Is corn healthy for cows to eat?

Answer 1

It is and it isn't. Corn is a high-energy feedstuff (not a significant source of protein, unless it's a by-product of the ethanol industry in the form of distiller's grains) that is all-too-commonly used by the beef and dairy industry as a primary source of energy in a beef or dairy ration, which aids in better feed conversion for faster growth and weight gain, and improvement in milk production, respectively. Corn, as a supplement, is great for cattle which are fed a energy-deficient diet or a diet that does not suit their energy needs. Cold-stressed cattle are especially in need of a high-energy feedstuff like corn. Old, mature cows and bulls and/or thin or emaciated cattle need a high-energy feedstuff like corn in their diet in order to help them gain weight. Often, corn fed as a supplement is fed in a limited ration along with ad-libitum hay, silage and/or pasture. Supplemental corn is never fed in such high amounts as with feedlot cattle. Neither is it supplied as 30 to 40 percent of the ration as it would be to a commercial lactating dairy cow herd.

Too much corn fed either too quickly or too much (or too high for too long, as with finisher cattle) contributes to metabolic and digestive disorders such as foamy bloat, acidosis, liver abscesses, founder, and other illnesses associated with a ration high in grain such as corn. "Antibiotics," such as ionophores, must be supplied in the diet in order to counter the severity of such disorders in feedlot cattle, and prevent deaths caused by acute acidosis and foamy bloat. Dairy cattle often suffer from subacute acidosis due to the fact that they aren't restrict- or limit-fed like feedlot cattle are, and are able to pick through their ration to get to the "good stuff," which often is the grain portion of their ration. You will find that acute acidosis is more apt to occur with feedlot cattle than with dairy cattle.