Corn Sileage Challenge

 Dairymen face challenges at every turn…if it’s not low prices it’s the effect of weather on feed With milk prices at an all-time low, dairymen are already nervously looking at the future. But a cool, wet spring may have put them further in the hole…because of the effects of the weather on what they’re able to feed their cows. The hay growers had their woes because of all the rain. It made it difficult to get in and cut, or if alfalfa was cut, it lay on the ground and compromised it’s nutritional value.

 Now comes word out of the Magic Valley that although the corn silage crop looks good, the crop is lagging behind and an early frost could still limit the yield.??At the end of August the 2009 growing season was running about two to three growing days behind schedule, and those couple of days may be critical as Rick Speicher, agronomy advisor for Winfield Solutions in Twin Falls explains: There’s less heat stress so the crop potential is high but the fear of frost can limit that crop.”

 Since most corn silage growers plant later maturing varieties, it is not expected that we will see much silage cut until mid-September. Speicher is optimistic that yields will be close to average.