Page 22—Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 13, 1993 M©(DIM fALI MIWO PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC. IS Analyze Corn Silage A. J. Heinrichs V, A. Ishler Dairy and Animal Science Extension Unusual weather conditions last summer and fall have left many producers with a forage crop that is anything but normal or consistent. Some dairy pro ducers feeding a ration high in com silage are experiencing lower than expected milk pro duction than in previous years. Lower than normal crude pro tein values, along with highly variable fiber values, were observed early this fall. Based on data obtained from the Northeast DHIA lab, there also appeared to be a tendency for lower than expected soluble protein and degradable protein values in com silage. For these reasons, Penn State investi gated soluble and degradable protein fractions, in addition to total crude protein, acid deter gent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in Pen nsylvania com silage samples. Thirty-three com silage sam ples were collected from south east, northeast, northwest, and central Pennsylvania. Investi gators attempted to collect sam ples that showed some of the Pennsylvania Master Com iwers Association & bnal Com Growers Association Name Farm Name Address Clty/State/Zip, County Phone Farm Acres PMCGA and NCSA dues for 1993: $2O Special! Three years for $451 Make checks payable to: PMCGA Send to: PMCGA P. O. Box 304 State College,, PA 16804 variation found among farms this fall. Moisture contents were typi cal of most years, ranging from 60 percent to 70 percent. The average soluble protein was similar to values found by the Northeast DHIA lab last year, yet 10 percent lower than what is considered normal when comparing the analysis to Penn StateUs Feeds Library values (40.6 versus 50 percent of the crude protein), as shown in Tables 1 and 2. It is important to note that we found a tremendous amount of variation in the soluble protein values ranged from 15.6 per cent to 53,7 percent soluble protein. This emphasizes the need for including soluble pro tein when testing com silage. Degradable protein was fair ly consistent among samples and close to the expected nor mal range of 70 to 75 percent of the crude protein as seen on both NEDHIA and NRC tables. While crude protein, ADF, and NDF fell within normally expected levels, samples again varied widely. Fifty-five per cent of the samples had less than eight percent crude pro tein, and NDF ranged from a low of 42 percent to a high of 67 Membership Application Com Acres percent. The bottom line is that it is more imperative than ever to sample and test com silage made in 1992 for all nutrients normally analyzed, including the protein fractions. Ration balancing and atten tion to com silage quality, with emphasis on soluble and degradable protein fractions, will be extremely important this year in maintaining normal to high milk production. If average com silage energy val ues are being used in ration programming, they should be discounted by at least five per • Roi Bei • Hyi CASE IH 4800 FIELD CULTIVATOR • Hyd. Fold • Complete & Field Ready ATTEI Table 1. Expected nutrient content of com silage, Com silage NRC Com silage NEDHIA Standard Deviation * Expected soluble protein level is based on The Pennsylvania State University Feeds Library. Table 2. Com silage results from all regions in Pennsylvania December 1992 Crude protein Soluble protein Degradable protein ADF NDF **Std. Dev = standard deviation lON FARMERS: If Parts Are Needed After Hoi MESSICK FARM EQUIPMENT, INC. Rheems Bxit-Rt. 283, Elizabethtown, PA. 17022 717-367-1319. 717-653-8867 Crude Soluble Degradable protein protein protein 8.1 50* 8.6 42 70.5 28 47.7 1.4 10 Average 8.3 40.6 75.7 29.1 52.2 cent because of the immature grain content. Producers feeding large amounts of com silage with low protein solubility values should consider including ingredients CASE IH 14 w/AUTO • Increase Yields • Breaks Up Hard Pans • Allows Soil To Bi CASE IH 1580 MANURE SPREADER Hyd. Endgate, Top Beater, Splash Guard 69.0 28 51.0 Std. Dev** 1.5 7.9 4.0 4.8 5.7 Low 5.9 15.6 65.9 21.3 42.0 to increase protein solubility. Soluble protein should be at least 28 percent of the crude protein in the total ration dry matter, with the optimum range being between 30 and 34 percent. (D(D)EH TMM MAXXUM TRACTORS ADF NDF 4.8 6.4 High 12.2 53.7 80.8 43.5 67.4 CALL TODAY FOR SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE!
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