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All you need to know about the 2019 forage crop is in the silage pile. Under the plastic on many dairy farms, the current forage supplies may be the outcome of last year’s havoc-filled spring and fall.
The word silage comes from the Greek word “siros” – a pit or hole in the ground used to store corn. Archaeological evidence indicates the Greeks and Egyptians were utilizing silage to feed livestock possibly as far back as 2000 BC.
It always pays to plan ahead for the next crop season. Steven Hines, University of Idaho extension educator for Jerome County, says things a producer needs to think about during winter include maintaining machinery, such as the corn planter.
Many beef producers rely on corn silage to develop cost-effective, high-quality rations. Proper timing of harvest and storage management has a big impact on the success of feedstuff quality throughout the winter months and into the spring.
Despite producers’ best efforts, sometimes silage will succumb to yeasts, molds and other microbes that can cause spoilage. Heating, mold growth or mustiness are all signs the silage is aerobically unstable. The losses due to unstable silage can be huge: The most highly digestible nutrients go first, and then the tonnage of feed available starts to really drop.
Stockers and backgrounders are growing cattle in the truest sense. Here, the animal uses much of its energy to gain weight and strengthen its immune system against disease challenges.
Corn silage serves as an excellent roughage source in beef cattle diets. It is highly digestible, palatable and blends well in a total mixed ration. As a medium-energy feedstuff, it can be used as the primary ingredient in growing diets for calves.
Dairy producers faced with dwindling supplies of forage and delayed planting and harvest situations may decide to increase the level of corn silage forage fed to lactating dairy cows.
Corn silage is the predominant forage ingredient in many dairies across North America. Producers have moved to heavier corn silage diets for a variety of reasons and benefits (some perceived and some real):
