Page 14-Com Talk, Umwler Pawning, Saturday, March 19,1994
It Pays To Pack
To Prevent Silage Spoilage
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) Proper moisture testing
is the key to making good for
age, said Dr. Jerry Berger,
director of technical services
for the silage inoculant product
line at Pioneer.
Beiger spoke at the recent
Pennsylvania Com Conference
about methods producers can
use to troubleshoot high
moisture com and com silage
Using Manure
worth to you.
After you have determined
the nutrient value of the man
ure, it is a matter of estimating
the trucking and application
costs and comparing this to the
value of the manure. Some
manure producers are equipped
to offer delivery or application
service. Since poultry manure
is very high in nutrient value,
many find it profitable to haul it
a substantial distance.
Lancaster County poultry
manure is being trucked to
farms in New Jersey and further
to fertilize crops. If trucking of
the manure can be arranged as a
back haul with another trip, the
potential distance that it can be
hauled economically increases.
If you are going to be using
manure as your source of com
crop nutrients, remember to
calculate the rate of manure
needed in accordance with
sound nutrient management
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problems.
Berger insists that the big
gest and most consistent prob
lem he encounters from pro
ducers involve not matching
the hybrid moisture require
ments correctly to the type of
storage used.
In any case, Berger said, "it
pays to pack, even in an
upright" type of structure. He
said that dry matter (DM) los
ses can be excessive if silage is
too loose, because oxygen is the
(Continued from Pogo 1*)
principles. If you have been
using manure for a number of
years, don’t forget to calculate
the residual nitrogen carryover
from previous years’ applica
tions of manure and deduct that
from the current year’s nitrogen
needs. Refer to Table 21 in
“The 1993-1994 Agronomy
Guide” to determine the residu
al nitrogen in your situation.
In order to assist potential
manure suppliers and receivers
in contacting each other, lists of
each group have been com
piled. These lists are organized
by county and township to
enable you to find those on the
opposite list who are closest to
you.
If you would be interested in
having your name added and
receiving an updated list annu
ally, contact Leon Ressler,
Penn State Extension, 1383
Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA
17601-3149, (717) 394-6851.
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3-19
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Proper moisture testing
Is the key to making good
forage, said Dr. Jerry Ber
ger, director of technical
services for the silage Ino
culant product line at Pion
eer, at the recent Pennsyl
vania Corn Conference.
Pa.
Ag-Chem Covers All Your Spraying Needs From
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE DEALER NEAREST YOU:
Lelnbach Plant Food Co.
Farm Supply Cranbury, NJ
Shippensburg, PA 509-445-0935
717-532-5511
C.B. Hoober & Son
Intercourse, PA
717-766-8231
imn~ I MsA~wsm
prime factor in DM
degradability.
He showed some of the
results of tests that proved DM
losses can be excessive, even
during one day time. Complete
ly loose silage lost up to 2 per
cent DM in one day, and in four
days, IS percent was lost.
“Pack the silage firmly and
get the oxygen out," he told
them. He said there are no
shortcuts to ensuring DM
retainability through packing.
Many producers fail to cover
bunkers property, even when
using tires. Tires should be used
end to end, leaving all spaces
covered.
Also, silage moisture should
be tested periodically to ensure
the levels present do not exceed
the recommendations.
Too many times, problems
are caused by improper mois
ture levels (greater than 13 per
cent); humidity levels (greater
than 70 percent); temperature
(above 55 degrees F.); a pH
more than 5; and, of course,
oxygen.
Master
Corn Growers
Stoltzfus
Morgantown, PA
215-286-5146
Delmar Grain
Delmar, DE
302-846-9567
PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC.
Association
Tri-County
Farm & Home
Bloomsburg, PA
717-437-3440 _ . . „ _
Erb & Henry Equip*
New Berllnville, PA
215-367-2169
Smeltzer Equipment
& Supply Messlck Farm Equip-
Pleasant Gap, PA Elizabethtown, PA
•14-359-2544 717-MB-BM7
Also, chip size should be
V 4 inch; often, silage panicles in
problem areas are as long as
VA inches.
“You can’t do enough mois
ture testing,” said Berger.
“You should check moisture
every week.”
For other problems, includ
ing molds, it is important that a
good test amount should be sent
to the laboratory for analysis.
When doing so, the producer
should check the silage to
observe distribution in the tow
er or bunk, and look for com
paction or structural problems.
Six locations should be used,
with a sample taking from one
to two feet deep.
For nutrient analyses, the
sample should be refrigerated.
But for molds, the test sample
should not be refrigerated.
Problems can be resulting
from other sources, including
improper structure for the sil
age. slow feedout (especially in
a smaller herd size than antici
pated); poor distribution; and
poor packing.
Triple H Equip.
Peach Bottom, PA
717-54#-3775