D4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 10,1983
NEWARK, Del. Many dairy
fanners have been making plans
to salvage much of this year’s
drought-stricken com crop by
harvesting it as silage. Filling silos
with drought-stressed com can be
a dangerous and difficult practice
for two reasons, says University,of
Delaware extension dairy
specialist George Haenlein: first,
because of the potentially high
nitrate content of the silage; and
second, because of the difficulty of
packing stalks that are too dry.
Packing dry stalks is no problem
with a trench silo, but in an upright
silo if the com isn’t green enough,
it may be difficult or impossible to
remove air pockets created by
pieces of stiff stalk. In such cases,
farmers may need to (1) add a
preservative to prevent
development of mold ip the
presence of air, or (2) add weight
in the form of water during filling
and a water-filled plastic bag at
the top of the silo afterwards to
compress the silage. But he says
this approach isn’t likely to affect
air pockets in the lower part of the
silo, so the danger of mold
remains.
The potentially high nitrate
content of drought-damaged corn
in another problem for dairy
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Drought-drained silage can pose problems
producers. Nitrates interfere with
the oxygen-absorbing capacity of
the cows’ blood. This may lead to
secondary problems, particularly
interference with normal
reproductive processes, resulting
in poor ovulation and/or abortion.
Haenlein says at low levels
nitrates can be tolerated or ad
justed to, but at medium and high
levels they become increasingly
dangerous. In extreme cases of
nitrate poisoning, cattle may die.
For these reasons, when using
drought-stressed com for silage,
he cautions fanners to be alert for
the presence of brown nitrous
oxide gas seeping out of the silo
and flowing down - the gas is
heavier than air.
If a producer must feed high
nitrate silage, the specialist says it
must be diluted with other, safer
feeds, such as hay and grain.
He suggests dairy fanners
follow these guidelines when using
drought-stressed com, to avoid
nitrate problems in silage:
*lf there is a rain, wait three to
five days before chopping drought
stressed com silage, because
nitrate levels are higher in the
plant directly aftei; rain.
‘Consider raising the cutterbar
on the chopper 12 inches up the
stalk. Nitrates are more con
centrated in the lower part of the
plant, so by doing this, you can
leave more nitrates in the field.
•Don’t feed freshly chopped com
silage to cattle.
•Wait at least 30 days before
feeding silage from the silo. The
fermentation process will help
dissipate the nitrates in the silage.
•Before feeding, have a sample
Case, UAW cooperate on rebate plan
RACINE, Wi., —JI Case and the
United Auto Workers (UAW) today
announced a special rebate
program which passes negotiated
savings directly to Case
customers.
As part of recent labor
negotiations, Case and the UAW
will provide rebates of $3,000
(U.S.) per unit on selected Case
agricultural and construction
equipment models purchased over
a two-month period, beginning
Sept. I.
Case and union officials expect
this rebate program to stimulate
sales and increase production of
equipment manufactured at Case
plants in Illinois, Indiana, lowa
of the silage analyzed QUAN
TITATIVELY for nitrate content.
The ideal moisture content for
making com silage is 65-70 per
cent. Normally this occurs about
the time the lower half of the
leaves are browning and the tips of
the kernels in the center of the ear
have a blade layer.
Under drought stress when com
and Wisconsin.
"Unlike other recent wage and
benefit restraint agreements, this
plan breaks new ground because it
is designed to directly benefit the
customer," says Ralph C. Wagner,
senior vice president, corporate
relations, for JI Case.
Rebates apply to the purchase of
new Case 90 and 94 Series two- or
four-wheel-drive farm tractors
over 100 horsepower. Construction
equipment rebates apply to pur
chases of new Case 580 D and Super
D ioader/backhoes, models WlB
and W2O wheel loaders, model 850
crawler dozers and models 850 and
855 crawler loaders.
After customers have secured
has no ears, over half of the leaves
on the plant may be “firea.
long as the upper leaves are still
green, Haenlein says the plant will
likely respond to rainfall by
recovering a normal moisture
content of 75-70 percent. He
suggests farmers apply the
following squeeze test to get a
general idea of silage moisture in
the field.
their best deal from local Case
dealers, and taken advantage of
any available Case financing
programs, they will receive a
$3,000 check from Case and the
UAW. This sum also can be applied
directly to the purchase price of
the equipment. The rebate offer
applies to eligible models pur-
chased in the U.S. and Canada, but
is not applicable to governmental
agencies.