• The study was set up as a randomized complete block with three replications.

• Eight Channel® brand corn products with relative maturities from 100 to 115 were evaluated.

• Irrigation was applied as needed using sprinkler irrigation.

• Fertility included 27 lb. N/acre, 60 lb P/acre, 25 lb S/acre, 0nd 0.25 lb Zn/acre applied with strip-till 4/27/21, followed by 120 lb N/acre applied with 360 Y-DROP® applicators on 6/24/21. Weeds were controlled as needed and no fungicides or insecticides were applied.

• Silage was harvested when most of the products were at approximately half to two-thirds-milk line using a silage chopper without a kernel processor. Total biomass was collected and weighed. A subsample of the freshly chopped material was collected and sent to Dairyland Laboratories Inc. for silage quality analysis.

Understanding the Results

Results showed a general trend towards increasing yield potential as relative maturity increased from early maturing products to later maturing, with tonnage ranging from approximately 26 tons/acre for the earliest RM product tested to over 32tons/acre for several of the corn products of 113RM or greater (Figure 1).

In terms of silage quality characteristics, results for each characteristic measured were highly dependent on the specific corn product and not related specifically to the relative maturity of the product.  Table 1 lists all the quality characteristics for each corn product.

Key Learnings

• Corn product selection for silage production will depend on the RM, as well as agronomic and disease tolerance characteristics that the grower needs to suit their local environment and management practices.

• Each corn product, regardless of RM, has a specific set of quality characteristics and growers should consider all the product options within their optimal RM range to find products that fit their specific operation.

Producers should work with their local seed sales team to identify the right corn product for their operation

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• Corn silage is an important feedstock for cattle producers across the Great Plains.
• Desirable corn products should produce high tonnage with favorable silage quality characteristics.
• In this study, the objective was to provide insights to farmers on which of the corn products evaluated have high tonnage and good silage quality characteristics.

• The study was set up as a randomized complete block with three replications.
• Six Channel® corn products were evaluated.
• Corn was sprinkler irrigated. Fertility included 100 lb N/acre applied with a streamer bar on 4/27/20, followed by 90 lb N/acre and 15 lb S/acre applied with 360 Y-DROP® applicators on 6/24/20. Weeds were controlled as needed and no fungicides or insecticides were applied. 
• Silage was harvested when most of the products were at approximately half-milk line using a silage chopper without a kernel processor. Total biomass was collected and weighed. A subsample of the freshly-chopped material was collected and sent to Dairyland Laboratories Inc. for silage quality analysis.
  • Two corn products (213-93STXRIB, 218-44STXRIB) had greensnap at a high level which did not allow for silage tonnage to be calculated but a subsample was taken for silage quality analysis.

Key Learnings

• Producers should work with their local seed sales team to identify which Channel® corn product is right for their operation.   

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Corn Product Silage Quality and Tonnage - 2019

Trail Objective

• Corn silage is an important feedstock for cattle producers across the Great Plains.  

• Desirable corn products should produce high tonnage with favorable silage quality characteristics. 

• In this study, the objective was to provide insights to farmers on which of the 22 corn products evaluated have high tonnage and good silage quality characteristics.

Research Details

Understanding the Results

• The study was set up as a randomized complete block with three replications. 

• Twenty-two corn products were evaluated. 

• Corn was sprinkler irrigated and weeds were controlled as needed. No fungicide or insecticide was applied. 

• Silage quality was sampled for each corn product at ½ milk line. Sampling dates varied by relative maturity, but all sampling occurred in the last two weeks of September.  

• Corn products were hand-harvested about 4 inches above the soil surface to provide a representative sample and were then chopped with a silage chopper. 

• A subsample of the freshly-chopped material was collected and sent to Dairyland Laboratories Inc. for silage quality analysis. 

• Total biomass was collected, weighed, and tonnage was determined for each corn product.

• Corn products did vary in silage quality and tonnage as there were significant differences in all parameters tested as reported in Table 1.

Figure 1. Short-and long-season corn products at harvest.

Key Learnings

• Producers should work with their local seed sales team to identify how their branded corn products performed in this study. 

   

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