How to Grow Corn for Animal Feed

Corn crops yield great quantities of energy-rich feed that can keep cattle and livestock well-fed, healthy and fat. The processing of corn crop for animal feed--called silage--results in a feed product that provides superior energy and digestibility to animals. Because the basic principles of corn cultivation remain constant whether the crop is grown for human or animal consumption, gardeners of any skill level can raise corn for animal feed.

Things You'll Need

  • Garden hoe
  • Shovel
  • Bow rake
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose a planting time according to your area's climate and the variety of corn you intend to plant. Many varieties of corn sprout only in warm soil. Contact your seed supplier or read your seed packets to determine whether your corn resists frost. If your variety of corn requires warm soil, wait to plant until the date of the last average annual frost has passed.

    • 2

      Prepare the planting area. Till the planting area's soil using a garden hoe. Dig, lift and drop portions of the soil to break up large dirt clods and loosen the roots of weeds. Use a shovel to cultivate areas too dense or difficult for the garden hoe. Draw a bow rake across the cultivated area to remove large weeds. Complete weeding by hand.

    • 3

      Form corn rows using the bow rake. Push and pull soil to build mounds of dirt approximately 2 feet wide. Allow 3 feet of space between rows. Run a rake across the crown of finished rows to lightly level the planting surface.

    • 4

      Plant corn kernels. Plant ½-inch deep for frequently moist soils and 1 inch deep for dry soils. Allow 1 foot between plantings. Control weeds during the growing season by cultivating the area surrounding stalks with a garden hoe. Irrigate corn crops during periods of insufficient rainfall.

    • 5

      Harvest corn at optimum maturity level for animal feed. The optimum maturity level of corn for animal feed is determined by the location of the corn kernel's "milk line." The milk line is the point of division between the solid and liquid portions of a kernel. Locate the milk line by biting a kernel. Begin biting at the ear's tip. When the milk line occurs halfway to the bottom of the kernel, it's ready for harvesting as animal feed.