Temperature and moisture drive corn silage yields, values
Temperature and moisture drive corn silage yields, values  by
Bill Mahanna and Ev Thomas  Surplus moisture during vegetative
growth appears to have the greatest effect on reducing NDFD
(neutral detergent fiber digestibility). Meanwhile, growing
conditions right after pollination primarily affect corn silage
starch content.  There are good reasons why dairymen in the
Midwest and on the East Coast spend more time figuring out how
to feed new-crop corn si­­­­­­lage than many of their
counterparts in the West — and those reasons are soil
variability and Mother Nature.  The tremendous influence of
growing environments on corn silage’s yield and nutritional
quality is illustrated in Figure 1.   It shows silage yield,
starch content, and 24-hour NDFD (neutral detergent fiber
digestibility) of the same hybrid grown in 14 locations in
Michigan during 2009.  This demonstrates that, while
hy­­­­­­brid genetics set the foundation for the crop potential,
growing e