SHOWMASTER FEED

[gmoo]

Open a bag of feed this mourning and to my surprise the stemmed rolled corn has been replaced with cracked corn wondering about the integrity of the feed. Any other feeds being changed

 

[CarleyE]

I think It's because the prices of corn are sky rocketing

 

[AAOK]

Showmaster is top dawg in Show Feed  sales, and also the #1 inconsistent feed! 

 

[chambero]

Most people that have their own feed mixed use cracked corn instead of steam rolled.  Showmaster makes their feed at multiple mills and some might not have steam rolling machines.  But their feed content varies from mill to mill, but the nutrition%s are the same.  It's really not worth worrying over if you can stomach their price to begin with.

 

[CAB]

Actually the cracked corn will havea longer shelf life if you think about it.

 

[creativecattle]

The biggest difference is the digestibility. Cattle are going to be able to digest and get a lot more out of the steam rolled corn. Check out this research, if you don't want to read it all scroll down and check out the chart that boils it all down.

http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2005/September/CT419.shtml

Dry Rolled Corn
Ruminal Starch Digestion 47%
Total Tract Digestion 76.7%

Steam Flaked
Ruminal Starch Digestion 60%
Total Tract Digestion 96%

 

[MCC]

Actually the cracked corn will havea longer shelf life if you think about it.

Why do you say that CAB? Those flakes are dried before they are mixed into a ration.

crystalcattle is right. We have done trials on flakes vs. whole corn vs. cracked corn and the cattle have always done the best on the flakes.

I think the reason most people that mix their own feed use cracked corn is either because they don't have access to flakes or if they do they are fresh and still wet and will not keep. I don't know but that might be part of the reason ACCO feed for example cost more is because of the cost of drying the flakes.

Just my thoughts.

 

[GONEWEST]

Why do you say that CAB? Those flakes are dried before they are mixed into a ration.

No doubt about it. If you lived where I do you would know that feeds made with steam flaked corned will mold MUCH faster than that with cracked corn. This "dried" steamed flake as you put it is 85% dry matter while cracked corn or "dry rolled corn is typically 89 to 91% dry matter. % Dry matter makes a big difference which will segue nicely with my next post..........gimme a minute

 

[chambero]

I used to worry about this issue till I found out John Griswold's barn used cracked corn.  Good enough for them = good enough for me.  We are rarely trying to maximize gains in show steers and heifers anyway.  With the exception of Char calves, most steers these days are real easy to finish.

 

[GONEWEST]

Cooking corn, cracking corn, flaking corn.....The argument over the digestibility of cracked corn versus steam rolled corn has been going on for at least 30 years that I know of because I was involved in a university research project concerning the subject 30 years ago. Crystal gave us a link to one such study and also presented part of a set of data from that study. I think when we are presented with a set of data on anything is it important to analyze the data and not only read it. It is also important to look at the WHOLE data set and not just bits and pieces of it. The whole table that Crystal presented is as follows:

                                                       Cracked Corn                              Steam Flaked Corn

Dry Matter Intake (lbs)                        36.3                                                  38.3
Milk Production (lbs)                             50.4                                                  56.2
Milk Protein (lbs)                                    1.3                                                    1.6
Ruminal Starch Digestion %                   47                                                     60
Total Tract Digestion %                         76.7                                                 96.0


The amount of production measured (rounded to three decimals) from feeding cracked corn in the ration to these Dairy cows in this study is 1.388 pounds of milk per pound of dry matter fed. The amount of production from feeding steam flaked corn is 1.467 pounds of milk per pound of dry matter fed. The net gain in feeding the steam flaked corn was .079 of one pound or 1.264 oz of milk in difference per pound of dry matter fed. That is an increase of about 5.5% in production. However the Ruminal Starch Digestion shows an increase of 27.6 % for flaked versus cracked and an increase in Total Tract Digestion of about 25% over the cracked corn in this study. I have no idea how these % digestion numbers were derived but it is clear and very interesting that the increased digestibility shown in this chart did not  nearly translate into an equal performance number.

Somewhere in the article it mentioned that steam flaking corn would tend to increase production by 8-10% over cracked corn. However that number has been "spun"  by not taking into account efficiency by looking at production as a function of amount of dry matter consumed which gives  more realistic view of the advantage of flaked over cracked in this study. The conclusion from this test as well as many others is that the advantage of flaked corn over cracked is marginal at best especially when associated with higher cost and greater opportunity for spoilage in the summer months.

Now that study and all that come before and after it are made with commercial production of some sort in mind where the true measure of production is dollars in the bank account and not only pounds of beef or milk. But as the original question pertains to show cattle, I feed flaked grains because it is provides a bulkier ration. It is obvious to me that a ration with more bulk that is not overly full of fiber helps achieve the phenotype, especially in heifers,  we are aiming for in order to make animals competitive in the show ring. It is easier on the digestive system over a long period of time and gives us an animal that is nearer to what is desired today than a fine ground feed can.

 

[Freddy]

Had a chance to listen to part of a clinic by KIRK STEIRWALT  and he emphasizes the quality and digestibility of his feed and for show cattle and the kind of competition you are against use the best ....I alsoo know he has a deal with Purina , but he made alot of sense and had a remedy for keeping larger quanitys
of feed ... He has a room with contoled temperature to keep his feed from spoiling ....