Effect of ensiling on the feeding value of flint corn grain for feedlot beef cattle: A meta-analysis
2021
Fernando Alberto Jacovaci | Pedro Augusto Ribeiro Salvo | Clóves Cabreira Jobim | João Luiz Pratti Daniel
ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to review the effect of ensiling on the feeding value of flint corn grain and performance of feedlot cattle. In this meta-analysis, ensiled corn grain included both high-moisture corn and rehydrated corn grain. The criteria for a publication enter in the database were: diet was offered as a total mixed ration, diet contained at least 300 g/kg dry matter (DM) of ensiled or dry corn grain, and ensiled grain contained a minimum of 280 g/kg of moisture. The final dataset included 21 paired comparisons from eight publications, from 2002 to 2019. A sub dataset of digestibility trials contained six paired comparisons for starch digestibility and five paired comparisons for DM digestibility. The outcomes were compared using the Mixed procedure of SAS, including a random effect of comparison within study (paired comparison). Ensiling corn grain increased total-tract digestibility of DM (+4.59%) and starch (+3.33%), decreased DM intake by 14.1% (10.3 and 8.85 kg/d for dry and ensiled, respectively) and metabolizable energy intake by 4.39%, but did not affect average daily gain (1.61 and 1.58 kg/d for dry and ensiled corn, respectively). Therefore, ensiling corn grain increased feed efficiency by 18.3% (0.164 and 0.194, for dry and ensiled, respectively). The feeding value was on average 25.7% higher for ensiled corn grain compared with dry corn grain. Ensiling is an efficient strategy to improve the caloric value of flint corn grain for finishing cattle.
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