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Six feeding trials with yearling steers, conducted during a 3-year period, compared high-moisture whole sorghum grain ensiled in either a concrete stave silo (CS) or an oxygen-limiting silo (OL) with dried grain (D). Dry matter (DM) losses were measured, and the effects of storage system on the carbohydrate and nitrogen fractions were determined. Four methods of determining DM were compared on grain prior to storage and on grain from each of the three storage systems.Cattle fed dried grain consumed more post-storage grain DM (GDMC) (P<01) and gained faster (P<01) but less efficiently (P<10) than cattle fed ensiled grain. Comparisons on the basis of pre-storage grain DM or system efficiency (SE) indicated that grain stored in the OL system was converted to live weight more efficiently (P<.01) than grain from the D and CS systems. Grain DM losses during storage were greater (P<.01) in the CS storage system than in the OL system. Grain DM was higher in both pre- and post-storage samples when an 85 C oven or lyophilization was used to determine grain moisture content than when a 103 C forced-draft oven or a 105 C conventional oven was used, but DM determination methods did not interact with system of storage. Grain ensiled in the OL system had a higher level of nonstructural carbohydrates than grain ensiled in a CS system (P<.05), and ensiled grain had lower total nonstructural carbohydrates (P<.05) than either fresh harvested high-moisture grain or artificially dried grain. Ensiled grain and fresh harvested grain did not differ in soluble carbohydrate levels, but both had a higher level of soluble carbohydrates than did dried grain (P<.05). Grain ensiled in a CS silo had higher levels of lactate and VFA than grain ensiled in an OL system (P<.05). Water-soluble nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen as percentage of total nitrogen were increased by ensiling (P<.05). Water-soluble nitrogen was higher in grain removed from storage during the last trimester of storage than in the first two trimesters (P<.05).

Yearling steers were used to compare dried corn with high-moisture corn treated with propionic acid (PA) in six trials (1971 to 1974) and ammonium isobutyrate (AIB) in four trials (1972 to 1974). Daily post-storage grain dry matter (DM) consumption, average daily gain (ADG), pre-storage grain DM conversion, post-storage grain DM conversion and grain DM losses within storage systems from harvest to feeding were determined.On a post-storage grain DM basis, cattle fed PA-treated grain did not differ in average daily DM consumption, ADG or grain DM conversion from those fed dried grain. When pre-storage grain DM was used as a basis for comparison, conversion ratios were improved (P<.05) and grain DM losses were reduced (P<.05) in grain treated with PA before storage. Significantly less grain DM was lost in a PA-treated system than in a dry storage system (P<.05).Cattle fed AIB-treated grain did not differ in ADG from cattle fed dried grain, but consumed more grain DM per day (P<.05), and were more efficient (P<.05) in converting grain DM on both a pre- and post-storage basis to live weight gain. Significantly less DM was lost during the storage of AIB-treated grain than in artificially dried grain (P<05).