Nutrition Working example: A 45t/ha maize crop at 30% DM will yield 13.5t DM/ha. Losing only 1% of this DM equates to 135kg DM. In a diet containing 25kg/cow/day of fresh maize silage, 135kg DM would feed 18 cows. At 30 litres/cow and 28ppl, this is the equivalent to losing £151.20/day. Over a 180-day winter this equates to a potential loss of £27,216. DM losses will increase the further it deviates from the 30-33% recommended range. Achieving silage stability andmaximisingnutritional value is thereby of paramount importance and can be achieved with the aid of Pioneer 11C33. Harvesting for Maize Silage To achieve the best nutritional results maize should be harvested at the optimum dry matter (DM) content of 30-33%. To determine whether the crop is at the correct stage for harvesting, a visual assessment of the ‘Milk Line’ can be made. The ‘Milk Line’ distinguishes between the hard, yellow starch part of the grain and the soft, white, (milky) starch part. As the grain matures, the milk line descends towards the centre of the cob and the proportion of hard, yellow starch increases. To achieve 30-33% DM maize silage, it is recommended to harvest when the milk line is halfway down the grain. If the crop is harvested when the milk line is only ¼ of the way down, estimated silage DM will be 28-30%. Below 30% DM; Lactobacillus bacteria must generate higher levels of lactic acid to stabilise the silage, to achieve this they must consume more sugars which results in a nutritionally poorer and more acidic silage. Furthermore; Clostridia bacteria prefer these wetter environments and instead of lactic they produce butyric acid; this is a weaker acid which prevents silage stabilisation enhancing the risk of silage deterioration and DM losses. Harvesting with a milk line ¾ of the way down will produce a DM silage of over 35%.
Maize Handbook 2020 16
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