Those who feed and harvest corn silage can get an update on the latest trends and technology during an upcoming webinar series with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

The series begins Aug. 2 with a focus on silage processing, followed by cover crop forages on Aug. 9, forage storage Aug. 16 and forage feeding Aug. 23.

With feed prices rising, forages are expected to play an important role in livestock rations. Specialists with ISU Extension and Outreach, farmers and industry professionals will explain how to improve corn silage efficiency and quality.

Continue reading “Corn Silage Webinar Series begins Tonight” →

The I-29 Moo University 2021 Dairy Webinar Series continues Friday, Aug. 20 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. This month’s topic is pricing corn silage.

Presenter Ryan Sterry will help corn growers and dairy/livestock producers discover how to negotiate a fair price when buying or selling corn silage.

Continue reading “Pricing corn silage educational webinar Aug. 20” →

In 2020, Sioux County led all Iowa counties in total corn silage production, with 919,000 tons according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Lyon (579,000), Winneshiek (386,000), Dubuque (295,000) and Clay (294,000) rounded out the top five highest producing counties.

Clayton County had the highest yield with an average of 23.5 tons per acre. Sioux, Cerro Gordo and Delaware were tied for second highest yields at 22.5 tons per acre. There were 21 counties that had an average yield of 20.0 or more tons per acre.

Yields are derived from production divided by area harvested. Only published estimates were considered in rankings of counties.

A recent mycotoxin survey of corn harvested in 2019 shows 96 percent tested positive for at least one mycotoxin, while 61 percent of samples had more than one mycotoxin. Combine that with the potential for quality issues that may mean fewer pounds of milk per ton and producers need to get a handle on what they have in their piles.

To help producers evaluate their options, I-29 Moo University asked Dairy Specialist and Assistant Professor at Iowa State University Dr. Hugo Ramirez-Ramirez, shared what he is seeing from labs in the upper Midwest and what mitigation options producers have.

Ramirez will also share several other thoughts plus pile maintenance during feed-out.

The archived webinar available at:

https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/pekv78669iqd/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal