Page 18—Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 12, 1996
Want To Graze Maize?
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
BETHEL (Beiks Co.)
Cattle “go for the leaves” when
grazing maize, according to
Brian Mohn, manager of Gilles
Richard Papa Farm.
Farms such as Papa often
experiment with new and inex
pensive methods of feeding
beef cattle, One such experi
ment is the use of a “grazing
maize” for the 119 head of
commercial Angus raised by
Mohn. »
While still experimental, the
use of grazing maize has met
with limited acceptance and
can be used as a supplement to
hay feeding for finishing cattle.
Mohn makes use of extensive
rotational grazing on the farm.
The maize, available from
Baldridge Hybrids in Nebraska,
is grown on about four acres of
what was previously a hay
field.
There are two different
plantings of the maize: one on
36-inch rows and one seeded on
18-inch rows (using 36-inch
row spacing doubled back) at
40,000 plants per acre.
At a field day co-sponsored
by Penn State Extension last
July, 30 producers Mid agri
industry representatives toured
the 350-acrc (240 tillable) Papa
Farm. Mohn spoke about some
of the challenges of rotational
grazing (about 70 acres) and
using the “grazing maize.”
“You have some obstacles
you have to overcome, but it
looks good,” he said.
Of the four acres of maize,
Mohn divides the area into pad
docks for grazing the cattle
using five-strand polywire. The
fields used for grazing com
were previously in orchard
grass, which will be rotated into
small grains in the fall.
In July, Mohn opened up the
gates and allowed more than
100 head of cattle to graze on a
half acre of the com. The com,
measuring about five feet high,
was just at the right stage to
graze at tasseling.
“They like it!” came one
response from the producer, as
the black Angus cattle fed on
the lush leaves.
“Yeah, they do!” said
another.
Within two hours, the cattle
grazed most of the leafy sur-
Hints For Freezing
Corn On The Cob
UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.) According to
the Colorado State University
Cooperative Extension, if you
want a taste of summer’s deli
cious com crop in mid-winter,
this is the time to act.
Yes, you can remover the silk
and freeze com in the husks.
Some people are certain of
this, but it’s not the recom
mended procedure for long
term storage. To freeze com on
the cob, blanch small ears eight
minutes, medium ears 10
minutes, and large ears 12
faces of the maize, leaving the
stalk intact.
Mohn expressed some reser
vations about using the grazing
maize.
“I was afraid of (the cattle)
knocking down more com than
they utilize,” Mohn said.
“Whenever you pasture com
stalks in the fall, the cattle tend
to romp through the whole area
first and then go back and pick
it clean. That’s what I’m hoping
will happen.”
The Baldridge hybrid maize
is “a little bit more reasonable
than most of your hybrid com,”
or traditional field com variet
ies, according to Mohn.
Mohn said the soil on Papa
Farai is “extremely droughty.
Next week, if we have a couple
of 90-degree days, you can
come up and see everything
brown here. We dry out real
quick.”
Mohn said that he used a
plow-down fertilizer of about
250 pounds of nitrogen in a
20-10-10 mix. He also used a
couple gallons of starter fertil
izer in the solution and
topdressed the maize with 30
units of nitrogen per acre.
Mohn indicated that the
grazing maize is useful only as
a supplement, and that grass is
“better than this stuff, which is
high in water content." But
there was no evidence of bloat
in the cattle because the mater
ial was not high in nitrogen.
Mena Hautau, Berks agro
nomy agent, said that looking at
the grazing maize was useful on
the soil type at Papa, consider
ing that many similar farms in
the area “took a beating” she
said over last year’s summer
drought.
Cattle will easily chew the
“nice, tender parts” of the
maize, including the leaves and
the tassel, said Mohn. The
leaves are more soft and palat
able, with less lignin. Mohn
indicated there may even be
more sugar content in the
leaves, compared to hay.
The field will be disced in the
fall and small grains will be
planted.
Overall, the material car
work in some operations as r
supplement to rotational graz
ing or traditional feeding,
according to experts who spoke
at the field day.
minutes. If you cut it from the
cob, blanch it five minutes.
Or, try freezing com (or
other vegetables) by the tray
pack method. Place chilled,
well-drained vegetables in a
single layer on shallow trays or
pans, such as cookie sheets.
Place in the freezer until firm.
Remove and quickly fill prc
labeled bags or containers.
Freeze immediately. The
advantage is that food doesn’t
freeze in a block, so you can
pour what you need from the
container and put the rest back
in the freezer.
Consider This Farmer’s Experience
.Jr
2? Papp often experiment with new and Inexpensive methods of feed
a* one #uch experiment is the use of a “grazing maize” for t'te 119 head of
commercial Angus raised by Mohn.
Now Is Time To Join 5-Acre Club
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) PMCGA is pleased to
announce continuing support
for its Membership Incentive
Program (MEP) that it is con
ducting in conjunction with a
number of cooperating Pen
nsylvania seed companies.
The MIP with seed com
company sponsorship will enti
tle any com grower who plants
at least five acres of com to a
free bag of seed com (standard
size) with a three-year member
ship in PMCGA/NCGA.
This program applies to all
three-year memberships, new
or renewal.
To participate, simply com
plete the membership form and
indicate the brand of seed com
you would like to try. Remem
ber the theme of PMCGA’s
program is “Try Something
New,” so we hope you will use
this opportunity to experiment
a bit and not just get a bag of
free seed com.
You will receive a certificate
for a free bag of seed from the
company chosen from
PMCGA. You will make the
ultimate decision about which
hybrid he to receive in consul
tation with the local seed com
dealer for the company you
selected. /
PMCGA will send the names
and addresses by brand chosen
to the appropriate seed com
company’s statewide contact
%
ft n •(¥/
»• *
*> itllf „
> i
person and they will contact
you.
In addition to this incentive
program, you’ll be joining
more than 29,000 other growers
across the country who are
showing their support for the
« Pennsylvania Master Corn
Growers Association
National Corn Growers
Association
lembership Application
Name
Farm Name
Address
'/State/Zi
Count;
Phone
Farm Acres
New Member
PMCGA and NCGA duels for one year; $3O
Special! Three years for $75!
Make checks payable to; FMCG A
Send to; PMCGA
P. 0. Box 304
State College, PA 16804
Growers who harvest more than 5 acres of corn each
year and sign up for a least three year membership
qualify to recieve a free unit of seed com of their
choice from the participating seed company listed
Please indicate your choice if you qualify
Seedway Chemgro Seed
Pioneer Hi-bred Inti. NC+ Hybrids
Ag Chem/Dyna-gro Agrlpro
Wetsel Seed Company Inc.
Doebler's Pa. Hybrids Inc..
Dekalb Genetics Agway
‘some hybrid restrictions may apply
com industry and the develop
ment of new com markets.
Locally you’ll be supporting
PMCGA’s activities such as
Com Talk, the PMCGA Cora
Conference, and local com
promotion activities.
Coifn Acres
or Renewal.
Try Something New!!
below
Cargill*