Special section: Forage/seed selection
Agronomic technology
Mycogen offers 2 new BMR hybrids
Mycogen Seeds is adding two new BMR hybrids adapted for the West to its portfolio of SILAGE-SPECIFIC™ corn hybrids for 2010. The new hybrids offer high digestibility to help growers optimize feed intake and produce more milk.
“The new silage hybrids offer the latest improvements in nutritional value and agronomic technology,” says Greg Cannon, forage products marketing specialist, Mycogen Seeds. “We have continued our commitment to research and testing to make sure only elite silage hybrids make it to our growers.”
The two new BMR varieties are:
• F2F665 is a solid agronomic hybrid that delivers added tonnage and a better disease package. F2F665 has very good whole-plant and NDF digestibility, and good drought-stress tolerance. This new 109-day QUAD-STACK™ comes with HERCULEX XTRA Insect Protection, LibertyLink® and Roundup Ready®.
• F2F622 is a new 109-day BMR hybrid that offers solid agronomics with a taller plant type. With very good whole-plant and NDF digestibility, F2F622 also has good drought-stress tolerance. F2F622 features HERCULEX I Insect Protection, LibertyLink and Roundup Ready traits.
Other MYCOGEN® hybrids adapted for Western silage production are:
• F2F797 is a 115-day hybrid with the highest tonnage potential of any MYCOGEN brand BMR corn hybrid.
• TMF2H918 is a traited version of TMF2H917, a tall, full-season 123-day TMF hybrid that is especially well-adapted to the California and Southwest silage markets.
• TMF2L844 is a full-season TMF hybrid also adapted to California and Southwest silage markets.
• TMF2N804 offers excellent tonnage potential when planted at moderate to moderately high populations. This 116-day TMF hybrid has good drought tolerance and very good plant health throughout the chopping season. Moves south into fuller-season environments.
“As the marketing leader in SILAGE-SPECIFIC BMR corn, we have utilized our resources to produce an even stronger offering of SILAGE-SPECIFIC hybrids,” Cannon says. “We look forward to helping growers optimize milk production and yield.”
For more information about these new silage hybrids or other MYCOGEN brand products, contact your local Mycogen Seeds dealer or sales representative, or visit www.mycogen.com.
Grass fiber technology, 11GFT
Pioneer Hi-Bred’s announces new inoculation platform
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, today unveiled Pioneer® brand 11GFT inoculant, the second in a series of products in the revolutionary Pioneer fiber technology platform. This product offers dairy producers an additional avenue to enhance forage digestibility for reduced feed cost.
“The fiber technology platform was launched in 2008 with 11CFT developed for corn silage. We now have expanded our offering to include this product developed exclusively for grass and cereal silage, the first of its kind,” says Kyle Whitaker, Pioneer marketing manager for forage additives. “Additional fiber technology products are currently under development.”
11GFT inoculant stimulates “front-end” fermentation efficiency by rapidly dropping silage pH while helping to retain valuable nutrients. Another key benefit is increased aerobic stability for conservation of nutrients on the back end during feedout. 11GFT improves fiber digestibility and dry matter intake which facilitates higher silage inclusion rates.
Through testing, 11GFT has shown an increase in milk production with a decrease in feed cost when compared to untreated forages related to increased NDF (neutral detergent fiber) digestibility. The increased cell wall availability leads to a higher intake, rate of passage and overall higher performance.
“The grass and cereal fiber technology product enhances Pioneer’s already extensive lineup of crop-specific inoculants, such as 11CFT and 11C33 for corn silage, 11H50 for alfalfa silage and 11B91 for high-moisture corn or earlage,” says Whitaker. “Pioneer products are unique because of the research effort to offer crop-specific bacterial strains to enhance feeding values. Pioneer’s research with crop-specific inoculants continues with the fiber technology platform.”
To learn more about Pioneer inoculants, contact your local Pioneer nutritionist or dairy expert or visit www.pioneer.com/
forages. p
What to do with moldy hay?
Weather conditions prior to, during first cutting, and while making hay have been very moist. Many areas have two or more inches of above normal precipitation. Much hay has been rained on or left lying in the field for prolonged time periods due to cool and humid conditions which reduced drying rates. The long drying periods with high humidity allowed field growth of mold on the hay. We will try to state some facts and offer some recommendations for hay producers and livestock producers.
What is the “black dust” that covers my mower or swather? The black dust is most likely spores produced by fungal organisms. Spores are how the fungi reproduce and are always present but usually at lower concentration. The black dust on a mower or swather indicates that fungal growth was present prior to cutting.
What is the “black dust” on the hay in the windrow, and coming out of my baler or forage harvester? The dust is partially fungal spores which have been produced at any point prior to harvest; but most likely, spores were produced after mowing in the windrow, under high moisture levels. Another source of the dust is pulverized and decomposed plant material after drying.
What can I do to prevent fungal growth in the crop prior to mowing? There are few options to prevent fungal growth in uncut forage. There are no current registered fungicides for alfalfa forage use, other than ApronTM for seed treatment at planting. Furthermore, it is probably not economic to treat even if you could forecast long term weather problems. For periods with high precipitations, adjust your watering schedule, prevent over irrigation, and allow plants to dry up faster.
You can prevent further mold growth in harvested hay and silage. To improve drying and solar radiation on forage: 1) make a wide windrow, 2) mow in sunny weather, 3) rake or invert the windrow at about 40% moisture.
Hay preservatives such as proprionic acid products and other mold inhibitors can reduce or stop further mold growth in hay and silage, at least temporarily, when applied at baling or chopping. These products will not reduce the damage done before harvest, they merely stop new growth.
What effects do molds have on animals? The spores can produce undesirable physical responses from humans and livestock from the physical dust and an allergic response of animals. Feed intake is reduced. The spores indicate a possibility of mycotoxin producing organisms. A mycotoxin is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by an organism of the fungus kingdom, including mushrooms, molds, and yeasts.
Bunker management key to quality
Bunker management is key to achieving the highest quality silage, according to livestock nutrition experts with Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. Producers should pack bunkers densely, cover with plastic and use inoculants to maintain and enhance the quality of silages in storage. Fill as fast as possible while maintaining adequate packing, say Pioneer experts.
“The more oxygen excluded, the better,” says Dann Bolinger, Pioneer dairy specialist in Michigan. “Producers should get about 800 to 1,000 pounds of tractor weight per ton per hour on the bunker to keep oxygen out.” _
Bolinger suggests packing continuously, not waiting for the next load. When it gets difficult to keep up with the speed of harvest, try slowing down or have more bunkers available.
“With custom harvesters and the increased size of equipment, it can become a challenge to get the bunker packed densely,” Bolinger says. “It isn’t ideal, but producers can try either slowing harvest or filling more than one bunker at a time. Make sure the bunker is packed well. Poor packing density slows the ensiling process and increases the potential for spoilage.”
Another important consideration is covering the bunker. Cover the bunker with plastic and a weight system, such as tire sidewalls.
“If producers don’t cover the bunker with plastic, the top 3 feet of forage will act as the covering,” Bolinger says. “At least 50 percent of forage dry matter can be lost in those top 3 feet, so consider covering to avoid potential spoilage.”
Inoculants are the best way to help preserve nutrients and improve the value of every bite. Pioneer offers inoculants for corn, alfalfa, grass silage and high-moisture grain. With a library of more than 25,000 strains of bacteria, Pioneer microbial researchers develop inoculants with carefully selected, unique, proprietary strains of bacteria to help producers get more from every acre fed to animals.
Ways to monitor the bunker after packing include utilizing infrared photography and density probes. These two tools provide practical, convenient and quick methods to determine density levels. Pioneer forage specialists can use infrared cameras to depict hot spots in the bunker feedout face. This offers insight into pockets of aerobically unstable feed that often are the result of inadequately compacted forage.
The Pioneer density probe is a tool for measuring actual silage density from the feedout face of a bunker, pile or bag. The probe is used to drill and sample a core of silage of known volume. The weight and dry matter content of the silage translate into pounds of dry matter per cubic foot within the storage. The minimum desired density for hay crop silages should be 14 to 15 pounds of dry matter per cubic foot. A goal for corn silage is 17 to 18 pounds. The denser a bunker, the less dry matter loss should occur.
“There isn’t much a producer can do to change the density once it’s been packed, but measuring provides a way to plan for next season’s packing,” Bolinger says. “Contact your local Pioneer sales professional for more information on density probes.