On this edition of Forage Forum, Pioneer Hi-Bred dairy specialist Kevin Putnam discusses feeding the newly harvested silage crop. Letting the new crop ferment three to four months allows starch availability to increase. This year, Putnam says the crop should have a nice grain-to-stock ratio, which makes for high-energy, highly digestible feedstuffs. Listen to the podcast here: To see all … Read More
Growing Conditions and Corn Silage
Jim Smith, Pioneer livestock information manager in Minnesota, discusses the impact of growing conditions on corn for silage. Moisture and heat, depending on stage of growth, have a multitude of effects on nutritional value and readiness of the corn for harvest. Smith also talks about conditions in the northern Corn Belt. Listen to the podcast here: To see all archived … Read More
Silage Chopping Time
As the choppers start to roll across the country, Pioneer Hi-Bred dairy specialist Kevin Putnam discusses some management considerations for chopping corn silage. Corn heat units in many areas are ahead of schedule, triggering harvest. Putman discusses proper chopper set up, inoculant options and other factors for achieving optimum quality. Listen to the podcast here: To see all archived Pioneer … Read More
Entries Due
Be sure to get your entries in! Only a few weeks remain to enter the World Forage Analysis Superbowl contest for a chance at over $20,000 in cash prizes. Silage entries for standard and brown mid-rib corn silage categories must be received by AgSource Laboratories by August 13. All other forage samples, including dairy hay, haylage, commercial baleage and commercial … Read More
New Technologies for Silage Traits
New technologies make data sampling easier and more efficient. Bill Curran, Pioneer research scientist, discusses some of the technologies that measure silage traits. Curran also talks about how this information benefits producers. Listen to the podcast here: [audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://zimmcomm.biz/pioneer/pioneer-podcast-69-wdd.mp3] Bill Curran on new technologies for data sampling (5:00 min MP3) To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here. Subscribe … Read More
Silage Inoculant Application Technology
Pioneer nutritional sciences manager Bill Mahanna likes to show off cool tools that can make life better for dairy producers. This one is Pioneer’s AppliPro® SLV (Super Low Volume) Forage Additives Applicator System, which Bill talked about during the Forage Media Day in September. In this “must hear” Forage Forum, Bill discusses inoculant application technology and how drastically it has … Read More
Measuring and Managing Silage Heat
Have you ever wondered where the heat comes from in silage? This really cool infrared camera can read the temperature of a silage bunker and provide a color picture of the variations in heat levels on the face. The camera has gotten cheaper since it first came out a couple of years ago, but it still retails for several thousand … Read More
Silage Important Part of Feed Program
Dinner time last night at the Global Dairy 500 Conference featured multiple subject discussions. You picked your topic and then participated in a discussion after eating. I attended the Silage Discussion Dinner led by Matthew Smith, Alltech. You can see Matthew getting his slides ready for the start of the discussion. He works for the company in New Zealand and … Read More
Topics Facing Dairy Farmers
It’s always good to hear what other dairy farmers have to say. In this video clip you can hear several of the farmers attending the Global Dairy 500 Conference talk about their industry and the challenges facing it. Topics include the economy, overproduction of milk, silage quality, and people management. This is another of the videos you’ll find in the … Read More
Forage Forum From Farm Progress
Pioneer has a pretty major presence at the 2009 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois where I met up with silage expert Scott Dennis and talked about silage – past, present and future. Pioneer likes to help producers “get more mileage” from their silage. Dennis explains how Pioneer is unique as a seed company with what they have to offer … Read More