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Agronomist says watch closely for ideal corn silage harvesting time

An agronomist says the corn silage harvesting time is approaching very fast.  Sammie Brantner is a technical agronomist with Dekalb Asgrow.  She tells Brownfield the hot July weather put crop growth into overdrive and farmers need to pay attention. She says, “It’s best just to go out and keep an eye on those silage fields because they can, once they get going, they can start getting away from us.”

Brantner says growers need to watch for the optimum time to harvest based on total plant moisture. “Once you see that milk line starting to creep down and getting to three-quarters to fifty percent milk line, it’s time to start testing those whole-plant moistures because ideally, you want to see about a fifty-five to seventy percent whole plant moisture, again depending upon how you’re storing it.”

Brantner says measuring whole plant moisture is a better indicator than kernel development alone.  She says some growers are also watching closely to see if a fungicide treatment is necessary. 

Brantner says Dekalb Asgrow is also bringing back several silage-proven corn varieties for 2021 that can be harvested in as little as 60 days.