To maximize your return, in terms of tonnage or grain per acre, irrigation may and will play a role surrounding these feedlots. These other crops can become important feed types used in the feedlot industry. When developing a cropping system that will include incorporating feed grains and forages in your irrigation planning, knowing what types of feeds are desirable is important. Remember, in the feedlot setting, silage and grains will be the dominate feed types. Tthe most common silage crop used will be corn.
Corn gives a very high tonnage forage that is high in energy.
Other crops that can be ensiled successfully and are used frequently are forage sorghums, sorghum-sudangrass, pearl millet, and alfalfa. Barley and oats also provide a very good haylage type crop. All are annual plants with the exception of alfalfa, which is a perennial. Corn is the most common plant used for many reasons. One overpowering reason is the flexibility of using corn as a forage as well as harvesting it for grain.