Pricing standing corn silage: What is a reasonable price?

Pricing standing corn for silage can be challenging. There are no widely quoted market prices for this particular crop and values are often based on relative feed value or comparison to other crops, such as corn grain or hay. 

Pricing of corn for the seller should take into account the value of grain, the fertilizer cost incurred and harvest costs saved. Corn silage in the field can be valued at eight to 10 times the price of corn per grain bushel. 

Walk fields with your agronomist and talk about investing in fungicide applications to maintain plant health. We’ve observed an uptick in fiber digestibility the last year, which I think is partly attributable to improved plant health.

Take note of the tasseling date and then sit down with your calendar to circle the date range 40 to 60 days after the average tasseling date for your fields. Corn historically has been ready for silage around 45 days post tasseling; however, I’ve learned from Todd Schaumburg and other experienced agronomists that better plant health has widened this window out. More on that later. Start intensively monitoring corn with your agronomist during this 20-day window later in the season.

High-quality forage is the essential foundation upon which every good dairy diet is built. Missing a step or cutting corners will ultimately increase shrink, decrease quality and negatively affect cattle performance. We depend on bacteria, both naturally occurring and supplemented, to ferment and preserve forage and high-moisture grains. Virtually all these bacteria need a low-oxygen environment to efficiently do their job. The final step of harvest – and one of the most critical steps – is to effectively cover and seal our bunkers and piles to limit oxygen and protect the forages.

Picture movie-goers walking into a theater. Those people entering the theater were initially expecting to see a documentary film, but instead, an action movie begins, with surprises, constantly moving targets, and unpredictable scenes. The unexpecting viewers who just made way into the theater may or may not even recognize what hit them. Your corn harvest for silage could play out similarly if your agronomy and harvest crew move slowly this year, like in a drama movie.

Optimal output requires optimal input when it comes to milk production and feeding dairy cows. Well-balanced rations are often what separate the top-producing herds from the rest.

Pounds of milkfat and milk protein shipped, also known as milk component yield (MCY), accounts for more than 75% of the milk check. With milk volume supply constraints in play, maximizing MCY has never been more important. Milk containing higher concentrations of fat and protein produces more cheese, butter and other higher-value dairy products. Dairy producers can capture some of that value by focusing on increasing MCY. The good news is: Producers can start making changes almost immediately – even without long-term investments in herd genetics. Milk composition is highly influenced by the ration and feeding management. One of the keys to achieving this goal is closely managing neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) in the ensiled forage base of the ration.