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September 7, 2004 Lardy Offers Tips for Chopping and Storing Corn Silage Corn should be chopped when the whole plant reaches 30 to 40 percent dry matter, according to Greg Lardy, North Dakota State University Extension beef cattle specialist. In many areas, Lardy says it will likely be mid-September before North Dakota corn will be ready to chop. However, in areas that experienced drought stress, corn dry down could come quicker. Timing is critical. If corn is too wet, it looses value due to effluent loss as nutrients run out of silage piles. In addition, silage that is too wet results in poor fermentation. On the other hand, if corn is too dry, it doesn’t pack well. Once chopped, silage can be stored in pits, bunkers, piles or upright silos. However, Lardy says that with the large quantity of corn that won’t make grain due to cool summer temperatures, many corn growers will be faced with more silage than they can conventionally store. Lardy says that these producers may want to consider either digging a trench silo (earthen hillside trench) or storing the silage in piles on the ground. With both practices, Lardy stresses the importance of tightly packing and covering the silage to prevent oxygen penetration. With so much corn to be chopped, producers may be wondering about long-term storage. Is it better to store silage in one large pile or in a few smaller piles? The surface area to weight ratio is less in large piles, decreasing the amount of surface exposed to oxygen. Yet, if producers anticipate storing for two or three years, Lardy recommends smaller piles in order to limit the problems that come from uncovering and recovering silage from year to year, including air exposure, wildlife damage and vermin. A plastic cover large enough to enclose 1000 tons of silage costs approximately $400 to $500. The cover must then be held down with tires or other heavy objects. Plastic silage bags cost about $4 to $6 per ton. With both forms of cover, UV light can eventually deteriorate the plastic if stored over long periods of time. Producers should also watch the bags or plastic covers for signs of wildlife (deer and raccoon) damage and tape any holes that appear as soon as possible. This year, Lardy says that producers may want to consider using an inoculant to ensure favorable bacteria for proper fermentation. For more information about chopping and storing corn silage, see this Web site: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/coping/frost/ or contact Lardy at (701) 231-7660. ### Source:
Greg Lardy, (701) 231-7660, glardy@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
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North Dakota State University |
