SHREDLAGE® for beef finishing

It's (still) all about the cow!

The CLAAS SHREDLAGE® technology, proven to aid rumen function and increase production in dairy cattle, has been put to the test on beef cattle and again comes out on top.  See how the long-chopped corn silage in the CLAAS JAGUAR forage harvester can help improve the bottom line in beef finishing.

SHREDLAGE® for beef finishing

It's (still) all about the cow!

The CLAAS SHREDLAGE® technology, proven to aid rumen function and increase production in dairy cattle, has been put to the test on beef cattle and again comes out on top.  See how the long-chopped corn silage in the CLAAS JAGUAR forage harvester can help improve the bottom line in beef finishing.

Better Feeding Efficiency in Finishing Beef Cattle.

It is becoming a well-known fact that SHREDLAGE® corn silage, produced exclusively by the CLAAS JAGUAR forage harvester, increases milk production in dairy cattle.* Now, a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) study shows that it also benefits beef cattle by improving gains and feeding efficiency.

In the study, cattle fed rations containing SHREDLAGE corn silage experienced a 2.9 percent greater average daily gain and a 4.4 percent greater feed-to-gain ratio when compared to control groups fed conventionally chopped and processed silage.

Roughage is a necessary part of finishing diets for beef cattle, maintaining rumen function and reducing digestive upset. The search is on for ways to reduce the amount of costly roughage fed during finishing without causing a negative impact on feedlot performance.

A team of researchers at UNL wanted to determine how adding SHREDLAGE as a roughage component to a steam-flaked corn diet would affect finishing beef cattle.

Karla Jenkins, a University of Nebraska Cow/Calf systems and Stocker Management Researcher, explains the study’s goals this way: “The hypothesis for this study was that if we could have a little larger particle size in the roughage, such as a silage type roughage, that possibly we could reduce the amount fed, which would then reduce the amount in the truck and increase the efficiency of feeding and still maintain rumen function for the animal.”

The 128-day study was conducted during the finishing period for beef cattle at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research Feedlot in Western Nebraska. In the study, final finishing diets contained 9 or 14 percent of either SHREDLAGE cut at 26.5 mm or conventionally chopped and processed corn silage cut at 13 mm. The diets also contained 15 percent wet distillers grains and 5 percent mineral supplement on a dry matter basis. The remainder of the diet dry matter came from steam-flaked corn.

CLAAS Product Manager Matt Jaynes explains, “All silage for the study came from the same irrigated field, harvested on the same day, and moisture and starch levels were the same. The SHREDLAGE was harvested by a JAGUAR 960 with an ORBIS 750 header.”

By chopping corn silage at lengths ranging from 21 to 30 millimeters and then shredding the chopped material with a special SHREDLAGE processor, the JAGUAR produces a silage with improved bacterial fermentation during ensiling, which results in greater digestion in the cow’s rumen.

128 Day Finishing Study

The Diet.

The cattle were fed a finishing diet containing:

  • Steam flaked corn
  • Processed corn silage
  • Wet distillers grains
  • Mineral supplement

The variable in the study, was the corn silage. Four different groups of cattle were fed one of the following variables:

  • 9% conventionally chopped corn silage
  • 14% percent conventionally chopped corn silage
  • 9% SHREDLAGE, or
  • 14% SHREDLAGE

SHREDLAGE Proves Its Value Again.

The Results.

“The results of the study suggested that feeding 9% roughage in the diet and using a process that increases particle size, such as SHREDLAGE, actually increased performance in the cattle efficiency, as well as final product,” explains Jenkins.

In fact, this group showed a 7.4 percent greater feed-to-gain ratio and 5.4 percent better average daily gain than feed containing 14 percent conventionally chopped and processed corn silage. By reducing the amount of roughage needed, producers can save money while allowing the cows to metabolize more of the nutrition for greater weight gains during the finishing process.

“The big takeaway is that very little of the ration was corn silage,” says Jaynes, “but it still made a huge difference because cattle can turn SHREDLAGE into valuable nutrients more easily. So, producers can increase gains simply by providing a finishing diet that includes SHREDLAGE rather than conventionally chopped silage.”

To learn more about the study, click here.