Silage Management

From Football Cleats to Dirty Work Boots: How Authentic Teamwork is Made in the Fields

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 19:56:07 GMT

It is that time of year when it seems like there are not enough hours in the day. Mostly because two-thirds of it is spent chopping corn. The next day is much of the same and so is the next and then the next, until the job gets done.

Last week, I watched outside my farmhouse window, my husband lowering the chopper’s head down to the ground. Then slowly, the corn began disappearing and the chopper-box wagons were being filled. One after another, five wagons were filled every hour. Like clockwork.

Challenges Ahead
That is until the clock breaks. Two things that cost time and money are breakdowns and Mother Nature. This year, Mother Nature just didn’t want to cooperate for us. With the heat index topping 107 degrees, the forecast showed a slight chance of a pop-up shower. With the corn turning quick, we decided to keep going.

Then, during the night, that slight chance of rain turned into a 100% chance, and the pop-up shower equated to nearly an inch of rain. Others in our area received double the amount, so I guess we considered ourselves lucky.

But, truthfully, we just felt sick to our stomachs, knowing how many endless hours of work unfolded only to get rain on it. But, what else can you do besides move forward?

Shifting Focus
The next day, we turned our attention back to the cows and the dairy, as the fields needed to dry out. The following day, I heard diesel engines roar up, as seven tractors started their engines for a full day of work. On the pile, the blade began smoothing over freshly dumped corn silage again, while additional tractors went back and forth over the pile, packing it down for endless hours—too many to count. The other tractors raced down the roads, hauling chopper boxes and filling freshly chopped corn silage.

With a lot of windshield time, my husband, who is the master mind behind our chopping crew and the operator of our chopper, thinks about when the pile will be ready to cover. Any of you that have had the luxury of joining in this job, understand that it certainly isn’t for the faint of hearts. This job is a full cardio workout.

Thankfully this year, we were once again able to count on our local high school varsity football team, who traded in their cleats for work shoes and tossed tires and pulled plastic to tightly seal up 2024’s crop.

Teamwork is what spells dream work. This couldn’t be truer than what it takes to chop 4,000 tons of corn over the span of a few days. I encourage you to extend an invite to your local football, FFA Chapter or whomever to offer a helping hand. Don’t run on empty this harvest season—recruit some young blood to build up your team to get across the finish line.

Stay Safe this Silage Harvest Season

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 17:17:31 GMT

During the rush of corn silage harvest, safety often takes a back seat. However, tragedy can strike in the blink of an eye. Kansas State Extension offers these tips to remember before heading out into the fields this season.

Tractor Rollovers

Operating large machinery during harvest is always a dangerous job. Unfortunately, tractor rollovers have accounted for about 50% of the approximately 250 tractor-related fatalities reported annually in the U.S. To minimize rollover risks, consider the following:

Rollover protective structures create a zone of protection around the tractor operator. When used with a seat belt, rollover protective structures prevent the operator from being thrown from the protective zone and crushed by the tractor or equipment drawn by it.
A straight drop off a bunker silo wall is a significant risk, so never fill higher than the top of the wall.
Sight rails should be installed on above-ground walls. These rails indicate the location of the wall to the tractor operator, but they are not intended to hold an over-turning tractor.
Install lights to the rail if filling will occur at night.
When filling bunker silos and drive-over piles, pack tractor operators should always form a progressive wedge of forage, which provides a minimum slope of 1 to 3 for packing.
To reduce the risk of a tractor rollover, it is important to maintain a minimum slope of 1 to 3 on the sides and ends of a drive-over pile.
Tractors should be backed up steep slopes to prevent rollbacks.
Use low-clearance, wide-front-end tractors equipped with well-lugged tires to prevent slipping.
Add wheel weights and weights to the front and back of the tractors to improve stability.
When using front-end loaders to move forage to the bunker or pile, do not elevate the bucket any higher than necessary, thereby helping to keep the center of gravity low.
When 2 or more pack tractors are used, establish a driving procedure to prevent collisions.

Truck Rollovers

Trucks can overturn on steep forage slopes, particularly if the forage is not loaded and packed uniformly.
Raise the dump body only while the truck is on a firm surface to prevent an overturn.
As the bed is raised for unloading, it is important that the load center of gravity stay between the frame rails of the truck frame.
Trucks are less stable as the bed is raised, particularly if the surface is not perfectly flat.
A tire rut or depression from a previous load, low tires on one side of a truck, uneven loading of a truck, or a wind gust increase the risk of a truck tipping over during unloading, especially when 2 or more of these hazards combine at a single time point.

Reduce Risks

Keep machine guards and shields in place to protect the operator from an assortment of rotating shaft, chain, and V-belt drives; gears and pulleys; and rotating knives on forage harvesters, wagons, and silage feeding equipment.
Keep nonworkers away from traffic areas.
Never allow people on foot (especially children) near the moving harvest and transport equipment in the field or people on foot near a bunker silo or drive-over pile during filling or feed-out. (4) Adjust rear-view mirrors.
When inspection or servicing work is needed, shut down the engine and remove and pocket the keys to prevent accidental starting by another person.
Mount and dismount the tractor or forage harvester using a debris-free access ladder and steps and handholds. Maintain a 3-point contact as you climb and always face the machine.
Stop the machine before lubricating, adjusting, inspecting, or unplugging. Wait for the cutter head to come to a complete stop before adjusting or unplugging.
Never approach the blades of a silage defacer while the machine is in operation.
Wear snug clothing.
Use reverse alarm devices or a remote video camera on large or oversized machines to increase visibility and warn others that you are operating the equipment in a reverse direction.
Use standard agricultural hand signals to communicate with others when operating machinery or when helping with machinery movement.
Monitor weather and field conditions as they relate to safety and adjust the harvest accordingly.
Be sure all equipment operators are competent and trained for the jobs they are doing.
Employers should remind forage harvester, truck, and tractor operators to be careful, use seat belts, and never take unnecessary risks. The reminder should be made at the beginning of every working day.

How to Make Fiber More Digestible

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 18:44:12 GMT

When a cow is grazing, she will naturally choose the shortest forage possible because it likely has the least lignin, gives her the most energy and is the easiest to chew. The problem cows run into is the initial particle length of forage in their diet. Hay being fed in the winter could have a length of 1.5 feet or even up to 3 feet if it’s first cutting hay.

How Forage is Digested

Forage is broken down in the rumen by first chewing or mastication; then the cow swallows the bolus of feed, and it enters the rumen. With bacteria, the enzymes responsible for breaking down the forage particles - cellulose and hemicellulose – need to attach to the forage particle.

“The forage has to be moistened which creates oxygen bubbles, but oxygen is toxic to bacteria,” said Dr. Francis Fluharty, Animal and Dairy Science Department head at the University of Georgia. “The rumen eliminates the oxygen by contracting about twice a minute which causes cattle to eructate gas. They’re eliminating the oxygen and carbon dioxide. As that process occurs, the forage particle is being mixed and moistened, so the bacteria can attach. This is the lag phase of digestion.”

Forages are digested from the inside to the outside. Grasses have a waxy cuticle layer on the outside of the grass that can’t be penetrated by bacteria. To increase forage digestibility, you must break apart the cuticle layer. This occurs by the animal chewing its cud, whereby the animal brings back up a bolus of forage, chews it more to further break it apart, then re-swallows it, so the bacteria can attach. From the rumen, it moves down the digestive tract to the reticulum, where the big forage particles pass back and forth. Once out of the reticulum, the forage goes to the omasum, and forage particles leave the rumen at about 1/25th of an inch in length.

“How much energy does it take the cow to break the forage particle down from 3 feet to 1/25th of an inch?” Fluharty said. “The most important thing a producer can do to help fiber digestibility is to chop the hay prior to the animal eating it. It’s also important to time harvest prior to lignin building up.”

A group of microorganisms called the rumen fungi can break the bond between the lignin and the hemicellulose in forage. Rumen fungi are several times larger than bacteria, and they grow rapidly in the rumen through the forage particles and can carry the bacteria with them.

“Another step a producer can take is to a feed supplement that has shown to increase the rate of fiber digestion,” he explained. “Levucell SC is a yeast product by Lallemand, and Amaferm by Biozyme Incorporated is a prebiotic – they have both shown to increase the growth rate of rumen fungi.”
Since the goal is to start with as small a particle size as possible, using a mower conditioner with rollers when making hay can help break down that outer cuticle layer and crush forage, so there are more cracks in the forage during drying. The second option is to use a chop cut round baler that will break particles down to 6 or 8 inches.

Haylage

“If I had to choose between feeding dry hay or haylage, I would choose haylage because it’s already wetted, and you can still use a chop cut baler when you’re making haylage. If you’re ensiling in a bunker or a bag, it’s already being chopped down hopefully to no more than 2 to 3 inches in length with 2 inches being optimal. Plus, producers have a much better chance of keeping cows in good condition through the winter with the haylage bale because the rate of digestion is going to be faster.”

Corn Silage

As with haylage, corn silage is also already wet when it goes into the rumen, so the lag time for digestion is much less than for a dry forage. The other benefit of corn silage is that it’s been chopped to a particle length of about 1/2 inch to ¾ inch long. Corn silage is an exceptional feed from a forage digestibility standpoint, according to Fluharty. However, it can cause other concerns for beef cows.

“If I’m feeding pregnant cows through the winter on corn silage, on a dry matter basis, corn silage is approximately 50% corn. When digested, it increases the glucose produced in the liver which results in more propionate in the rumen that’s converted to glucose which is absorbed by the fetus and can ultimately increase calf birth weight,” he noted. “Another downside is that when you give more energy through corn, milk production is increased. If the calf cannot consume all the milk, the cow could become mastitic. It’s a good feed but only about 25% to 30% of dry matter intake should come from corn silage.”

Headline photo courtesy of Troy Walz and University of Nebraska

To read more articles like this one:

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Optimize Corn Silage Harvest to Maximize Your Ration
Corn Silage Harvest: Want More Money in the Bunker?
Five Key Priorities for Making Quality Silage

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Four Strategies to Plan you Silage Season

Crop Selection Planning for the Next Silage Season

Crop Nutrient Needs for Alfalfa and Corn Silage

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Cost Effectiveness of Silage Depends on Pricing It Correctly

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 18:44:12 GMT

Calculating the economics of silage for beef producers seems like it would be cut and dried but not so. A lot has been learned recently about how to price corn silage.

Beef producers are primarily focused on two approaches for growing and finishing cattle. First, how does silage fit as the predominant feed (50% to 80%) in a growing diet? It’s an excellent feed for integrated operations who also grow cattle, so they can buy calves and feed them large concentrations of silage, which is very economical. The goal is to grow those cattle from about 500 pounds after weaning up to 800 or 900 pounds before they shift to a finishing diet.

“A silage-based diet can be a real plus for calves that are smaller-framed because if you just put them on finishing diets, they can get fat too quickly and will not finish at higher weights as expected,” said Galen Erickson, professor of ruminant nutrition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Producers should pay attention to supplementing protein. We’ve learned that if you’re going to grow cattle on a silage-based diet, they respond well to bypass protein. The best source is distillers grains.”

For midwestern finishing systems, the question remains: how does silage fit as a forage source? Today, silage is much more economical than most hay, and it may be possible to feed more silage.

“Most large feedyards will feed 10% to 15% silage which works well. It’s an excellent roughage source and is still more economical than using alfalfa hay or other hays. We asked: if it works well at 15%, could it work even better at 30% or 40% of the diet in smaller operations that own their own cattle?” he said. “Essentially if we feed more silage, is it more economical to the operation? The answer depends on how silage is priced.”

Price silage based on the correct price of corn standing in the field, and make sure that you’ve subtracted the price of combining

If you’re buying corn silage from your neighbor, your neighbor doesn’t have to combine the corn. You’ll be the one chopping and putting up the silage.

“Based on our calculations, the cost for corn standing in the field calculates out to 7.65 times the corn price,” said Erickson.

Make sure to recycle manure nutrients (NPK) back to the fields which offsets the cost of the silage.

“If you are buying from your neighbor and you take away some of the forage residue, then the farm should replenish those nutrients, and your neighbor will want you to pay for those nutrients. I don’t have a concern with that, but here’s the dilemma: If your neighbor charges for nutrient removal of the forage, then you have all this manure that provides the same nutrients, but your neighbor doesn’t want to pay you back for those nutrients when you spread manure. So, it’s important to have a good discussion that ensures a fair trade for both parties.”

Use the fall harvest corn price for your silage because otherwise you’re double charging for storage.

The corn price changes throughout the year, but in general, corn is cheapest at harvest. Data show the corn price increases by $0.05 per bushel per month, which equates, interestingly, exactly to what it costs to store corn per month from the time of harvest. For pricing purposes, the part that gets missed is that corn grain is increasing $0.04 to $0.05 per bushel per month.

“A lot of times people say, ‘I’m going to buy your corn silage, and you can price the corn next February.’ But the price of corn is higher next February than at harvest, so why does that matter? It matters because I’m also having to store it. If corn price is going up because of its storage costs on the grain, you’re double paying for storage by paying the February corn price and the storage cost on the silage,” explained Erickson.

The University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University offer a corn silage pricing calculator that can help in your efforts.

On the economic side, he said, if you own the acres and you’re not buying the silage from your neighbor, feeding silage is a no brainer. However, in either scenario, it only works if you manage the process.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into those two to three days or maybe a week that you’re putting up the silage, - targeting the right moisture, kernel processing, chop size and packing it well,” he noted. “If you’re not going to invest in the process, then shrink will be high. This can quickly go from being a very smart decision to a very poor decision if you don’t invest the time and effort to manage it.”

(Farm Journal)

Headline photo courtesy of Galen Erickson

To read more articles like this one:

Dairy Herd Management

Optimize Corn Silage Harvest to Maximize Your Ration
Corn Silage Harvest: Want More Money in the Bunker
Five Key Priorities for Making Quality Silage

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Four Strategies to Plan Your Silage Season

Crop Selection Planning for the Next Silage Season

Crop Nutrient Needs for Alfalfa and Corn Silage

Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

Ask the Silage Dr: Do I Need to Get Yeast and Mold Analysis?

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 23:30:00 GMT

Q. When I send my silage sample to the lab, should I request yeast and mold analysis too?

A. We only recommend yeast and mold analysis if producers suspect silage heating or if there are herd health concerns that may be caused from molds. However, spoilage yeasts can lower intake, reduce ruminal fiber digestibility and reduce milk fat.

When interpreting your results, anything above 100,000 colony-forming units (CFUs) per gram of silage is a problem. Greater than 100,000 yeasts in a core sample will mean the silage will almost surely heat, as it gets to the surface. Heating and spoilage during feedout are the greatest contributors to dry matter (DM) and nutrient losses in silage production.

Avoid the temptation to feed spoiled silage. Feeding even small amounts of spoiled silage can disrupt normal rumen function and can lead to reproduction problems, respiratory problems, herd health issues, reduced feed intake and decreased production.

To minimize spoilage losses at feedout, it’s important to prevent the growth of spoilage microorganisms, such as yeasts and molds. Preventing oxygen exposure is key. Be sure to pack tight and cover rapidly and well. This helps drive air out and reduce its ingress.

A research-proven inoculant also can help. For example, a high dose rate Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 applied at 400,000 CFU per gram of silage or 600,000 CFU per gram of high-moisture corn (HMC) has been uniquely reviewed by the FDA for improved aerobic stability.

For additional silage tips, visit www.qualitysilage.com or Ask the Silage Dr. on Twitter or Facebook .

Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

How to Select the Right Corn Hybrid for Silage Acres

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:12:12 GMT

It’s a mistake to select the same corn hybrids and management practices to produce silage and grain – doing so may reduce silage feed quality. Good corn silage hybrids have high yields, high energy, high digestibility and good animal performance, writes Alvaro Garcia, South Dakota State University Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources program director.

Critical to maximize silage yields is the selection of the right variety. With lower corn silage yields, there is a greater need for livestock supplementation, which increases feed costs. However, because grain provides needed starch, it is unlikely that corn grain will be completely removed from the ration. Since starch is deposited in the kernels, the amount of grain in the ration is associated with the energy content of the silage. In the past, the rule of thumb for the corn silage grain-to-forage ratio was 50:50. The improved grain yield per unit area of modern corn hybrids is because of the increased optimum plant population rather than the improved grain yield per plant.

For example, hybrid 1 produces 150 bu/acre or 20 tons/acre of corn silage at 65% moisture. This hybrid has a grain equivalent per ton of corn silage of 7.5 bushels, and the proportion of grain per ton of dry silage as a percent of the whole plant is 420 lbs (7.5×56) divided by 700 (350×2) or 60% grain per ton of dry matter.

Hybrid 2 produces 200 bu/acre or 29 tons per acre at 65% moisture. This corn hybrid has a grain equivalent per ton of corn silage of 6.8 bushels, and the proportion of grain per ton of dry silage as a percent of the whole plant is 380 lbs (6.8×56) divided again by 700 (350×2) or 54% grain per ton of dry matter.

By difference, one can infer that the forage fraction of 150-bushel corn yielding 20 tons of silage per acre is 40% (100-60), whereas the forage fraction of the 200-bushel corn is 46% (100-54). If we estimate, 0.7 megacalories (MCal) of net energy for gain (NEg) per pound of corn grain, the 150-bushel produces: 0.7×56×150 = 5,880 MCal NEg per acre, whereas the 200-bushel corn produces: 0.7×56×200 = 7,840 MCal NEg per acre or 33% more energy. These calculations show trade off often seen between hybrids.

Desirable hybrid characteristics for grain production, such as hard and fast-drying kernels, are exactly the opposite of what are needed in corn silage. Corn hybrids for silage need to have both high yields and increased starch and fiber (NDF) digestibility.

Where possible, select corn silage hybrids that have a slightly higher maturity rating than grain hybrids and cultivate early at rates 2,000 to 3,000 plants/acre higher than for grain production.
Row spacing should be appropriate for the agricultural system, and harvesting corn for silage removes more N, P and K than harvesting corn for grain. If the field is routinely harvested for silage, consider increasing the amount of fertilizer or manure applied to the field.

Read more about Corn Silage Production and Utilization .

Image courtesy of South Dakota State University

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Six Strategies for Silage Success https://www.dairyherd.com/article/baleage-different-all-other-forage-making-practices

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What’s Growing on Your Forage Crops

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 23:30:31 GMT

There are many types of microbes that naturally occur on forage crops in the field. Their populations vary with the weather during the growing season, crop management practices and the plant’s stage of maturity. These bacteria, yeasts and molds are simply waiting for the right conditions to grow and multiply. Influencing the situation to get the right microbes to dominate at the right time is the difference between quality silage and compost.

The “good guys” in the war for an efficient and effective ensiling fermentation — which drives a successful ensiling process — are homolactic acid bacteria. These microbes contribute to a rapid pH drop to below 5.0, when “bad” fermentations are prevented, besides shutting down the plants own auto-degradation process. However, these bacteria may often not be naturally present in sufficient numbers to create good silage.¹

Spoilage microorganisms – particularly yeasts – also occur naturally in varying numbers on all pre-harvest crops as part of the mixed microbial community described above. If these yeasts become dominant, they can start the process of aerobic deterioration — raising the forage pH, which allows for further spoilage by molds and bacteria. These “bad guys” in the microbial fermentation “war” are also the reason producers can see instability during feedout. There are also naturally occurring aerobic bacteria that can grow while oxygen is present. This can cause considerable nutrient loss and prevent a rapid pH drop.

Crops with high protein content and lower fermentable sugars — such as clover and alfalfa grasses and some small grain cereal silages — are even more at risk since they tend to be cut closer to the ground. When crops are cut close, there’s a higher risk for soil contamination. Soil can contain very high numbers of spoilage microbes, like clostridia and enterobacteria, both of which can result in silages with feeding issues. Many consider clostridial silage to be the worst possible result. The silage will be wet, dark and smell foul and should not be fed to pregnant or transition cows and only fed in limited amounts to lactating dairy cows (to maintain intake of butyric acid below 50 grams per head per day).

When unstable and potentially moldy feeds are ingested by cattle, the consequences on rumen function and performance are likely disastrous. They can push a cow or steer with borderline rumen function into metabolic issues, such as subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) and can also contribute to health and fertility problems.

To win the microbial war in your silages, it’s important to use research-proven forage inoculants containing fast-acting, efficient homolactic acid bacteria. This loads up your silage with an army of these good microbes and helps ensure the right balance is in place. Additionally, inoculants that contain Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 at an effective dose in addition to the homolactic bacteria can help address stability challenges at feedout, saving DM and nutrients, minimizing associated health and fertility issues and maximizing profitability.

Ask the Silage Doctor at QualitySilage.com , @TheSilageDoctor and at facebook.com/TheSilageDoctor if you have questions about forage hygiene.

¹ McDonald P., Henderson A. R. & Heron S. J. E. 1991. The Biochemistry of Silage, Chapter 4, Microorganisms.

Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

Winter Feeding Strategies for Beef Cows

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 21:30:57 GMT

Winter is coming fast, and during this time, it is important to consider your winter beef cow ration fed to your dry cows, so they are in top body condition and health at calving time. Calving is just a couple months away or less, depending on when your operation starts spring calving.

Optimal body condition at calving is 5 to 6 on a scale from 1-9. The dry period and middle third of lactation are the easier and least costly times to add condition to the cow. Ideally, they should gain 1.5 pounds per day or one-half to three-fourths points of body condition score per month. Generally, a cow eats 2.0% to 2.5% of her body weight in dry matter each day. It is important to note that temperature plays a large role in a cow’s nutritional needs.

To have the most optimal and cost-effective ration, it is crucial to test your forages, so you know what nutrient values you have to work with and if feed supplements are necessary. Work with your nutritionist for ration balancing. With hay prices higher this season and other feedstuffs cheaper, this may be the year to consider substituting corn or other co-products to your winter cow ration, especially if you are short on hay. If you’re thinking of substituting corn into the diet, a rule of thumb is to feed the cow at least one pound of hay per 100 pounds of body weight. For the remainder of hay, use the 1 pound of corn to 2 pounds of hay substitution guideline. Cows will act less hungry if they get fed 10-15 pounds of hay compared to reducing it more. To help determine if this could be a cost saving measure, one can utilize the “Hay-Corn Substitution Calculator” for beef winter cow rations found on the UW-Extension WI Beef Information Center website under the Decision Tools and Software tab. There are other tools for evaluating feeds and rations on this tab as well. Remember, the output is only as good as the information entered, and cow response to intake and feed can vary.

There are other factors to keep in mind during winter feeding. Things to consider include adequate bunk space of 26-30 inches per cow and water consumption. Decreased water consumption due to an iced-over stock tank can decrease feed intake. Also make sure hay waste is kept to a minimum with proper feeding equipment in the cow yard or barn.

In summary, a balanced ration will help get your beef cows through winter and be at optimum body condition and health at calving season. For more information about the beef industry, visit the Wisconsin Beef Information Center or contact your local extension office.

(Farm Journal)

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Assessing Silage Outcomes

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 19:08:26 GMT

This is one of the best times to make a critical assessment of the operation’s silage management practices.

Check on shrink. One important area to assess is silage shrink. When dry matter (DM) losses occur, producers end up with less available feed — and also lower quality feed. That’s because the first components to be lost are the most digestible nutrients.

There is no single solution to reducing silage shrink. It requires attention to detail and best management practices. Silage crops need to be harvested at the right moisture and stage of maturity; chopped to get the optimum length of cut; kernels processed, if necessary; inoculated; brought in quickly; packed well to drive out oxygen and sealed immediately after filling.

To help ensure a rapid and efficient fermentation, use an inoculant proven to provide a quick pH drop. This helps preserve maximum nutrient value and reduce yeast levels, therefore reducing the potential for silage heating at feedout. The lactic acid bacteria, Pediococcus pentosaceus 12455, provides an efficient, fast fermentation, including the moderate production of yeast-killing acetic acid fueled by sugars generated by specific high-activity enzymes.

Assess spoilage. Whenever silage heats, the nutritive value declines, and there is added potential for mold growth and toxin production.

In most cases, aerobic instability and silage heating is caused by spoilage yeast growth. Yeasts will grow in the presence of oxygen, so all the management tips outlined above — including using a proven inoculant to drive a fast, efficient fermentation — will help. However, yeast populations on crops at harvest can be very high, and it can be an issue during silage feedout.

At feedout, these spoilage yeasts “wake up” and can grow rapidly after silage is exposed to air. This can cause heating, spoilage and feed losses. Good feedout management will help. Keep the silage surface tight and clean; avoid removing silage too far ahead of feeding; do not leave silage sitting in loose piles and feed out at a rate fast enough to prevent heating.

Producers can also use an inoculant that is research-proven to prevent heating at feedout. Silage inoculated with Lactobacillus buchneri NCIMB 40788 will be more resistant to heating and spoilage. L. buchneri NCIMB 40788 applied at a minimum of 400,000 CFU per gram of silage or 600,000 CFU per gram of high-moisture corn (HMC) has been uniquely reviewed by the FDA and allowed to claim improved aerobic stability.

For additional silage tips, visit www.qualitysilage.com.

Ask the Quality Silage Experts: Winter Feeding Rates

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 19:05:03 GMT

Q. Should I change my silage feeding rate during winter?

A. When feedout begins, silage is once more exposed to oxygen. This can reignite spoilage organisms and cause losses.

The feedout removal rate of silage from the silo is comparable to a race against time, so air cannot penetrate as quick into the silage mass. Fast removal rates decrease aerobic spoilage and reduce losses. As a general rule, it is recommended to remove 6 inches per day of silage from the entire silo face; however, this rate could be lower for stable silages during the winter.

Producers can take action to reduce spoilage losses at harvest by adding a proven silage inoculant containing Lactobacillus buchneri NCIMB 40788, which reduces the growth of yeasts, the initiators of spoilage. In fact, L. buchneri NCIMB 40788 applied at 400,000 CFU per gram of silage or 600,000 CFU per gram of high-moisture corn (HMC) has been uniquely reviewed by the FDA and allowed to claim improved aerobic stability.

Spoilage may occur even if your feeding rate is on target. If you see any signs of spoilage, avoid the temptation to feed the affected silage — even in small amounts. Feeding even small amounts of spoiled silage can lead to reproduction and respiratory problems, herd health issues, reduced feed intake and decreased production.

For additional silage tips, visit www.qualitysilage.com.

Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

Ask the Quality Silage Experts: Ensiling Corn Under Cold Temperatures

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 15:17:46 GMT

Q. I didn’t get my corn silage put up until after it snowed. What should I expect from the silage at feedout?

A. A quick snow or frost, where the plant remains alive (green coloration above the ear, instead of brown), shouldn’t hurt the plant development and resulting silage quality. However, the plant loses moisture quickly if it was killed, and this potentially can result in difficultly packing.

Frost can damage the plant and leave it susceptible to fungal infestation, which can lead to mycotoxin production. Freezing also lowers the natural population of lactic acid bacteria on the plants. Adding a research-proven forage inoculant helps ensure a good ensiling fermentation.

Corn ensiled at low ambient temperatures may not ferment well — and may not ferment at all — if it was ensiled frozen. Check the silage pH, since a partial fermentation may have started, even if silage looks green.

As spring approaches and temperatures rise, the outer layers of silage will likely ferment (while the core remains frozen longer), leading to inconsistent nutrient levels and possibly aerobic instability due to low production of organic acids.

Sending representative samples to a credible forage testing laboratory for nutrient and fermentative profiles is a good investment, especially if the corn plants in the silage structure were compromised and came from different fields.

For more information about forage inoculants, visit www.qualitysilage.com.

Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

Reap the Benefits of Planting Cover Crops After Silage Harvest

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 15:12:57 GMT

After silage harvest, bare ground has two things working against it: exposure to wind and water erosion and no plant growth to produce biomass or income. Cover crops may help overcome both problems, writes Bruce Anderson, University of Nebraska Extension forage specialist.

The kind of cover crop you plant will depend primarily on what you want to achieve with your cover crop. For example, hairy vetch and winter peas are good cover crops if you want to improve your soil by planting a legume that will produce 30 to 40 lb. of nitrogen per acre for next year’s crop. If your goal is to break up some hard-pan soil layers, you might use a deep-rooted radish.

If you’re still hoping for some feed this fall, oats, spring triticale and barley, annual ryegrass and turnips might be better choices because these plants have the greatest forage yield potential yet this fall. Spring oats, triticale and barleys also have an advantage in that they’ll die over winter and won’t interfere with next year’s crop; however, dead residue from these spring cereals is not very durable, so it provides less effective soil protection and for a shorter duration.

For better soil protection, winter rye is the best choice among the cereals. Cereal rye can provide abundant grazable growth early next spring to get cows off hay sooner. Wheat and triticale also can be good cover crops. Of course, wheat then can be harvested later for grain while triticale makes very good late spring forage.

Another popular option is to plant a mixture of plants to reap some of the benefits of each one.

Headline image courtesy of University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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You’re Ready for Feedout. Is Your Silage?

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 15:07:38 GMT

When is silage “ready” to be fed out? After several months, the starch in silage is more readily available for microbial fermentation in the rumen. In fact, in vitro studies have shown about a 20 percent difference in ruminal starch digestibility after eight months of fermentation.¹

If possible, wait to feed new silage until the starch becomes more digestible, which would happen around four months of storage.

There are steps you can take during harvest to allow for earlier opening. Add a proven silage inoculant containing enzymes if you think you’ll have to open new silage early. Inoculants with high activity enzymes help break down plant fiber, which can improve fiber digestibility. The product label should clearly indicate guaranteed levels validated by independent research studies.

When you are ready to open the new silage, make the transition gradual — over a 10- to 14-day period — and adjust the ration to balance changes in dry matter (DM) and nutrient content. New silage can be introduced as 25 percent of the silage portion of the ration in the first three days, then 50 percent of the ration the next three days and so on until the transition is complete.

For additional silage tips, visit www.qualitysilage.com.

¹ Ferraretto LF, et al. Effect of ensiling time and hybrid type on fermentation profile, nitrogen fractions, and ruminal in vitro starch and neutral detergent fiber digestibility in whole-plant corn silage. Applied Animal Science (31);2:146-152.

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What’s the Ideal Plant Population for Corn Silage?

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 15:00:36 GMT

Trying to hit the sweet spot with seeds per acre for your silage crop? The optimal planting rate for dual purpose corn silage is about 2,000 seeds per acre greater than the rate for corn for grain. An increase in seeds can result in more tonnage per acre at harvest. The increased rate is fairly standard across the country with one caveat for BMR hybrids. Producers who grow BMR hybrids may use a slightly lower seeding rate than for corn grain.

“BMR hybrid growers are more focused on the nutrition component and making high quality silage, and they’re less focused on tonnage,” said Jeff Coulter, professor and Extension agronomist at University of Minnesota. “By having a lower population, they’re getting better quality forage that’s more digestible. They’re more focused on milk per ton, whereas growers raising dual-purpose hybrids are more focused on milk per acre.”

The sweet spot for milk per acre is missed if the planting rate is higher than 2,000 more seeds per acre. The tonnage will stay about the same or slightly increase, but milk quality goes down. The decline in silage quality or milk per ton is greater than the incremental increase in tonnage, thus the total milk per acre is less, according to Coulter.

Agronomic management of corn silage

“Interestingly, even with the bump in seeds per acre, the suggested nutrient application rates from the University of Minnesota and other universities typically don’t differ between corn silage and corn for grain,” he said. “However, we do know that if you’re removing all of the above ground material from the field rather than just the grain, it will deplete soil potassium and phosphorous levels more quickly than if one just removed the grain. Therefore, it’s important to monitor soil test levels and adjust application rates accordingly.”

Monitoring potassium is especially important because stalks contain a high amount of potassium relative to other nutrients. Regarding nitrogen, it’s well-established that optimum nitrogen rates don’t differ significantly between corn silage and corn for grain.

Soil type can have an impact

For both corn grain and corn silage hybrids, the optimum planting rate varies by soil type and soil productivity. Optimal planting rates for a field can range by about 3,000 to 4,000 seeds per acre.

“For corn grain, the optimal planting rates in the field could range from 33,000 to 36,000 seeds per acre or more, and for dual-purpose corn silage hybrids, they could range from 34,000 to 38,000 seeds per acre or more,” Coulter said. “Higher yielding parts of fields could be planted with higher planting rates.”

Fields that are fairly uniform will not have a significant variance in optimal planting rate. However, fields more variable in elevation, soil type, drainage and/or organic matter can be yield mapped to fine-tune the best seeding rate.

“Be careful when working through the process the first time because too low of a population could reduce yield substantially if there are above-average growing conditions,” he said. “It’s about balancing the competition among plants. When you’re below that optimum rate, you don’t have enough plants take advantage of the available water, nutrients and sunlight. One way to assess performance is to look at how big the ears are. If kernel loss at the tip of ears is about three-quarters of an inch, that’s an indication the population was about right. Very large ears with kernels filled out to the end are an indication that the population was too low.”

Row width offers yield boost

There’s increased interest in narrow-row and twin-row corn among producers. Both options can support a little higher population than normal and have potential to provide additional yield increase, according to Coulter.

“The yield increase with narrow rows is generally inconsistent and small. At a given plant population, plants in narrow rows are spaced out more uniformly over an acre, resulting in less plant-to-plant competition,” he noted. “Better spacing allows for greater water and nutrient uptake per plant. Therefore, with narrow rows, it’s possible to increase population slightly compared to wide rows and get a little higher yield.”

To read more articles like this one:

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High-Cut Versus Traditional Cut Silage – Which Is Right for You?

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:31:13 GMT

High-cut silage harvest is an option for producers, but is it right for your operation? It all comes down to tonnage.

As the name implies, high-cut silage is simply raising the header higher than the usual cutting of four to six inches off the ground and leaving more of the bottom portion of the corn stalk in the field. How high to cut is a personal preference – 12 to 18 inches is typical, but some go higher.

“It’s all going to depend on feed inventory needs for the season. How much tonnage is needed to feed the herds and what kind of nutritional constituents are necessary to get off the field,” said Kevin Shinners, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “To set up the forage harvester, there are no other changes—use the same theoretical length of cut and the same processor roll gap.”

High-cut advantages

Nutritional advantages of high-cut silage include a lower NDF content in the corn silage and a higher starch concentration. Because the bottom portion of the stalk is highly lignified and fibrous, it lacks in nutritional content. Thus, with high-cut silage, you’ll harvest higher quality silage, but the downside is the loss of yield from leaving material in the field.

“A number of studies have looked at yield loss and depending on how high the stalk is cut, yield loss will be 5% to 12%,” noted Shinners. “However, you don’t lose that much milk yield per acre because the silage that you’re harvesting has greater fiber digestibility and is a higher quality feed. Loss in milk yield per acre is about 2% to 4%.”

A higher quality feed may also mean a producer won’t need to feed as much grain which has an obvious economic benefit. There may be years when your haylage yields were good, and a producer simply doesn’t need the tonnage. Or like 2019, the wet weather throughout much of the season left farmers needing to make up for lost tonnage.

“It’s going to be a year-by-year decision for producers,” he said. “With BMR corn, high-cut harvest may not be best because the stalk is relatively digestible compared to other varieties of corn, so be sure to talk to your nutritionist.”

If you consider the stalk from bottom to top, it gets progressively drier, as you move up the stalk. When using the high-cut approach, producers can start harvesting a little bit earlier than normal because harvest will leave the wettest bottom portion of the stalk in the field.

“Typically, high-cut harvest will start a few days ahead of traditional harvest, but keep in mind that when using high-cut, the top portion of the stalk is drier, and the leaves can dry out more quickly,” Shinners explained. “If doing a whole-plant moisture analysis to determine harvest timing, don’t take the whole plant—only use the portions of the plant that you’ll be harvesting.”

An additional high-cut benefit is that studies indicate the kernel processor may be more effective because there’s less tonnage of stalk running through the machine.

“This isn’t a dramatic effect, but we are seeing smaller particle size of the kernel fraction with high-cut compared to a more conventional cut,” he noted.

Headline image of high-cut harvest research courtesy of Dr. Shinners, University of Wisconsin

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Ask the Quality Silage Experts: Packing Dry Forage

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:31:13 GMT

Q. I’m worried the corn I’ve chopped for silage is too dry. What should I do?

A. Harvesting within the ideal moisture content just isn’t always possible. When forced to harvest on the drier side, the resulting silage is at a higher risk for heating and mold growth. This can lower its nutrient content and digestibility. These risks occur because packing dry forage is difficult, and thus, there’s a greater chance oxygen will remain inside the pile or bunker — and oxygen is the enemy of high-quality silage.

To minimize oxygen in the silage, pay attention to the recommended practices while packing: spread the forage in thin layers and pack thin layers of 6 inches or less; spend enough time packing, and add extra packing weight to the tractors. Chopping the corn finer is an option but pay attention to not negatively impact the effective fiber.

To reduce the risk of aerobic stability during feedout, use a proven silage inoculant containing Lactobacillus buchneri NCIMB 40788 that reduces the growth of yeasts, the initiators of spoilage. In fact, L. buchneri NCIMB 40788 applied at 400,000 CFU per gram of silage or 600,000 CFU per gram of high-moisture corn (HMC) has been uniquely reviewed by the FDA and allowed to claim improved aerobic stability.

For more information about forage inoculants, visit www.qualitysilage.com.

Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

3 Tips for Staying Safe on Top of a Pile

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:31:13 GMT

There are necessary reasons to climb on the top of a silage pile or bunker — removing plastic coverings, placing tire sidewalls and removing spoiled silage. Before climbing to the peak, keep these safety tips in mind to help prevent falls.

Don’t stand too close. When on top of a silage pile, stand no closer to the feedout face than six feet.
Have a buddy on the ground. Any employee on top of the drive-over pile should be practicing the buddy system with one person on the pile and the other on the ground standing a safe distance from the face. Use a two-way radio for clear communication.
Use a fall protection system. Livestock producers can create their own fall protection system with a few simple materials that can easily be found and purchased online or in your local hardware store. A good system will include a harness and anchors built to properly support an employee in the event of a fall.

Lallemand Animal Nutrition recently funded a year-long project with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Biological Systems Engineering Department to outline how producers can create their own fall protection system. Detailed instructions can be found by downloading the Lallemand Animal Nutrition Silage Safety Handbook available for free at qualitysilage.com.

Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

Pros and Cons of Harvesting Snaplage

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:31:13 GMT

Interest in harvesting snaplage has increased the last few years, as an option to partially replace purchased corn in the ration. As with all feed decisions, snaplage has both positive and negative characteristics that will be more significant on some farms than others. While snaplage can offer major feed-cost savings to some farmers, it is not for everyone.

Snaplage basics

Snaplage is corn silage harvested with equipment that excludes the stalk and most of the leaf material but is generally understood to include the whole ear (husk, cob, grain, part of the shank). It is harvested by a silage harvester with a snapper head and kernel processor and ensiled at 35-40% moisture. Most major manufacturers of silage choppers also make snapper heads. Compatible aftermarket snapper head can also be purchased, especially in the case of self-propelled harvesters.

Earlage is similar to snaplage but does not include the husk and very little of the shank is retained. In addition to using various types of snapper heads, some farmers have also harvested earlage by adjusting their combines to break up the cob and return it and the grain to the bin. Farmers choose to harvest both earlage and snaplage instead of whole-plant corn silage for very similar reasons. While these products are similar in many ways, the feeding characteristics will be different, depending on how much of the husk, shank and stalk are excluded during harvest.

The pros of harvesting and feeding snaplage:

The feed characteristics are likely to improve animal health compared to corn grain
Reduced transportation costs per ton of TDN harvested compared with corn silage
Increased flexibility of the time of harvest compared with corn silage
Returning stalks and leaves to the soil can improve soil quality and reduce the risk of soil erosion
Less fuel is used per ton of TDN harvested compared with corn silage
Improved ruminal digestibility compared to dry corn
Starch digestibility increases with time in storage compared with corn grain
It can allow less reliance on purchased corn
Requirements for harvest equipment and storage facilities are similar to whole-plant corn silage
Low-quality leaves and stalks can be replaced in the ration with higher quality forages
10-15% higher TDN yield per acre than shelled corn

The cons of harvesting and feeding snaplage:

Less consistent quality characteristics compared with dry grain
If harvested too late, cob digestibility is significantly reduced
A snapper head is needed
Returning the unharvested portion of the plants may offer more residue management challenges than regular silage stubble
Fermentation losses can be high if a good silage making protocol is not used
The tendency for the starch digestibility to increase requires extra diligence when balancing the ration over the time the ration is being fed out
The amount of non-grain plant material present can vary with harvest moisture, even within the same day
Chop length can be more difficult to control than with whole-plant corn silage
More tons of forage need to be harvested or purchased and stored to replace the value of unharvested portions of the corn plants
Not as easily marketed as dry grain
Lower in protein than corn grain by about 1%

Snaplage is haunted by a bad reputation associated with excessively late harvests, poorly adjusted equipment and poor silage-making practices. To end up with high-quality snaplage going into the mouths of your cows, several practices must be followed:

Harvest between 35% and 40% moisture (for the harvested portion). At this point, the corn should be physiologically mature, and the digestibility of the cob should be high. Research has shown that the digestibility of the cob declines significantly, as it dries out. It is better to err on the side of harvesting it wetter than drier. If harvested excessively dry, molds and associated mycotoxins can develop.
When deciding how to store the snaplage, consider whether your current facilities will allow the product to be fed out rapidly enough to prevent spoilage. The density of snaplage in the silo should be at least 30 pounds of dry matter per cubic foot to provide a good environment for fermentation.
Maximize kernel damage by using the shortest chopping length possible, using fine-toothed rollers adjusted to 2-3mm. The differential can and should be set higher with snaplage than with silage.
If possible, allow at least 60 days to pass before opening the silo to benefit from the increase in starch digestibility over time.

Snaplage is an excellent source of energy for dairy livestock. While many farmers in recent years have begun to harvest snaplage to partially offset the cost of purchased grain, the associated land and management requirements are significant and need to be considered carefully before major changes are made.

Image courtesy of Randy Shaver, University of Wisconsin

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Determine Silage Inoculant Based on Dry Matter and Crop
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Using Silage, Earlage and HMC in Finishing Cattle
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