Updating Our Thinking About Corn Silage and Alternative Forages

Cover crops, alternative crops- how well do they feed?
Presented by Matt Lippert, Dairy Educator Wood and Clark Counties
Extension gathered samples of forages at harvest and after fermentation and visited with producers about their experiences with some of the forages that today are being used in addition to corn silage and alfalfa. These feeds included winter cereals such as rye and triticale, warm season grasses such as sorghum-sudangrass and annuals including Italian ryegrass and mixtures with legumes. These crops fill many agronomic and conservation niches, but how well can they be utilized to feed lactating dairy cows. Results are variable but many opportunities exist.

MILK 2024 – what’s new?
Presented by Luiz Ferraretto, Dairy Nutrition Specialist
Differences in nutrient composition and digestibility among corn hybrids have the potential to impact energy content of corn silage and ultimately influence dairy cow production. From the perspective of maximizing nutritive value, energy predictions of corn silage can be useful to aid producers in selecting hybrids. The MILK index was developed to predict the energy content (milk/ton) and energy yield (milk/acre) of forages. This presentation will discuss the novel aspects of the newest iteration of the MILK model.

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