Forage harvesting

By Kassidy Buse, University of Nebraska | The quality and characteristics of forages can have direct impact on milk production and profits.  We typically focus on characteristics such as starch content, protein content and NDF digestibility as we include forages in rations.  But as the attributes of fiber and its fractions have continued to be explored, forage fragility has emerged as an area of interest.

A long fall allowed for great harvest conditions across most of the upper Midwest.  Vita Plus consultants across the region recap the 2022 harvest.

By Steve Murty, Vita Plus forage specialist | Nutrients lost through forage shrink have a real cost to your dairy. Here are 11 tips to efficiently harvest, pack, and cover your corn silage to reduce shrink and add dollars to the bottom line.

Part of a successful corn silage season is having a fine-tuned kernel processor. To help you get prepared for this year's harvest, we walk you through what and how to check if your kernel processor is ready to hit the fields.

By Cody McCary, Vita Plus forage specialist | The stage of plant growth and timing of harvest are essential to achieving the yield and quality goals for a given grass crop. The progression from one stage of maturity to the next often happens rapidly. To combat a narrow harvest window, consistent monitoring of in-field conditions and plant stage of maturity is necessary.

Steve Murty, Vita Plus – Delayed planting, volatile grain markets and high feed costs are once again dominating agricultural headlines, reminding farms to double down on forage management practices to preserve homegrown protein yields and save out-of-pocket expenses.

Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus – The value of silage has skyrocketed, which means the penalty of dry matter loss has also skyrocketed. In today’s markets, we cannot afford to skip inoculants.

Dr. David Weakly, Forage Genetics International – One of the major factors negatively impacting harvested alfalfa forage quality is leaf loss. That’s because leaves have an RFQ of about 550 while stems have an RFQ of 70 to 80. A new equation predicts the percent of leaves in alfalfa from NDF, protein and NDFd28 measured in the sample.

By Wyatt Smith, Vita Plus dairy specialist Much of the Upper Midwest has noted lower-than-normal starch digestibility in this year’s corn crops. With warm weather only a few months away, we’ve started to question what impact this lower starch digestibility will have on the traditional summer milk slump. 

By Cody McCary, Vita Plus forage specialist Sorghum has proven useful as an alternative forage for many farms.  Here are some important items to consider when determining if sorghum may fit into your forage program.

With Bob Headrick, Dias & Fragoso forage consultant A 45-year career in one industry gives a person a lot of perspective. Bob Headrick wouldn't describe his career as a forage custom harvester in California as smooth or easy. Several parallels can be drawn between the hurdles he faced and the challenges of today’s farms and custom harvesters. For Headrick, good relationships were key to overcoming obstacles.

Vita Plus consultants from Minnesota to Ohio share their observations of the 2021 growing season and what they anticipate for this year's corn silage harvest.

By Andy Carlson, Vita Plus dairy specialist
The final step of harvest – and one of the most critical steps – is to effectively cover and seal our bunkers and piles to limit oxygen and protect forages.  We depend on bacteria to ferment and preserve forage, and virtually all these bacteria need a low-oxygen environment to efficiently do the job.  Here are some recommendations to help you cover forages safely, efficiently and effectively.

By Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical services
Due to the severity and timing of drought in parts of the Midwest, multiple conditions are occurring simultaneously: (1) The plant’s growth is stunted during the grain-fill stage, leading to low starch content, (2) dry conditions have led to plants that are at the right dry matter (DM) for harvesting, and (3) the bottoms of corn stalks are accumulating nitrates.  Evaluate your crop and forage inventories to determine if high-chopping is a wise choice for your farm.

By Kyle McLain, Vita Plus dairy specialist
Forage quality and quantity are very important for feed efficiency and profitability. However, safety trumps all of that when it comes to harvesting, storing and feeding forages. Nothing is more important than you and your employees returning safely and soundly to your families after a successful corn silage season. Here are some safety tips to consider when harvesting, storing and feeding forages.