cattle should gain greater than 3 pounds per day with some exceeding 4 pounds.

Summary
Whole shelled corn and TrendSetter SLR is as good of a finishing program as there is. The gain and cost of gain are at their best and the cattle will grade well. Not only is the labor requirement low, but the yardage cost of 10 cents per pound of gain can be put into your pocket. TrendSetter SLR removes the majority of the health risks with the traditional whole-shelled-corn feeding program. Just don't feed roughage with the whole shelled corn program.