SDSU Extension Extra 4035, “High Priced Corn and Dairy Cow Rations,” is available online by clicking here. Or ask for it at your county Extension office.

SDSU Extension Dairy Specialist Alvaro Garcia wrote the publication with the help of SDSU dairy scientists Kenneth Kalscheur and Arnold Hippen and Deuel County Extension Educator Rebecca Schafer.

Garcia said corn grain usually makes up 30 to 35 percent of the total ration dry matter of a typical Midwest lactating cow diet. An increase of $1 per bushel in the price of corn will increase the average dairy cow ration between 27 and 34 cents per day per head. Because its high starch content is ideal in formulating energy-dense rations, it is unlikely that producers will remove it entirely from dairy diets.

However, producers can decrease the amount of corn grain in the ration by adding in high energy-supplying feedstuffs such as corn silage, soy hulls, beet pulp, and cottonseeds. Consult the publication for details.

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