DB-Lancaster Farming Saturday, September 7,1991
DROUGHT WATCH
*
What |rj \
can do during L
drought conditions
STORING UP
ADDITIONAL
CORN SILAGE
IS GOOD
BUSINESS IN
A DROUGHT YEAR
There are three good reasons for
dairy producers and livestock far
mers to store up more com silage
than normal in a drought year like
this one, and only one pitfall.
So says Richard A. Erdman,
professor of animal sciences at the
University of Maryland College
Park. Erdman is nationally known
for his research work in dairy
nutrition and feeding.
Contrary to popular belief, Erd
man said, silage made from
drought-stressed com has feed val
ue that is at least equivalent to the
feed value of com produced during
a normal growing season.
And, with good-quality alfalfa
hay now selling at more than $l6O
per ton, com silage is much cheap
er than hay. Erdman urges lives
tock farmers to buy standing
drought-damaged com from their
neighbors as soon as possible, if
they don’t think they’ll have
enough feed to last through next
spring.
Standing com in the field prob-
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ably can be purchased for $2O per
ton. This would be the equivalent
of paying only $6O to $BO per ton
for alfalfa hay, Erdman said.
A third reason for storing up
extra com silage now comes from
the U.S. Department of Agricul
ture’s Stabilization and Conserva
tion Service. James C. Richardson,
state ASCS director in Maryland,
reports that federal regulations
have been changed regarding far
mer eligibility for possible drought
disaster payments.
In the past, farmers who stored
up extra feed in early fall were pen
alized by not receiving as much
drought disaster financial assis
tance as farmers who had not
stored up extra feed. This is no lon
ger true, according to a memo sent
re- cently to county ASCS offices.
Richardson now says that far
mers who store up extra feed will
not be penalized, as long as they
can show a verifiable receipt pro
ving that they purchased the extra
feed from another farmer.
Nitrate poisoning is the one pit
fall to feeding drought-damaged
com, Erdman said. But this hazard
can be overcome by careful
management.
Three to four weeks after ensil
ing, the fermentation process
should have reduced nitrate levels
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by nearly one-half. But proper
moisture levels are necessary to
make sure that adequate fermenta
tion occurs. The optimum mois
ture level is 65 percent. Oxygen
limiting silos, however, work best
at 60 percent; bunkers at 68 to 70
percent.
At the proper moisture level for
silage, com ears should have the
milk line (dark area) about halfway
down each kernel. In severely
drought-stricken fields where no
kernels have formed on the ears,
dried leaves may not be an accu
rate indicator of moisture in the
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stalks. Instead, try one of these
methods:
• For precise measurements, use
a silage moisture tester. You prob
ably can order one through a local
farm supply store in a range of
$2OO to $3OO. Those at the high
end of the price range provide digi
tal readouts. Grain moisture testers
are not adequate for the job.
• For an estimate of silage mois
ture, try drying out a silage sample
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Name.
Address.
State.
Town.
County,
in your family’s microwave oven.
This method requires an accurate
scale for weighing the sample
before and after microwaving.
For more information on ensil
ing drought-stressed com, check
with your county office of the
Cooperative Extension Service,
University of Maryland System.
Ask for Fact Sheets 433 and 483.
Single copies are free to Maryland
residents.
(215) 267-4911
Mail To
1212 N Reading Rodd
Stevens, PA 17578