Coarse Chop—Best Corn silage harvesting season is here, and it’s time to fill your silos with high-quality com silage. Since any feeding program (which is designed to allow cows to produce to their maximum potential) must be based on excellent forages, Pennfield would like to review some of the fundamentals of making top-notch com silage. The corn must be in the dent stage of maturity to assure 3. Fill the silos as rapidly as possible and be sure to maximum energy yields, and the moisture level should be distribute the silage evenly in the sUo. If the biat between 62% and 68%. erial is being stored in a pit or bunker silo, better The chopper must cut the corn cleanly and uniformly packing can be achieved using a wheel tractor without chopping it too finely - Silage that is not coarse rather than a bulldozer. enough can lead to problems with rumen acidosis and depressed butterfat. The theoretical cut should be at least . c ~. .. „„„„ „„ _ „ , % inch, and a recutter screen should never be used. Also, 4 ' soon as P osslble atter flllm 8 the knives must be sharpened frequently. po g ’ One good method of determining when maturity of your com is to look for the “black layer” in the corn kernels. When com reaches the point where all of the yield is made, several layers of cells near the tips of the kernels turn black forming a “black layer.” To find this, break an ear, remove a few kernels, and split them lengthwise. If mature, a black layer will be visible near the tips of the kernels. Your com is mature about 55 to 60 days after the corn is 75 percent silked. At this point, the kernels contain 30 to 35 percent moisture, the ear com will contain 40 to 45 percent moisture and the whole plant will contain 62 to 68 percent moisture or 32 to 38 percent dry matter. More Energy Per Acre In a 100 bushel per acre com crop, the grain harvested alone yields about 4,500 pounds of TDN, while the same 100 bushel per acre harvested as com silage yields 20 tons of silage containing 8,000 pounds of TDN. Com silage provides all the nutrients stored in the grain, plus all the feed value available in the stover, which is about 57 percent digestible. I Make To TimeT ch No Harvest il ora; Limiisftf rutMfaimrßiyfMitlii 24,'t9*S-AS' ge
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