December 9, 2021
Click on a tab below to see data collected each year for this study
Channel® Brand Corn Product Silage Tonnage and Quality - 2021
Trial Objective
Corn silage is an important feedstock for cattle producers and dairies across the Great Plains. Desirable corn products should produce high tonnage with favorable silage quality characteristics.
- The objectives of this study are:
- to evaluate different corn products covering a range of relative maturities for high tonnage and good silage quality characteristics.
- to provide insights to farmers on different product options to help maximize yield and quality potential.
Research Site Details
| Location | Gothenburg, NE | ||
| Soil Type | Silt loam | ||
| Previous Crop |
Soybean | ||
| Tillage Type |
Strip-tillage |
| Planting Date | 5/1/2021 | ||
| Harvest Date | 9/13/2021 & 9/21/2021 | ||
| Potential Yield (bu/acre) |
270 | ||
| Seeding Rate (seeds/acre) |
32K |
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
Table 1. Key yield and quality characteristics of 8 Channel® corn products evaluated to determine silage utility.
Figure 1. Average silage yield (tons/acre) for Channel® corn silage products spanning a wide range of relative maturities.
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
7006_R3_21
Corn Product Silage Quality and Tonnage - 2020
TRIAL 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 corn products evaluated have high tonnage and good silage quality characteristics.
RESEARCH SITE DETAILS
| Location | Gothenburg, NE | ||
| Soil Type | Silt loam | ||
| Previous Crop |
Soybean | ||
| Tillage Type |
Strip-till |
| Planting Date | 4/28/20 | ||
| Harvest Date | 9/15/20 | ||
| Potential Yield (bu/acre) |
250 | ||
| Seeding Rate (seeds/acre) |
40K |
- 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.
UNDERSTANDING THE RESULTS
Figure 1. 215-98STXRIB Brand blend corn product at the time of cutting.
Figure 2. Average silage yield (tonnage) for corn products tested.
- Corn product tonnage was numerically different but variability in the study did not allow for significant differences to be observed (Figure 2).
- Corn silage quality was different in all parameters tested (Table 1).
- 215-98STXRIB Brand blend produced the highest average tonnage and along with 209-15STXRIB Brand blend, had the best quality as judged by milk per ton. 218-44STXRIB Brand blend had the poorest quality as indicated by milk per ton.
Key Learnings
- Producers should work with their local seed sales team to identify which Channel® corn product is right for their operation.
7006_R3_20
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
| Location | Gothenburg, NE | ||
| Soil Type | Hord silt loam | ||
| Previous Crop |
Soybean | ||
| Tillage Type |
Strip tillage |
| Planting Date | 5/23/19 | ||
| Harvest Date | 10/1/19 | ||
| Potential Yield (bu/acre) |
250 | ||
| Seeding Rate (seeds/acre) |
36K |
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.
198-98STXRIB corn product at silage harvest.
120RM-A corn product at silage harvest.
Key Learnings
Producers should work with their local seed sales team to identify how their branded corn products performed in this study.
7006_R3