Corn silage is the go-to homegrown forage for supplying digestible starch and fiber high-producing cows require. Often, however, shortcuts and oversights during the growing, harvest and storage processes can limit its resulting feed value.

Consistently achieving high milk production requires performing a balancing act. The goal is to produce the most milk with the greatest market value possible for the least cost. The cornerstone of most rations supporting high production while maintaining excellent animal health is high-quality forage.

In layman’s terms,what does NDFd mean? NDFd stands for neutral detergent fiber digestibility. NDFd is a tool to help benchmark fiber digestibility and compare the feeding value of forages. In the past, it has been referred to as digestible neutral detergent fiber (dNDF) or cell wall digestibility (CWD).

As a dairy producer, you may think it’s impossible to meet the nutritional needs of your herd with a high-quality corn silage without sacrificing tonnage. But with the wide selection of silage hybrids that are designed for high digestibility and adapted to varying geographies and field conditions, it’s realistic to reach both nutritional goals and yield requirements.

High grain prices have many dairy producers and their nutritionists sharpening their pencils, looking for ways to reduce feed costs. One option is to replace a portion of the supplemental corn grain with high-quality corn silage that provides highly digestible fiber and contains more energy in the forage fraction, compared with silage made from grain corn hybrids.