Forage harvesting

By Dr. Michelle Windle, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical services specialist Every three years, the world’s foremost silage scientists gather to discuss the newest discoveries at the International Silage Conference.  This year, 268 delegates from 39 countries gathered for the 17th International Silage Conference in Piracicaba, Brazil, held at a renovated sugar mill.  Ground-breaking research premiered

The Vita Plus forage team recently developed a new, simple-to-use tool for measuring corn silage processing roll gap and chop length in the field. A series of four cards, each measuring 0.75 mm in thickness, will enable operators to verify roll gap simply by inserting the cards between the processing rolls at various locations.  If

By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist Producers used to only plant small grains in the spring for forage when they faced alfalfa winterkill or needed a companion crop for alfalfa seedings. Times have changed and small grain forages are now commonly and diversely used to augment a wide array of forage needs.  In

By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist Today’s high-producing dairy cows consume copious amounts of calories to sustain milk production and no forage is better suited to provide calories than corn silage. As discussed at the Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting, corn silage is unique in the world of forages, containing a source of

Click here to download Shinners' PowerPoint presentation. With Dr. Kevin Shinners, University of Wisconsin-Madison Enhancing feed value is a major focus for producers and customer harvesters alike. Dr. Kevin Shinners of the Biological Systems Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared his thoughts on new ways to harvest and process forages at the Vita

With Barry Visser and Dr. Darin Bremmer, Vita Plus dairy technical service specialists, Dr. Randy Shaver, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dr. Larry Chase, Cornell University When it comes to forages, custom harvesters and dairy producers always have questions to ask and topics to discuss. In a panel discussion at the recent Vita Plus Custom Harvester

Click here to download Shaver's PowerPoint presentation.  Click here to download Chase's PowerPoint presentation. With Dr. Randy Shaver, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dr. Larry Chase, Cornell University Shredlage® is becoming popular, yet many questions still surround the logistics of this harvesting strategy. Dr. Randy Shaver, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dairy Science Department, shared results of his

Click here to download Hoffman's PowerPoint presentation. By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist Today’s high-producing dairy cows consume copious amounts of calories to sustain milk production and no forage is better suited to provide calories than corn silage. As discussed at the Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting, corn silage is unique in the

Click here to download Urness' PowerPoint presentation. By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist Harvest is often a time of high stress on dairies looking to put up high-quality forages and high moisture grains.  The window of opportunity is often ridiculously narrow. Relationships between dairy producers and their custom harvesters can be stretched to

By Jon Rasmussen, Vita Plus technology specialist Trying to get a handle on corn silage processing while the choppers are moving has gained a great deal of interest in the recent years. A few considerations can help make the evaluation a little less subjective. Start by gathering a fresh corn silage sample in a 32-ounce

By Chris Wacek-Driver, Vita Plus forage program manager, with Kyle Taysom, Dairyland Laboratories, Inc. The trend of feeding greater levels of corn silage to dairy cows and an influx of new processor designs has heightened dairy industry interest in determining optimal kernel processing.  While it's certainly not the sole factor that determines optimal dietary digestibility

By Jon Rasmussen, Vita Plus technology specialist We know that packing density of corn silage is affected by a multitude of factors, including moisture, cut length, weight and time of packing tractors, delivery rate to the bunker or pile, and certainly processing methods.  But how does Shredlage® compare to conventionally processed silage in terms of

By Dr. Michelle Windle, Vita Plus forage products & dairy technical service specialist We’re seeing a growing interest in estimating corn silage processing scores (CSPS) while chopping instead of after the fact so that we can make appropriate adjustments in the field.  Some of this growing interest is also due to higher commodity prices as

By Jon Urness, national forage specialist Getting it right when it comes to corn silage harvest and storage has become more and more critical as it’s often the dominant forage in today’s dairy rations.  And you get just one chance.  You don't get any “do-overs” or “mulligans” when it comes to putting up a year’s

Are we pasteurizing the bugs in inoculant tank mixes?  That was the question Dr. Owen Mickley, Vita Plus dairy specialist, posed during the heat of last year's corn silage harvest in central Ohio. Just a couple weeks earlier, Mickley hosted a custom harvester meeting for about a dozen chopper operators. The subject of inoculant tank

When it comes to the latest technology in corn silage processing, Shredlage® has dominated the headlines in the farm papers. This new approach to processing corn silage - which emphasizes not only the kernel portion of corn silage but also the stover portion - shows a lot of promise. A number of dairy producers from