Silage Bag Capacity by Brian J. Holmes We frequently get questions about the amount of silage in a silo bag. One way to estimate this value is to calculate the volume in the bag and multiply by its density. The volume of a round bag is calculated as: V = 3.14 × (D2 ÷ 4) × L Where: […]
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Nitrate Poisoning in Cattle, Sheep and Goats by Dan Undersander, Dave Combs, Randy Shaver, Dan Schaefer and Dave Thomas12 Nitrate poisoning is a condition which may affect ruminants consuming certain forages or water that contains an excessive amount of nitrate. Horses are much less sensitive to nitrate toxicity since they are hindgut ferments and do not have a […]
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Interpretation and Use of Silage Fermentation Analysis Reports by Limin Kung and Randy Shaver Introduction Fermentation analyses have long been used in university and industry research trials to assess silage quality. These analyses are now available for evaluating silage quality on farms through commercial forage testing laboratories. Analyses commonly included in silage fermentation reports are pH, lactic, acetic, […]
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The Effect of Maturity on NDF Digestibility by P.C. Hoffman, K.M. Lundberg, L.M. Bauman and Randy D. Shaver Introduction Recently forage testing laboratories have begun to evaluate forages for neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility. Evaluation of forage for NDF digestibility is being conducted to improve laboratory prediction of animal performance. One of the factors that influences […]
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Evaluating Corn Silage Quality for Dairy Cattle by Randy Shaver, Professor and Extension Dairy Nutritionist University of Wisconsin-Madison University of Wisconsin-Extension Introduction This fact sheet has been developed to support the implementation of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Feed Management 592 Practice Standard. The Feed Management 592 Practice Standard was adopted by NRCS in 2003 as another […]
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Corn Shredlage for Dairy Cows by Luiz Ferraretto and Randy Shaver Introduction Garnering much recent interest by dairy producers and their nutritionists has been a new method of harvesting whole-plant corn for silage. The resultant product has been called corn shredlage by the developer of the process (Shredlage™, LLC; http://www.shredlage.com/) and the manufacturer of the new […]
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Adding Urea to Corn Silage by Patrick Hoffman Introduction Urea is a manmade feed ingredient containing 46% nitrogen or 287% crude protein equivalents. Urea is a source of dietary nitrogen for use in ruminent feeds. Ingested urea is degraded to ammonia, and the ruminal bacteria incorporate the ammonia into bacterial protein. This type of protein is […]
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Influence of Ensiling on the Digestibility of Whole-Plant Corn Silage by Luiz Ferraretto1, Randy Shaver1, and Joe Lauer2 1Department of Dairy Science, UW-Madison 2Department of Agronomy, UW-Madison Introduction Increasing starch or neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility in whole-plant corn silage (WPCS) may increase lactation performance by dairy cows or reduce purchased feed costs for dairy farmers. The digestibility […]
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Degree of Starch Access (DSA): Starch Digestibility in Forages and Grains fed to Dairy Cattle by R.D. Shaver and P.C. Hoffman Introduction Starch, supplied in Midwest diets primarily from high-moisture and dry corn grain and whole-plant corn silage, is an important source of energy for dairy cattle. However, the digestibility of corn starch can be highly variable. Various […]
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On-Farm Moisture Testing of Corn Silage by John Peters Introduction Accurately determining corn whole plant moisture is important when harvesting for corn silage. Harvesting corn for silage too early (high moisture content) or too late (low moisture content) can affect forage yield, quality and silage fermentation. Whole plant moisture content typically changes by 0.5 units per […]
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