Corn Silage, how we love you and hate you all at the same time. It seems to me that all summer, farmers were anticipating an early harvest for corn silage, with hot dry conditions all year the saying “knee high by July” over and above expectations. So with an amazing growing year, farmers are giddy sitting at the kitchen table untill…they get the Moisture test back and they realize the corn needs to be taken off and put in the silo/bunker ASAP. Now, with 10 other dairy farmers calling the local custom guy all the same day corn silage season can be a little chaotic.
The ideal dry matter for corn silage is between 30 and 38% depending on the storage structure (closer to 30% for bunkers and closer to 38% for uprights).
Corn chopped too late undergoes a limited fermentation resulting in less stable silage.
A University of Nebraska extension bulletin says dry silage can heat and produce moulds, lowering its energy (starch) and protein digestibility. This happens because dry silage is difficult to pack, which allows more oxygen to remain imbedded in the silage.
So what can dairy farmers do??
Corn is still in field
- Change knives to cut smaller pieces and process kernels more
- blend with a wetter feed, like alfalfa, green soybeans or late corn
- pack the bunk TIGHT! using the wettest silage last, to add more weight
- Add an inoculant or molasses based product
- If you have excess water, put a layer on the top, to add excess weight
- hire a good nutritionist (just kidding)
If the feed is already harvested:
- Leet the silage ferment longer (2-3 months)
- Add water, or a liquid molasses based supplement when feeding
- make sure cows have access to lots of water
- Get silage tested often prior to feeding
The love-hate relationship will never change, we love to grow corn we love to harvest corn silage, but usually we hate the situation it…and even if you don’t hate corn silage season, I’m sure your wife (or husband) or children do because of all the added stress! Good luck to all harvesters….
*more information on how to handle Dry Corn Silage, from a nutritional stand point to come…
Filed under: Agriculture, Dairy Tagged: | dairy, farm, harvesting, nutrition, silage
