Tryston Beyrer, an agronomist with WinField United, discusses why growers should check corn development stages and moisture when harvesting corn silage to ensure feed quality is maximized for the next year.

In this video, the corn is close to harvest stage. The fields are drying more quickly than in previous years. In order to determine whether to take grain out of the field, first check the corn ear development. The kernels here are ¾ milk line, especially in the sandier or dryer parts of the field.

A better assessment would involve taking whole plant samples, chipping them and drying them to get an idea of total plant moisture. The target is 65% moisture for bunker type silos. With oxygen limiting silos or staves, a target of 60% to 55% moisture is the bare minimum.

If conditions are dry and you need more moisture, lower the cutting height to pick up more stock. This increases tonnage and decreases quality, but overall adds a couple percentage points of moisture back into the total forage.

75% milk line and 65% moisture are key because this is the happy medium where plants are still retaining enough of their bottom leaves to make good silage quality and keep the plants healthy.

In this field, in the dry areas, there is ear drop. Good agricultural practices include identifying fields that are advancing quickly for harvest to minimize ear drop and get the most quality feed into your bunker for feeding to your cattle the following year.

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