TIPS FOR INTERPRETING CORN SILAGE DATA

Now that most farmers have finished with harvest and fall tillage, it’s time to head inside and finalize plans for next season’s crop! Similar to corn and soybeans, YIELD IN THE FIELD IS IMPORTANT FOR CORN SILAGE. There are some additional metrics that help us compare corn silage varieties.

Corn silage reports can get complicated, so I’ll try to simplify a few major elements:

• Milk 2006 – an evaluation system that helps provide an energy score from a combination of Fat, Ash, Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Neutral Detergent Fiber Digestibility (NDFD), Protein and Starch.
• Milk/ Ton – The amount of milk or animal response is predicted per ton of corn silage, which directly reflects the quality of the corn silage. Higher numbers indicate better corn silage.
• Milk / Acre – The amount of milk is predicted per acre of corn silage. It’s a combination of dry matter tons harvested and the quality of the corn silage. Higher numbers are better.

Our goal is to provide quality information to help guide you, and your team of agronomy and nutrition professionals to help achieve best return on investment including:

• Excellent Tonnage comes from top yields with top quality.
• Excellent Quality is a result of hybrid selection and management. Corn Silage management practices are the most vital factor to achieving peak quality, from planting to harvest.
• Prime harvest moisture of 65% to 70% whole-plant moisture helps ensure proper packing and fermentation, which helps reduce free oxygen and potential for mold and mycotoxin growth.

Feel free to contact me if you need help discerning starch types or selecting the best trait package for each field. Top performance is a team effort at Latham Hi-Tech Seeds!