Effect of a new grain processor in harvesting on the final quality of corn silage

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the grain processing carried out by a device containing round and oblong holes attached to the inside of the forage harvester and evaluate its impact on the nutrient composition of corn silage, animal productivity, feeding behavior, apparent digestibility of the diet, and carcass traits of feedlot finished steers. The silages tested were: silage subjected to the grain processor (SGP) and silage not subjected to the grain processor (SNGP), which also made up the diet given to the animals. For animal assessment, we used 32 crossbred steers (half Angus, half Nellore), with an average age of 11±2 months and an initial average body weight of 350±9.06 kg. The experiment was a randomized block design, consisting of two treatments and eight repetitions each, represented by a pen with two animals. The SGP showed a greater accumulation of grains at the bottom of the particle separator system, that is, the processor promoted a reduction in particle size, which led to a 42% higher starch content in the lower layer. At the end of the 112 days of evaluation, the animals that received the diet composed of SGP achieved higher daily weight gain (1.627 kg/day) than those fed SNGP (1.427 kg/day), better feed efficiency, and higher carcass gain during the experimental period (116.3 vs 105.5 kg). The use of the grain processing system improves the use of the diet by the animals and makes a greater fraction of starch available, resulting in higher animal weight gain.