Buying Corn Silage to Feed Beef Cows in Winter

Moisture and fall forage growth have been disappointing in 2024. The bumper crop of corn this year has prompted many cattle farmers to consider feeding their cows corn silage.

“We had an outstanding growing season, and hay supplies are plentiful,” said University of Missouri Extension state beef nutritionist Eric Bailey. “But I have received numerous inquiries from cattlemen interested in using it as a winter feed option for beef cows.”

There are special considerations for those who do not grow corn and have not previously fed corn silage but want to evaluate it as a winter feeding option, said Bailey.

What should the price of corn silage feed be?

Historically, corn silage is priced at 10 to 12 times the price of a bushel of corn delivered and packed in a bag, bunker or pit. With corn currently hovering around $4 per bushel, it is reasonable to expect corn silage to be priced in the range of $45 to $50 per ton, Bailey said. Corn silage is a wet feed; when stored correctly, it typically consists of two parts moisture to one part dry feed. Therefore, on a per ton of dry feed basis, a reasonable price is between $136 and $151 per ton. This may seem expensive compared to grass hay, which is currently selling for $40 to $60 per round bale. However, there is a significant difference in the pounds of total digestible nutrients obtained in corn silage compared to grass hay.

“Let’s assume that fescue hay tests at 55% total digestible nutrients (TDN), which is optimistic if you harvested round bales in July and are just now picking them up from the field,” Bailey said. Every ton of hay testing at 55% TDN will contain 968 pounds of TDN (assuming 12% moisture, which explains why the total is not 1,100 pounds of TDN). If a bale is assumed to weigh 1,000 pounds and is priced at $50 per bale, then the cost of each pound of TDN from the hay is $0.1033.

Corn silage contains 70% TDN. If a ton of dry corn silage provides 1,400 pounds of TDN and the purchase price is $143.50 per ton, then the cost of TDN from corn silage is $0.1025 per pound. Small fluctuations in price on an as-fed or wet basis can significantly affect the cost per pound of TDN for corn silage. For instance, corn silage priced at $60 per ton equates to $181.82 per ton of dry matter, or $0.1299 per pound of TDN. A lactating beef cow needs about 18 pounds of TDN per day during peak lactation, resulting in an increased cost of $0.4788 per cow per day with a price increase of roughly $12.50 per ton (as fed).