November 2002
Grain Management Thoughts for Fall - - - Iowa Quality Cull Beef Cow Marketing - Rodent Control Around Livestock Facilities
Ask a Specialist - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Grain Management Thoughts for Fall
by Joel DeJong, ISU Extension Crops Field Specialist
In the fall I often get questions about grain
storage, grain shrink, and other management
questions. Some answers I know. At other times
I find great information on the Internet. Here are
a couple of common questions for this time of
year that you might find useful, too.
Last week a person called and asked how much
per bushel his drying costs increased when his
propane costs went from $.50 per gallon to $.80
per gallon. From a University of Minnesota
publication found on the web I learned that, in
high temperature drying, propane use equals
about .02 gal/bu per percentage point of moisture
removed. By doing a little math, I learned that
the propane cost per point went from 1 cent to
1.6 cents. What, I was also asked, is the
recommended storage moisture for clean, aerated
corn? For up to 6 months 15% is O.K., for more
than 6 months, 13% is recommended. If corn
quality is poor, drop each 1 percentage point.
This Minnesota web site provides information on
grain drying, management of grain in storage
(including when and how to run your aeration
fan), and other great hints:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/topics.html?topic
=4&subtopic=44 . If you don’t have internet let
me know and I will get a couple of the
publications that can give you some great help!
What about shrink? How much am I actually
losing when I dry down my corn. The National
Corn Handbook has a good article on this topic.
It can be found on the web at:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/N
CH61.pdf . This publication discusses water
shrink, handling loss, custom drying and grain
sales alternatives.
Another question - How much phosphate and
potash are removed when stalks are baled?
Recent information from John Sawyer, our ISU
Extension Soil Fertility Specialist, indicates that
the removal of 1 ton of corn stover (entire plant
except for the grain) removes about 5.9# of
phosphate and 25 pounds of potash. A ton of
soybean stover (stems, not leaves) removes about
2.8 pounds of phosphate and 9.9 pounds of
potash. When bales of these products are
harvested for bedding, perhaps it is wise to
consider this in the application rates if the soils
test in the very low, low or optimum categories.
What do you lose if a field burns? Check out
this 10/23/00 article for a good discussion:
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/2000/10-232000/dryfallfires.html - and also some of the
numbers behind those removal rate amounts
mentioned in the previous paragraph, too.
Managing your crop is a year around business and requires a lot of knowledge. Don't forget to
check at your local Extension office for help in
answering questions you might have!
10. The CHIPS Board and ILCC feedlot reserves the
right to disqualify any cow at any time if a
problem arises with a cow. Animals may be
sold or returned to original owner upon
reimbursement for expenses.
Iowa Quality Cull Beef Cow Marketing Program
by Dennis DeWitt, ISU Extension Livestock Field
Specialist
Objectives
The principle objective of the Iowa Quality Cull
Beef Cow Marketing Program is to provide
information to area beef producers they can use in
adding value to their beef cow enterprise. This
program provides cow-calf producers information
on feedlot performance, average daily gain, and
carcass merit data on cull beef cows. This
information can be used by the producer to change
feeding programs or as a basis for change in a
producer’s marketing program. Cows may have
ultra-sound data collected after delivery to
establish baseline information and to evaluate
changes in backfat, ribeye area and %IM fat.
Health Requirements
Cows should be open; dehorned or polled; in
good health; free of foot rot, pink eye, draining
abscesses, cancer eye or any other contagious
diseases.
Rules
1. Iowa cow-calf producers with Iowa cows
only will be accepted. No Back Tagged
Cows Allowed. If more entries are
received than there is pen space, priority
will be determined by entry date.
2. A pen reservation fee of $25 per cow must
accompany entry form. The balance of the
feeding program costs will be financed at 8%
interest. Final settlements will be made after
harvest of the entire group.
3. Entries are due Monday November 4. A
minimum of 50-cows is required in the
marketing group.
4. Delivery is Monday November 18 to Iowa
Lakes Community College Farm, Emmetsburg.
5. At delivery, all cows will be double ear tagged.
The owners cow’s eartag(s) will be removed.
6. Cow death will be a financial loss to the owner.
If costs are greater than pre-payments, balance
will be billed.
7. There will be an $8.00 per head data collection
fee assessed to each cow.
8. Cows will be fed a warm-up ration for 14days. They will be weighed individually
again at 28-days after delivery and prior to
harvest. Projected harvest will be 70-90
days after delivery.
9. ILCC has the right of refusal of cull cows upon
arrival regarding weight, health and temperament.
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Feeding Method
The total feed bill will be split based on an
individual cow’s delivery weight, final weight,
days on feed, hot carcass weight and calculated
yield grade. Heavier, faster gaining and fatter
cows will pay a higher feed bill. Cows will be
implanted on delivery to the feedlot. Yardage rate
will be $.30 per cow per day with no feed markup. Actual costs will be billed for each cow with
final total costs deducted from carcass payment.
Sponsored by CHIPS Northwest and Iowa Lakes
Controlled Grazing, Inc. in cooperation with
Iowa Lakes Community College & Iowa Beef
Center
Contact: Dennis DeWitt, email
dewitt@iastate.edu or telephone 712-336-3488
Rodent Control Around Livestock Facilities
By Jerry Weiss, ISU Extension Swine Field Specialists
Rats and mice can be a major economic threat
around swine and other livestock facilities. They
consume and contaminate feed and cause feed
losses through the gnawing of holes in feed
holding and storage areas. They also have been
implicated in maintaining or spreading diseases.
For effective control, we recommend an
integrated pest management (IPM) approach that
incorporates the timely use of a variety of costeffective control methods, including: (1)
sanitation, (2) rodent-proof construction, and (3)
population reduction. The first two are
preventive measures. When an infestation
already exists, population reduction is typically
needed. Reduction techniques include include
trapping, toxic baits, and fumigation. Another
important component of an effective IPM
program is pest population monitoring. Records
of trapping success and measures of rodent
activity will help to determine the need for
additional control efforts.
A: You have asked what might be the most
common feedlot nutrition question we have
gotten over the last 20 years. The answer
depends on the type of ration, and the other feed
ingredients. If it is dry corn, most research
indicates that there is little improvement in the
digestibility of the corn in a finishing ration over
about 75% grain. Backgrounding rations and
beef cow supplementation of dry corn does
respond to processing. Expect about a 5%
improvement in efficiency. Expect the same for
high moisture corn, regardless of the level of
grain fed. Many a feces inspector has expressed
doubts and skepticism about this. Dr. Steve
Loerch of Ohio State University conducted a
fascinating demonstration of whole corn feeding
that really explains what happens. What Dr.
Loerch did (or more likely some lucky graduate
student) is count the kernels of corn that actually
went into, and out of a steer. The following are
the results of the demonstration with steers fed
either dry or high moisture corn. The steers on
the dry corn ate 22,376 corn kernels. They
excreted 1572 kernels. At a total ration
digestibility of 85% the cattle should have
excreted about a pound and a half of dry manure
in a day. That manure would contain 1572 corn
kernels even if the digestibility is 90%. That's a
lot of corn in the manure pile. And yes, if the
corn were cracked it would still be there, just not
as visible.
Although cats and dogs may kill rodents, they do
not provide effective long lasting control in most
circumstances.
In summary: 1. Eliminate or reduce the number
of places rodents can use for shelter. When
rodents have no place to hide or nest, they cannot
thrive. 2. If rodents are present use traps or
rodenticides to reduce their numbers and
maintain a good control program. This consists
of maintaining bait stations or traps.
ISU Extension has a very good publication in the
Pork Industry Handbook Titled "Controlling Rats
and Mice in Swine Facilities." (PIH-107).
Ask a Specialistby Pete Olson, ISU Extension Beef Field Specialist
Do you have beef questions you don't have
answers to? Questions on nutrition, marketing,
reproduction or early weaning? If so log onto the
internet and go to www.iowabeefcenter.org and
click on "Ask a Beef Specialist" or Click on
"Frequently Asked Questions" for an archive of
previously asked questions. The answer to your
question may have already been asked. If it
hasn't, be sure to send in your question by
clicking on asking a specialist and emailing it to
Iowa State University Extension Beef
Specialists. You will be answered as soon as
possible. So why are you waiting to learn the
answer to that question that has been keeping
you up at nights. Here is an example of
aquestion recently sent in.
There may be not nutritional reasons to process
the corn, however. If processing improves the
uniformity of particle size and aids mixing the
total ration, improved feedbunk management
may result. In those cases the improved bunk
management may improve the efficiency of the
cattle even though the corn digestibiltiy may be
no different.
High Moisture Corn
Number of steers
1
Corn intake, lb.
12.75
Supplement intake, lb.
2.25
Kernel intake
16,511
Fecal kernel output
65
Kernel "digestibility"
99.6%
Starch in corn
72%
Starch in fecal kernels
59%
Q: Should I crack the corn for my feedlot cattle
or feed it whole?
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Dry Corn
1
12.75
2.25
22,376
1,572
93%
74%
61%
November
2002 FIELD AND FEEDLOT
Iowa State University Extension Connection
“Mastering the Matrix” ICN on November 6.
Landowners, livestock producers, and public
officials are invited to attend an ICN meeting at
the Sibley High School on Wednesday,
November 6 from 7-9 pm. The “Matrix” is
required by SF2263 passeed this year by the Iowa
Legislature. It is to be used by county boards of
supervisors and the Iowa DNR to produce a
“statistically verifiable basis for determining
whether to approve or disapprove an appliation
for construction of a livestock facility”. The
Iowa DNR is encouraging livestock producers to
go above and beyond the law in proposing new
facilities. By using the matrix, 44 factors are
outlined, each of which is scored in
subcategories for air, water, and community.
Producers can select from the cafeteria of options
to bolster their scores even though they may
already meet state environmental requirements.
Speakers on the ICN program include
John Lawrence, Iowa State University Economist
and John Korslund, pork producer from Eagle
Groove. Both served on the Master Matrix
Technical Advisory Committee and were
involved in the development of the contents of
the matrix. Attendees will learn about the
reasoning behind the matrix proposal, definitions
included in the matrix, factors in scoring of new
construction and siting an operation and manure
management plan, and the potential impacts on
new construction and sitings by working through
an example farm. Producers will also learn the
“logic” behind the matrix and how to effectively
communicate their concerns during the
upcoming public comment period. Mike Duffy,
ISU Economist, will talk about the availability of
funding assistance to livestock producers
provided by the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program [EQUIP]. Available
program details, qualification status and the
NRCS approval process will be explained.
Producers will also hear of other manure matters
and environmental programs. Cost is $10 per
person. Pre-registration is requested by calling
the Extension Office at 712-754-3648.
By Al Grigg, County Extension Director
THANK YOU to all who have responded with
your e-mail address so we can send you the
Field and Feedlot publication electronically.
We would still ask those who wish to receive the
publication electronically to submit your e-mail
address to us. The procedure for you is simple
and will take less than 60 seconds: [1] send an email to agrigg@iastate.edu [2] type Field and
Feedlot in the subject line and [3] type in your email address in the body. Then you will receive
“Field and Feedlot” via e-mail, saving postage
costs, and you can read “Field and Feedlot” on
your computer.
Are you an Iowa resident, 55 years of age or
older, looking for a job but do not know
where to start? Experience Works, Inc. can
provide help. Experience Works is funded by
the US Department of Labor and provides work
and training to become employed. Employers
can also use the services of Experience Works by
employing their trainees. For more information
on how Experience Works can help you call toll
free: 1-800-782-7519.
Iowa State University Extension needs your
input. Iowa State University Extension
recognizes that communities are changing,
business trends are different, and technology is
rapidly changing the way we operate. A public
forum is scheduled for input from the public on
how Iowa State University Extension can better
serve Iowans through its education programs and
services. This opportunity for public input is
scheduled for Thursday, November 21 at
Western Iowa Tech Community College in
Cherokee from 1-4 pm. Contact the Osceola
County Extension Office for additional
information.
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