Inoculating High Moisture Corn by Patrick Hoffman and Richard Muck (revised December, 2011) Introduction High moisture corn (HMC) is harvested between 25 and 35% moisture content and stored in a silo where it is preserved through fermentation. The optimum harvest moisture for good fermentation of HMC is 28 to 32%. In general, high moisture corn ferments […]
Read More...
Bunker Silo Cover Alternatives by Brian Holmes Introduction Silage is covered for two primary reasons. First, covered silage reduces exposure to oxygen. Oxygen is required for the growth of aerobic organisms. These aerobic organisms cause the decomposition of valuable feed. A second reason for covering silage is to exclude rainfall. Precipitation washes organic acids and other […]
Read More...
Storing Forage in Piles by Jerry Clark Introduction For a number of years farmers have utilized silage piles for short-term storage of forage crops. Proper management of a silage pile is crucial to assure that forage quality is maintained for delivering to livestock. The most critical step in silage pile management is packing. Without proper packing, […]
Read More...
Packing Bunker and Pile Silos to Minimize Porosity by Brian J. Holmes and Richard E. Muck Why is silage density important when packing bunkers and piles? Attaining a high silage density is important for two primary reasons. Most importantly, density and dry matter content determine the porosity of the silage. Porosity, in turn, sets the rate […]
Read More...
Propionic Acid Preservatives for Hay by Wayne Coblentz1, Dan Undersander2, and Michael Bertram3 1US Dairy Forage Research Center, Marshfield, WI 2Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison 3Superintendent, University of Wisconsin Arlington Agricultural Research Station Introduction Hay producers working in humid environments are well-acquainted with the consequences of baling moist hays, which include heating, molding, losses of dry […]
Read More...
Machinery Designs and Adjustment for Minimized Field Losses by Ronald T. Schuler, Extension Agricultural Engineer Biological Systems Engineering Department University of Wisconsin-Madison Producing quality forages with a minimum field loss requires the proper selection, adjustment, and operation of the forage harvesting equipment. Farm machinery manufacturers continue to make improvements to increase productivity and minimize losses. Frequently […]
Read More...
Big Bale Storage Losses; how different options stack up by Craig Saxe Introduction When harvesting baled hay, it’s not always easy to control weather related losses, but storage loses should be more controllable. After all, a lot of time, energy and expense have gone into producing a high quality and high value baled product. Many would […]
Read More...
Crop Processor Adjustment for Corn Silage Ronald T. Schuler, Extension Agricultural Engineer, Biological Systems Engineering A properly adjusted crop processor on a forage harvester will break all the corn kernels and have no large cob pieces remaining in the corn silage. The primary processor adjustment to achieve this goal is the clearance between the processing […]
Read More...
Rakers and Mergers* Ronald T. Schuler, Extension Agricultural Engineer Hay and forage producers have a wide variety of equipment options for raking and merging swaths or windrows. Selecting the proper equipment and operating it correctly will ensure high quality hay and forage with a cost effective harvesting system. Numerous studies have provided results on equipment performance […]
Read More...
Adjusting the Conditioning System on a Mower-Conditioner Ronald T. Schuler, Professor Extension Agricultural Engineer Biological Systems Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison To be effective, the conditioning system on a mower-conditioner must be properly adjusted to ensure rapid drying of forage in the field. Rapid drying maintains the quality of the forage and reduces the risk of […]
Read More...
