SoutheastDairyExtension.org: Tip of the Month

We almost always have problems when we first begin to feed new corn silage in the fall. Production decline is greater in some years than in others. There are many factors that affect the digestibility of corn silage including variety, weather conditions during the growing season (heat units and moisture), plant population density, kernel processing, and maturity at harvest. Of all these factors, maturity at harvest is the single overriding factor that can influence whole plant digestibility, especially if the crop is too mature at harvest. We can select varieties for improved stover (NDF) digestibility, or higher grain to stover ratio, but if harvest is delayed beyond the 1/2 to 1/3 kernel milk line, the advantage of these characteristics will be lost.

Workers at Cornell have developed an equation to predict whole plant corn silage digestibility. It's based on growing degree-days (GDD) and precipitation (ppt). To see the equation and the rest of this brief article, click on the link below:

This brief article also discusses how to avoid the "neocorn silage-milk-drop" syndrome in the future.