A mixed bag of weather conditions this planting and growing season will likely translate into corn silage of varying quality. We don’t need to panic, according to Rock River Laboratory’s John Goeser, but we should anticipate the potential for feed hygiene issues.

During the August Hoard’s Dairyman webinar, Goeser, who serves as the director of nutritional research and innovation for Rock River Laboratory and as a dairy consultant, offered advice on how to harvest and feed this year’s corn crop. For starters, he said to “nail the harvest window.” He explained, “Harvest at the right moisture, and ideally the right maturity, but in a lot of cases this year, those two might not go hand in hand.”

Goeser also said to do what can be done to manage risks in terms of feed hygiene. The presence of mold, yeast, or mycotoxins does not mean the sky is falling, he noted, as there are likely two or three issues at play when cows experience a digestive outbreak. To keep problems at bay, though, we need to reduce other stressors, such as heat stress and overcrowding. When cows are facing multiple stressors, more aggressive steps to manage feed hygiene may be needed.

To improve feed quality at harvest, corn silage can be cut a little higher to raise starch content and fiber digestibility. This isn’t a great option when farms need the tonnage, but in situations where corn has a lot of height, leaving more of the digestible stalk in the field to get more quality per ton might pay off.

Goeser also touched on kernel processing. “We continue to do an excellent job in kernel processing across the United States,” Goeser recognized. He said the goal for kernel processing is 75% to 80% in fermented silage. Since the kernel processing score will improve 5 to 10 units during ensiling, the goal at chopping is 65% to 75%. Goeser emphasized the importance of kernel processing by saying, “There is no opportunity for average to below average kernel processing this year.”

If it’s not being done already, he said the use of a research-backed inoculant or feed preservative warrants discussion. These products help preserve nutritional quality, conserve more digestible nutrients, and improve feed hygiene characteristics. “Consider one of these tools to protect this future feed inventory to keep it as high quality and clean as possible,” he advised.

Corn silage is a more consistent forage than haylage, but some farms may find wide ranges in maturity and variability in fields this year. Goeser encouraged producers to approach feed sampling like they would sight in a rifle, which means basing actions off multiple samples. “We need to be working off two and three sample averages to make decisions with how to feed this crop, which is likely will have a wider range in quality and less consistency than other years,” he noted.

To learn more, check out the webinar, titled “Making the most of this year’s corn silage.”