02-Lancastar Fanning, Saturday, September 5,1992
Moisture Content Crucial In Silage
HUNTINGDON (Huntingdon
Co.) A few weeks before
harvesting com that will be used
for silage, growers should start
monitoring its moisture content,
recommends a Penn State com
management specialist.
“Moisture content at harvest
time is one of the most important
factors influencing corn silage
quality,” said Dr. Greg Roth,
assistant professor of com man
agement in Penn State’s College
of Agricultural Sciences.
When com silage is too dry, it
creates excessive air space in silos
and encourages mold to grow.
When it’s too wet, it leaches nutri
ents, sours, and becomes unpalat
able for livestock.
“As harvest time nears, com
plants begin losing moisture by
about one-half of one percent each
day,” said Roth. “By checking the
moisture content every few days,
you can estimate the ideal time to
harvest.”
Growers can check moisture
content by chopping up a sample
com plant and diying it in a forage
moisture tester or microwave
oven. Information about obtaining
and using a forage moisture tester
is available at Penn State
Project Sets Surface Water Tour
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Commission is conducting a and economical means of limiting project and prehmmary results of
the.flow of nuniema into .he
water and surface water on the basin’s streams and nvers. ™ctea immediately alter me nine
Paul Clugston farm near Halifax. A field tour of Ihe monitoring “ Bek *
facility Is being otteedfrr
Sn"T»i" John Graham. (7.7, 23H-0425.
MKK.IT DOES ABODYGOOD.
Attention Dairymen!
New Virginia COTTON GIN —closest
supplier of cottonseed to Northeast
dairymen.
Call now to book your cottonseed needs for
fl-800-9-COTTON
Contact Michael Duniow
At 1-800-9-COTTON
Steve Ferguson & Sam Pope, Owners
Emporia, Virginia 23847
Cooperative Extension offices.
When using a microwave oven
to check moisture, weigh a portion
of the chopped plant, then place it
in the microwave with a glass of
water. Heat the com at the high
setting for two-minute intervals
until the com feels completely
dry. “By weighing the dried
sample, you can tell how much of
it was water,” said Roth.
The difference between the two
weights can be converted into a
percentage. "Recommended per
centages vary depending on the
type of storage,” said Roth. “For
upright silos, 63 to 68 percent is
recommended. For horizontal
silos, 65 to 70 percent is recom
mended, and 55 to 60 percent is
recommended for limited-oxygen
silos.”
Moisture content also can be
estimated by examining com ker
nels. Kernels have a milk line, a
separation between the hardened
starch at the crown and the milky
portion near the base. As com
matures, more of the kernel hard
ens, and the milk line descends
toward the base.
“For bunker or upright silos,
com should be harvested when the
milk line is about one-third of the
way from the crown to the base,”
[ COTTONSEED ]
VjEFin
J. nc.
fall and winter delivery.
said Roth. “When the milk line is
midway, the plant’s moisture con
tent is ideal for storage in air-tight
silos.”
When the milk line reaches the
kernel’s base, a black layer forms
there, and the digestibility of the
stover is reduced. “Com at this
stage should be harvested without
delay," said Roth. “It still can be
ensiled, but the risk of abnormal
fermentation is increased.”
Weather can affect the rate of
corn’s moisture loss. “After an
extremely dry growing season,
moisture content may be 5 to 10
percent lower at any given stage of
maturity, and com may be ready
for harvest a lot sooner,” said
Roth. “Excessive rainfall may
slow down moisture loss and
delay harvesting.”
Com was late developing this
year due to the cold spring.
Because of this, farmers in some
areas may need to delay harvest or
harvest after frost. “Frosted com
tends to have too much moisture,”
said Roth. “If this is the case,
allow the com to dry out as much
as possible before harvesting.
In all cases, use the condition of
the crop, not the calendar, as your
guide.”
Gibble Becomes
Information Systems Manager
ELIZABETHTOWN (Lancas
ter Co.) White Oak Mills, a re
gional supplier of swine, beef, and
dairy feeds, is pleased to announce
the promotion of Rich Gibble to
manager of information systems
for the newly created data pro
cessing department.
Designing and maintaining
computer software, Gibble has
been a vital part of the company’s
success for the past seven years.
“We advanced from a fairly
small PC system to a faster, more
efficient IBM system with more
capacity,” said Gibble.
Using an AS 400 model (E-10),
he has developed more than 900
programs, including software for
accounts receivable, accounts
payable, general ledger, invoicing,
and inventory.
A 1984 graduate of Manheim
Central High School, Gibble com
pleted an advanced level program
ming class at Harrisburg Area mcnt will play a key role in the
Community College (HACC). Not progress of the company,
satisfied with the college atmo- In his new position, Gibble will
sphere, he decided to pursue his work with the computer system to
computer interest at home. Using develop the most efficient me
a variety of textbooks from col- thods of manipulating data. Re
legc bookstores and mail orders, sponsible for all computers within
Gibble became a self-taught com- the company, he will also solve
puter expert. any software problems encounter
“l think it’s easier to leam on ed.
your own,” he said. “If you leam it “Every day there’s a new prob
as you need it, then you’ll retain lem/ncw experience,” said Gibble,
a resident of Elizabethtown. “I
like the challenge that White Oak
offers.”
As White Oak continues to ex
pand, the data processing depart-
LAND PRIDE EE
SOUD STAND
SEEDER
PENNSYLVANIA
Stralsy Farm Supply, Inc.
1760 East Canal Road
Dover, PA 17315
717-292-2631
I.G. Salaa & Service
Box 200
Silverdale, PA 18961
215-257-5135
Keller Brothera
R 7 Box 405
Lebanon, PA 17042
717-949-6501
1950 FruKville Pike
Lancaster, PA 17601
717-569-2500
Marshall Machlnary, Inc.
Route 642
Honesdale, PA 18431
717-729-7117
Plkavllle Equipment Inc.
RD 2, Oysterdale Road
Oley, PA 19547
215-987-6277
48* and 72* widths
Tractor Parta Co.
335 Central Road
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
717-784-0250
Stouffar Bros. Inc.
1066 Lincoln Way West
Chambersburg, PA 17201
717-263-8424 Caldwell Tractor &
Stoltzfus Farm Sarvlca Equipment, Inc.
Cochranville, PA 480 U.S. Route 46
215-593-2407 Fairfield, N.J. 07006
US. Yea relay & Sona 201-227-6772
West Chester, PA Rodlo Tractor Sales
215-696-2990 North White Horse Pike
Norman D. Clark & N J- 08037
Son, Inc. 609-561-0141
Honey Grove, PA Frank Rymon & Sons,
717-734-3682
■ -ii ba RD 3, Box 355
Washington. N.J. 07882
717-789-3117 201-689-1464
Nl«r j Equlpmant ft, Read Brothers
RD |-P* ° Petticoat Bridge Rd.
Leesport, Reading, PA Co| um bus, NJ. 08022
215-926-2441 609-267-3363
Rich Gibble
Daarfleld Ag A Turf
Cantor, Inc.
RR 2 Box 212
Watsontown, PA 17777
717-538-3557
NEW JERSEY