Grasses for Dairy-Quality Forage? For many years, alfalfa and corn silage have been the staples of dairy diets throughout the Great Lakes Region & the North-East. Cool-season grasses (such as orchardgrass, timothy & tall fescue) which traditionally have been early-maturing, stemmy, hard-to-manage and just not very productive were considered old-fashioned impediments to high-quality dairy forage. […]
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TOOL #2- High-Oil Corn with Greater Energy Density than Standard Hybrids
Benefits of High Oil Corn Corn silage is generally the least expensive energy source in a dairy ration; however, when additional energy is required more expensive fats and oils are added. Lipids (fats and oils) contain 225% the amount of energy as an equal weight of starch, the predominant energy source in shelled corn. Over […]
TOOL #3- Corn Silage Hybrids with Greater Starch & Fodder Digestibility
Corn Silage: Key Characteristics – Nutritional Value & Tonnage Through my years in the seed industry, I have observed that designating a hybrid as a ‘silage’ hybrid often was a way of moving inventory of hybrids with any of the following characteristics: tall plant type, questionable standability or poor dry-down. Until the last 15 years […]
TOOL #4- Top-Performing Cost-Saving Alfalfas & High-Return Annual Forages
Top Alfalfa Genetics As previously mentioned alfalfa has been and continues to be a staple in dairy production in the United States. Advancements are continually being made in yield, disease resistance, root and crown type as well as leaf-to-stem ratio characteristics using conventional plant breeding techniques. In recent years, increasing attention has been given to […]
TOOL #5- Comprehensive Forage Crop Nutrition Programs to Maximize Yield & Quality
Conventional Agronomic Mindset Conventional University agronomy focuses on soil pH, and N, P & K applied in dry bulk. This is the paradigm I was taught at Ohio State and worked in during the early years of my sales career. This philosophy is based on the idea that if you put enough pounds of something […]
