Lauer © 1994-2017 http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu Production of Corn Silage in Northern Latitudes: Management Pointers Joe Lauer University of Wisconsin – Madison 2017 Crop Management Tune-up Truro and Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada March 28-29, 2017
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
Production of Corn Silage in Northern Latitudes:Management Pointers
Joe LauerUniversity of Wisconsin – Madison
2017 Crop Management Tune-upTruro and Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada
March 28-29, 2017
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
• Some basic silage biology
• Profit robbers and Yield drivers
• Silage value
• What typically ends up as corn silage?✓Un-adapted hybrid
✓Late-planted
✓Stress (hail, drought, flood, frost, N, pests, etc.)
✓Worst fields on the farm
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Overview
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Range and Relative Impact (%) of Management Decisions on Silage Yield and Quality
FactorN
TrialsYieldT/A
Milk per TonLb milk/T
Milk per AcreLb milk/A
HybridTop v. Bottom Entry
204 3.1 (39%) 477 (14%) 11,500 (43%)
Hybrid maturityEarly- v. Late-Trials
232 0.1 (0%) 0(0%) 12 (0%)
Hybrid typeBMR v. Leafy v. Average
126 -1.4 (18%) 200 (6%) -4000 (16%)
Plant density22K v. 40K
31 1.2 (14%) -130 (4%) 2900 (10%)
Planting dateApril 24 v. June 16
28 2.2 (27%) 110 (3%) 7800 (30%)
Row Spacing30” v. 15”
13 0 (0%) 8 (0%) 70 (0%)
RotationCC v. CS v. CSW
3 7.7 v. 8.3 (7%) ? ?
Soil Fertility160 v. 0 lb N/A
Many 20 to 50% change
Stress: Drought, Flooding,
Hail, Early Frost-- “Difficult to predict”
Pest ControlPoor v. Good
--“Do for silage what you do for grain.”
Economic thresholds tend to be lower.Harvest timingWet (R3) v. Dry (R5.5)
5 4.4 (40%) 490 (15%) 12,000 (38%)
Lauer, 1995-2012
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
80 to 98% starch digestibility
•Kernel maturity
•Kernel particle size
•Endosperm properties
•Duration of silage fermentation
40 to 70% NDFD
•Lignin/NDF
✓Hybrid
✓Maturity
✓Cutting height
•Quality off fermentation
Grain = ~40-45% of DM
•Ave. starch = 30% of DM
•Variable grain:stover✓Environment (GxE) has a
greater effect on grain
Stover = ~55-60% of DM
•Avg. NDF= 47% of DM
•Variable grain:stover✓Leaves= 15% of DM
✓Stem= 20-25% of DM
✓Cob+Shank+Husk=20% of DM
Kinetics
24 v. 30 v. 48 hours
Corn Silage
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Additives
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Desirable Forage Characteristics
• What makes a good forage? (Carter et al., 1991)✓High yield
✓High energy (high digestibility)
✓High intake potential (low fiber)
✓High protein
✓Proper moisture at harvest for storage
• Ultimate test is animal performance✓Milk2006 is our best predictor for
performance (Schwab - Shaver equation)
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
• Principles for Selection✓ Use independent yield trial data of multi-
location averages
✓ Evaluate consistency of performance
Grain Silage
Yield Yield
Moisture Milk per Acre
Lodging Milk per Ton
✓ Every hybrid must stand on its own for performance; it must pull its own weight.
✓ Pay attention to seed costs.
➢ For selection decisions made in August and September, use results from the previous year.
➢ http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Season/DSS.aspx
✓ Buy the traits you need
• “Traits do not add to yield … Traits protect yield.”
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Selecting Corn Hybrids in the Transgenic EraIncreasingly Hybrid Selection Dictates Management
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1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Sila
ge y
ield
diffe
rence (
T/A
)
Average difference= 3.1 T/A
0
4000
8000
12000
16000
20000
24000
Sila
ge M
ilk p
er A
cre
diffe
rence (
lb/A
)
Average difference= 10,600 lb milk/A
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Silage yield and Milk per Acre difference between the highest and lowest corn hybrid in UW trials
Lauer et al., 1995-2015
N= 334 trials; 33,136 plots
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
Grain versus Forage Corn Hybrids
Genetics Management
Trait Grain Forage Practice Grain Forage
Grain yield
High AdequatePlant population
28,000-34,000 plants/A
2000-4000 plants/A more
Forageyield
Adequate HighPlanting date
Early Early to 7 d later
Hybridrange
3.2 T DM/A 10,700 lb Milk/ARow spacing
+3-5% w/ narrow +5-7% w/ narrow
Stalks Standability DigestibilitySoil fertility
Adequate Greater
Leaves Unknown DigestibilityPest resistance
Important More important
Plantmaturity
“Full-season” 5-10 d longerCutting height
Ear Yield v Quality
Plantdrydown
“Stay-green” SynchronousHarvest timing
Drying cost Sour v Moldy
Kernelhardness
Hard Soft
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Figure 4. Relationship between Milk per Acre and Milk per Ton of corn hybrids in North Central Wisconsin during 2015
• Trial average
✓ Milk per Acre
✓ Milk per Ton
• LSD
✓ Hybrids are different if they lie outside the size of the oval.
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
• Single genes
✓ bm1, bm2, bm3, bm4
✓ First discovered in 1924 in St. Paul, MN
• Less lignin
✓ higher digestibility
• Agronomics??
• Effects seem somewhat unpredictable in real life
✓Most benefits seen with high-producing animals consuming high-forage diets
How important is stover?Stover Extremes: Bmr v. Leafy/Normal/Transgenic
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Factors Affecting the Stover Pool (NDFD)
• Crop: Legume vs. Grass vs. Corn Silage
• Hybrid/Variety: BMR corn
• Stage of maturity at harvest
• Cutting height
• Climatic Conditions
• Quality of silage fermentation
• Impact of NDFD (Oba and Allen, 1999)
✓ For every 1%-unit increase in NDFD:
➢ DMI= 0.17 kg (0.37 lb)
➢ FCM= 0.25 kg (0.55 lb)
✓ Differences in the value of corn silage comes down to the value of the stover as perceived by the dairyman.
✓ Currently not important to most dairymen
• How many tons do you handle? Handling, hauling and storage costs are more expensive for poor quality silage
✓ Becomes more important as dairies become larger
IVNDFD
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Germ scutellum and embryonic axis.✓Germ larger in short season corn and in HOC (at the expense of starch). ✓In HOC, each 1% unit increase in oil, expect 1.3% unit lower starch.
Pericarp(bran)
Floury endosperm.✓More “open” in structure yet opaque in appearance. ✓Dent corn has about equal proportions of horny to floury starch (vs popcorn w/ mostly vitreous starch.
Dent (due to soft floury endosperm)
Vitreous endosperm.✓Also called horneous, corneous or hard endosperm. ✓Primary starch in flint corn.✓Source of dry milling grits. ✓Tightly compacted and translucent. ✓Higher in CP than floury starch. ✓More of this starch in mature, high test weight kernels. ✓The last starch laid down in the kernel during the last few weeks of development.
Diagram Source: Hoseney, 1986. Principles of Cereal Scienceand Technology. Am Assoc of Cereal Chemists, St. Paul, MN
Hilum or abscission layer.Alsocalled black layer. ✓Caused by collapse and compression of several layers of cells at physiological maturity.✓Cool weather can cause premature BL.
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• Grain:stover ratio (starch content): corn is about 70-72% starch DM basis
✓ Influenced by hybrid, environment and management
✓ Managing corn for silage should be the same as corn for grain.
• Grain type
✓ Flint vs dent type
✓ Starch polymers in endosperm
✓ Fermentation removes zein proteins
• Kernel Texture
✓ Hard vs soft
✓ Particle Size: Processing increases availability
✓ Starch vitreousness
• Grain Moisture and Test Weight
✓ Highly related to texture but determined at grain maturity
✓ Not typically measured at silage harvest
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Factors Affecting the Starch Pool
Firkins et al., 2001
y = 0.13x + 20.58R² = 0.70
30
31
32
33
34
35
80 85 90 95 100
Mil
k Y
ield
( k
g/d
)
Total Tract Starch Digestion(% of Starch)
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Optimizing bmr corn for silage production –Do recommendations differ between normal and bmr corn?
Trait(s) GxEForage yield NDF NDFD Starch Milk2006
N T DM/A % % % Lbs/T Lbs/A
Normal 3398 7.8 47 59 30 3100 25000
Bmr 126 6.4 48 67 26 3300 21000
Leafy 240 8.1 48 59 27 3100 25000
LSD(0.05) 0.6 2 1 4 100 2000
Average 7403 8.0 47 58 30 3100 25000
• Bmr = Less lignin, higher stover digestibility
• Effects unpredictable in real life✓Most benefits seen with high-producing
animals consuming high-forage diets
Lauer, 1990-2010; UW ST trials= 266; n= 21,420
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
Relative performance of Bmr and Leafy hybrids Difference = hybrid average – trial average, Code above= Year
Lauer, 1997-2010
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
Corn silage quality of feed concentrations from the trials used in the meta-analysis
Control bm3
Average Std. Dev. Average Std. Dev.
DM, % of as fed 33.5 3.3 32.5 3.9
Starch, % of DM 30.5 2.9 29.9 4.2
NDF, % of DM 42.0 1.7 40.9 2.1
ivNDFD, % of NDF 46.1 9.2 57.6 7.7
Gencoglu et al., 2001 – Meta-analysis of 11 trials in JDS
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Effect of brown midrib (bm3) corn silage in diets fed to dairy cows
Control bm3 SE (P <)
Dry Matter Intake, kg/d 24.2 25.4 0.7 0.001
Milk, kg/d 37.7 39.4 1.5 0.0001
Fat, %
kg/d
3.67
1.36
3.59
1.40
0.1
0.04
0.10
0.02
Protein, %
kg/d
3.08
1.15
3.07
1.20
0.05
0.04
NS
0.001
Gencoglu et al., 2001 – Meta-analysis of 11 trials in JDS
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
• Too wet (> 70%)✓ reduced yield
✓ souring
✓ seepage
✓ low intake by dairy cows
• Too dry (< 60%)✓ reduced yield
✓ cause molds to develop
✓ lowers digestibility, protein and vitamins A and E
• The decision of when to harvest corn silage depends upon the ideal moisture for the storage structure.
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Harvest TimingSilage Problems When Harvest Timing Is Off …
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At some point during the season, yield becomes secondary.Kernel Milk Stage “Triggers” for Timing Silage Harvest
Silo structureIdeal moisture
contentKernel milk stage
"trigger"
% %
Horizontal bunker 70 to 65 80
Bag 70 to 60 80
Upright concrete stave 65 to 60 60
Upright oxygen limiting 60 to 50 40
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Normal Pattern of Corn Forage and Grain Development
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Re
lati
ve m
eas
ure
(%
)
Forage moisture
Milk per Ton
Milk per Acre
Grain yield
Grain moisture
July 1 July 15 July 29 Aug 12 Aug 26 Sep 9 Sep 23 Oct 7 Oct 21V12 R1 R2 R4 R5 R5.5 R6
Silage Shredlage
Silage
HMCEarlageToplageSnaplage
GrainBottomlage
Pollination success✓ If poor, then harvest anytime✓ If fair, then leave for silage harvest✓ If good, then normal management
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Cutting Height Effect on Silage Yield & Quality
80
85
90
95
100
6 12 18
Pe
rce
nt C
ha
ng
e (
%)
Cutting height (inches)
Silage yield Milk per Ton Milk per acre Moisture
Cusicanqui and Lauer (1996)
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Vertical plant segment forage yield, NDF and NDFD of corn at harvest for silage (R5.7), biomass (R6) and grain
Plant segment Moisture Yield NDF NDFD
% T DM/A % %
Whole-plant silage (R5.7) 71 9.4 53 54
Stover biomass
Above ear node (54-98 inches) 34 1.8 77 55
Mid-segment (26 to 54 inches) 51 1.0 75 51
Low-segment (6 to 26 inches) 68 0.8 80 46
Ground-segment (0 to 6 inches) 73 0.4 77 35
LSD (0.05) 7 1.1 3 2
Grain 5.8 (T DM/A)
245 bu/A at 15%
Wilkens and Lauer, (Means May 1 DOP, 2009-2010
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High Moisture Corn
High Moisture Ear Corn Snaplage
Corn, % 100 84-94 75-80
Cob, % 0 10-16 10-15
Husk, % 0 0 5-10
Crude protein, % 9.5 9 8.5
The approximate dry matter composition of HMC, HMEC and Snaplage
• Advantages of HMEC and snaplage over HMC include:✓ Increased tonnage harvested per acre.
✓ Digestible and effective fiber - all the components of HMC, HMEC and snaplage are highly digestible. Corn cob and husk have the added benefit of containing effective fiber.
• Disadvantages include:✓Mycotoxin concentration in the cob portion. Avoid harvesting moldy or damaged corn as ear
corn or snaplage.
✓ Need increased storage capacity to handle the extra volume coming from the cob and husk.
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
In-season Guidelines for Predicting Corn Silage Harvest Date
• Note hybrid maturity and planting date of fields intended for silage.
• Note tasseling (silking) date. ✓Kernels will be at 50% kernel milk (R5.5) about 42 to 47 days after silking.
• After milkline moves, use kernel milk triggers to time corn silage harvest. ✓Use a drydown rate of 0.5% per day to predict date when field will be ready for the
storage structure.
✓See http://cf.uwex.edu/ces/ag/silagedrydown/
• Do final check prior to chopping.✓Adjust cutter height if forage needs are adequate.
➢ Raising cutter bar 1 foot, lowers silage moisture 2 to 4 points.
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Relationship between corn plant density and grain yield, economic optimum (AGI), forage yield, Milk/Ton, and Milk/Acre
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Re
lati
ve m
eas
ure
(%
)
Harvested plant density (plants/A x 1000)
Grain yield (R2=0.76)Grain AGI (PEPS:$0.03, R2= 0.94)Forage yield (R2=0.67)Milk per ton(R2=0.73)Milk per acre (R2=0.65)
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Lauer, 2004-2013, ArlingtonPDTs >= 4 and PD >= 40K
GrainMYPD
GrainEOPD
ForageMYPD
MilkPer Ton
MilkPer Acre
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
CornP2O5
(lbs)K2O(lbs)
Per Yield Unit
Grain, per bushel 0.38 0.29
Silage, per ton (65% moisture) 3.6 8.3
Per Area
Grain, 175 bushels per acre 67 51
Silage, 24 tons per acre (65% moisture)
86 199
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Nutrients Removed by Corn at Harvest
derived from UW NPM Fast Facts
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Available Nutrient Content in Dairy Manure
Dairy manure type N P2O5 K2O
First year
Solid (lb per ton) 3-4 3 7
Liquid (lb per 1000 gal) 7-10 5 16
Second year
Solid (lb per ton) 1 1 1
Liquid (lb per 1000 gal) 2-3 1 2
• The manure produced by a 1400 lb dairy cow =
• Solid: 148 Lb/day 27 ton/yr
• Liquid: 17.7 gal/day6500 gal/yr
derived from UW NPM Fast Facts
Lauer © 1994-2017http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu
What is corn silage worth?
• Need to recover production costs
• Opportunity cost of marketing grain
• Value of stover✓Fertilizer
✓Quality for milk production
• Harvesting cost differences between grain and silage
• Storage losses of silage
• See http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Season/DSS.aspx
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Corn grain equivalents (at 15.5% moisture) per Ton of Silage (at 65% moisture)
Grain Yield
Bushels of Grain / Ton Silage
(1972)
Bushels of Grain / Ton Silage
(Revised 2010)
Bushels of Grain / Ton Silage
(Starch method) difference
Bu/A Bu/T Bu/T Bu/T Bu/T
Less than 90 5.0 5.0 4.4 0.6
90-110 5.5 6.4 5.4 1.0
110-130 6.0 6.9 5.8 0.9
130-150 6.5 7.3 6.2 1.1
150-170 7.0 7.5 6.5 1.0
170-190 7.0 7.6 6.7 0.9
190-210 7.0 7.5 6.9 0.6
GY = -164 + 61.6(FY) – 2.40(FY)2 R2 = 0.71GY Starch = -129 + 40.3(FY) – 0.782(FY)2 R2 = 0.88
Lauer (01HT, 02PD, 03DOP at Arlington, 1997 to 2009)
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Bushels of grain contained in a ton of corn silage
0% moisture 60% moisture 65% moisture 70% moisture
Grain
yield @
15.5%
moisture
Silage
yield
Grain
equivalent
per ton of
silage
Silage
yield
Grain
equivalent
per ton of
silage
Silage
yield
Grain
equivalent
per ton of
silage
Silage
yield
Grain
equivalent
per ton of
silage
Bu/A T/A Bu/T T/A Bu/T T/A Bu/T T/A Bu/T
25 2.4 24.9 6.0 4.1 6.9 3.6 8.0 3.1
50 3.2 24.1 7.9 6.3 9.1 5.5 10.6 4.7
75 4.0 23.3 10.0 7.5 11.4 6.6 13.3 5.7
100 4.9 22.4 12.2 8.2 13.9 7.2 16.2 6.2
125 5.9 21.5 14.6 8.5 16.7 7.5 19.5 6.4
150 7.0 20.3 17.5 8.6 20.0 7.5 23.3 6.4
175 8.4 19.0 20.9 8.4 23.9 7.3 27.9 6.3
200 10.2 17.1 25.6 7.8 29.3 6.8 34.1 5.9
Lauer (1997-2005)
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Location and year effect on grain equivalents (bu/T) contained in corn silage
Location Year Average
Minimum
hybrid
Maximum
hybrid
bushels of grain (15.5%) per Ton
of corn silage (65% moisture)
Arlington 2004 7.7 6.5 8.3
2005 8.6 7.8 10.5
Fond du Lac 2005 7.0 6.0 7.5
Galesville 2004 7.2 5.8 8.2
2005 8.0 7.0 8.8
Marshfield 2004 7.0 5.5 7.7
2005 6.3 4.5 7.2
Rhinelander 2005 7.7 6.7 10.3
Valders 2004 7.8 7.0 8.2
2005 7.5 6.5 8.0
Average --- 7.5 6.4 8.5
Lauer (six corn hybrids)
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Year effect on grain equivalents contained in corn silage
Grain yield equivalent
Year 50 100 150 200 R2
bushels of grain (15.5%) per Ton
of corn silage (65% moisture)
2005 9.0 8.3 8.0 7.9 0.65
2004 3.2 5.4 6.8 6.9 0.74
2003 12.4 7.9 7.0 6.7 0.34
2002 --- --- 7.7 7.3 0.39
2001 3.1 5.5 7.2 8.0 0.42
2000 4.2 6.6 7.6 --- 0.50
1999 2.8 5.0 6.6 6.9 0.37
1998 2.7 4.9 6.4 7.2 0.35
1997 7.1 9.1 9.2 --- 0.51
Lauer (Arlington, 1997-2005)
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Available at http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Season/DSS.aspx Available on Google Play
Corn Silage Pricing Decision Aids
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Thanks for your attention!Questions?
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