AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF STOCKPILED GRAZING CORN
Prevatt, C.11State Specialized Agent, UF/IFAS, Ona, FL, 33865
Abstract:
While perennial forage systems provide the basis for beef production systems, forage gaps still exist. One option that has been given consideration to fulfil the fall and winter forage gap is BMR grazing corn. Grazing corn was evaluated for its potential to fill forage production gaps, reduce stored feed needs, increase the nutritional quality, increasing biomass production, improve animal performance. An economic analysis was conducted evaluating the research from Auburn University, University of Georgia, and the University of Florida to measure the potential value and costs of utilizing stockpiled grazing corn over a 10-year production period. An electronic spreadsheet was developed as a tool to help producers determine if planting and grazing corn for winter stockpile can be an economically viable production practice for their operation. The economic factors included in the spreadsheet were corn seed cost, planting cost, average daily gain, forage production, forage utilization, and cost per dry matter ton produced and consumed. The value of gain and animal gain were calculated by the excel spreadsheet. The value of gain ranged from $56 to $104 per acre. The level of animal gain ranged from 46 to 99 pounds of gain per acre. The most sensitive economic factors in the data set were increase in average daily gain, forage utilization, and seed cost.