The many uses for corn on a family cattle and dairy farm
By Andrea Tomschin, MCGA Agvocate
My family and I have about 25 beef cows and grow 120 acres of corn and soybeans on our farm near Alden, Minnesota.
Growing up I have always had a passion for raising and showing beef cattle, and although we both raise cattle and crop farm, I have always thought that our cattle was what made our farm successful each year. After talking with my parents, I can truly see the importance of everything we do on our farm and the impact it makes on its success.
One thing I have typically overlooked is the impact corn farming makes. The way my family uses corn throughout the year changes as seasons change and animals get older.
Although our cows typically graze on grass all summer, when winter comes it is important that we are giving them enough nutrients in their diet to ensure that they are staying healthy. We do this by feeding our cows a mixture of hay and corn silage.
Corn silage is a high-quality forage crop that is used on many dairy and beef farms due to the high yield of a very digestible, high-energy crop. It’s also easy to feed to livestock. It can also be stored for long periods of time without losing quality. Corn silage provides essential nutrients to help keep our cows, which at this time are pregnant with calves, healthy enough to support themselves and the calves they are currently nurturing inside of them.
Cows on our farm are bred to have their calves in late February or early March. Most of the time when our calves are born temperatures are still below freezing. Since we always want our animals to be comfortable and healthy, we do everything we can to keep our new cow/calf pairs warm. We do this by always bedding our barns with corn stalks. Corn stalks are a great insulation and a warm and comfortable bed for our cows and calves to lay on.
As our calves grow and get older, their diet changes. What starts completely as an all-milk diet slowly changes into different feeding rations.
In the spring, we put our cows and calves out to pasture where they can once again graze on grass. We also put a creep feeder in the pasture so that the calves can get additional nutrients in their diet beyond grass and hay. Midway through the summer, my family and I make decisions as to which calves will be used in our herd as breeding livestock and which will be used for market purposes.
The main ingredient we use in our market animal feeding rations is corn. This is because corn provides essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, potassium and is high in energy but relatively low in protein compared with other feed grains. As they get closer to market weight, about 1,400 pounds, we use more and more corn as it helps them safely gain additional muscle and weight.
Our use of corn continues for the cows and new breeding heifers as they graze on grass all summer long, and when winter comes we once again start to feed a mixture of hay and corn silage.
Everywhere you go on our farm, you can see corn being used in some way. From bedding to feed, there is an abundance of benefits corn farming brings to our farm.
Andrea Tomschin attends South Dakota State University and recently completed a one-year term as a student Agvocate for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. She grew up on a family farm near Alden, Minnesota.
