Custom corn chopping goes for $1000/hr around here.  In good corn, 25 ton/acre, it ends up working out to a range of $5.50 to $7.50 / ton harvested.  The bill get BIG, FAST.  I don't know your conditions and weather, but I would look hard at trying to graze the cows as late into the fall as possible.  Stock pile forages, plant different types of grasses and legumes, graze corn stalks.  We usually don't start winter feeding till the end of Nov. or early Dec.  We start grazing in early to mid may. I would think that you should be able to get it down to a few weeks of supplemental feeding where most of the feed comes from grazing and just a mix of protein supplement is given.

Nathan