El 0-Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 13, 2003 f Dollars Can Be Saved When Ensiling Forages GREENBAY, Wis. As many producers begin harvesting this year’s hay and grass crops, the Crop Storage Institute would like to remind you that there are many dollars to be saved dur ing the silo filling process. The dollar saving begins when the forage is cut. Maximizing the nutrient value of alfalfa in the first cut of the year requires a slightly earlier cut date than in subsequent cuttings. According to Jim Shroyer with Kansas State, “On estab lished stands, the first cutting should be made when regrowth at the crown is apparent. This oc curs before bloom.” The rule of thumb for subse quent cuttings is to cut when the plant is at about 10 percent bloom. Earlier cuts will result in low yields and thin stands. The second place to keep a close eye is on the wilt of the plant. Wilting a grass forage too much results in leaf loss, which can be quite costly. En suring that the plant is not wilted any more that for your recommended storage technique can save thousands of dollars. Forages that are wilted to the levels required by tower silos, bunkers, or bags will typically have in-field dry matter losses of 5 percent, and the in-field losses of dry baled forage will typically be 20 percent, and will in crease if the crop becomes too dry In ensiled forages the primary concern needs to be ensuring that proper filling techniques are used when filling storage structures. According to University of Wis consin studies average dry matter losses dur ing storage in bunkers are 17 percent, in si lage bags 10-14 per cent, and in tower silos 7 percent. In bunkers and bags these num bers are highly depen dent on proper man agement during the filling process. When filling bunk ers common recom mendations include packing in thin (6-inch) layers, using heavy or multiple packing tractors, slow ing the delivery rate, and using the progres sive wedge method. Paying careful atten tion to details in each of these areas can pay huge dividends in min imizing dry matter losses. Also of note, a bunk er must be covered with plastic and the plastic weighed down across the entire sur face. Economic studies in this area have shown that for every one dollar spent in plastic, tires, and labor to cover a bunker, eight dollars are saved in dry matter losses and feed quality. A spreadsheet estimating bunker dry matter density is available from the University of Wisconsin at their ex tension Website, and the Crop Storage Insti tute by e-mail at crop storage@cs.com. -Filling silage bags Lancaster Farming's Classified Ads Get Results! Thursday, September 18 Maryland Pasture Walk, Southeast Ohio Beef and For- Steve Stoltzfus Farm, Clinton age Field Day, Eastern Ohio Re- County, (570) 726-3798 or (814) source Development Center, 355-6817. Caldwell 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursday, October 2 Maryland Pasture Walk, Craig Leggett Farm, Boonsboro, Md. (301) 791-1304. Friday, October 10 Northern Piedmont Beef Cat tle and Forage Conservation Field Day, Hill Crest Farm, Del aplane, Va. 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (540) 342-7950. can be just as management intensive. When fin ished filling the bag, a smooth exterior surface is desired. This is thought to be a sign of a well packed bag that has most of the oxygen excluded from it. This can be achieved by ensuring that the tension cables remain tight enough on the bagging unit. Because many different bagging systems and manufacturers exist, see your bag dealer for proper management instructions. Proper management during the filling process with a tower silo is less management intensive. It is recommended that the silo be filled as quickly as possible. With high volume blowers, tower silos are now being filled at over 100 tons/hour. This fast filling process helps to exclude oxygen from the feed mass, thereby reducing dry matter losses. While bags and bunkers require a higher level of management than tower silos, it is important to closely monitor any filling process. This is the time to ensure that you are minimizing dry mat ter losses that can quickly accumulate. A produc er who harvests 1000 tons of forage worth $3O a ton, loses $3OO for every 1 percent of dry matter loss. It is clear that filling management makes a difference in the bottom line. Saturday, October 11 (740)432-9300. Saturday, Octobei 18 Hay Processing Field Day, David Fink, Heidel Hollow Farm, Germanville, Lehigh County, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (610) 767-2409. Thursday, November 6 Maryland Pasture Walk, Brownsville, Md. (301) 791-1304. Think Safety Before the start of harvest season may be the best time to talk to your family about farm safety. The pho tographer captured this scene on Rt. 222 south of Will ow Street during the Solanco Fair last September. Na tional Farm Safety and Health Week runs Sept. 21-27. For more information, visit www.nsc.org/farmsafe.htm. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
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