Silage Harvest Begins on Select Fields

From Jeff Miller, Ag Program Leader, CCE Oneida County

John Brouillette, Mycogen, tested 8 samples of green chop corn on Friday September 19th as part of a silage dry matter workshop we held at Jacob Soltzfus’s Farm. The range of moisture was from 71-75%. John said that he has seen a dry down rate of about 3% per week, a little less than the standard 0.5%/day dry down we normally experience probably due to the cooler temperatures. These were comments he made on the 19th before this 11 days of 70s+ high temps and dry weather.  So if we actually achieved the 0.5%/day dry down for the past 11 days, the silage that was tested would now be 65.5 -69.5, perfect for bunks and closing in on the range for upright silo storage.

It’s time to grab some samples from fields to see whether some of your fields are ready to harvest.

Remember to harvest 10 representative stalks at the height you will be chopping at and run it through your chopper (safely) or through a tree chipper, if you have one. Weigh and microwave right away or put in sealed plastic bag in fridge until you have the time to dry it down.

Or you can bring your sample to your local CCE office, and we can process it and give you your dry matter. Just call ahead to ensure that someone will be available to process the sample.

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