Month: August 2020

Making Corn Silage in Dry Conditions

Source: Bill Weiss, OSU

The primary goal of making corn silage is to preserve as many nutrients in the corn plant as possible, to produce a feed that is acceptable to cows, and to minimize any risks associated with feeding the silage.  The following are important considerations for making corn silage when growing conditions have been dry.

Chop at the correct dry matter concentration (Editor’s note: see accompanying article “Corn Silage Harvest Timing”). Drought-stressed corn plants are often much wetter than they appear, even if the lower plant leaves are brown and dried up.  Before starting chopping, sample some plants (cut at the same height as they will be with the harvester) and either analyze DM using a Koster tester or microwave or send to a commercial lab (turn-around time may be a few days if you send it to a lab).  If the plants are too wet, delay chopping until the desired plant DM is reached.  The plant may continue to accumulate DM (increase yield), and you will not suffer increased fermentation losses caused by ensiling corn that is too wet.

Use a proven inoculant.  When silage is worth upwards of $80/ton (35% DM) reducing shrink by 2 percentage units has a value of about $2/ton. Homolactic inoculants (these are the ‘standard silage inoculants’) produce lactic acid which reduces fermentation losses but sometimes can increase spoilage during feedout. The buchneri inoculants increase acetic acid which slightly increases fermentation losses but greatly reduce spoilage during feedout.  Severely drought-stressed corn can have a high concentration of sugars because the plant is not depositing starch into the kernels.  High sugar concentrations can increase spoilage at feed out because it is food source for yeasts and molds.  Use of a good (from a reputable company with research showing efficacy) buchneri inoculant may be especially cost-effective with drought-stressed corn.

Check for nitrates.  Drought-stressed corn plants can accumulate nitrates which are toxic (as in fatal) to ruminants.  Silage from drought-stressed fields should be tested before it is fed.  Ideally, corn plants should be sampled and assayed for nitrates prior to chopping (most labs offer very rapid turn-around times for a nitrate assay).  If values are high, raising the cutting height will reduce nitrate concentrations in the silage because the bottom of the stalk usually has the highest nitrate concentrations.  Because forage likely will be very limited this coming year, do not raise the cutting height unless necessary to reduce nitrate concentrations.  Nitrate concentrations are often reduced during silage fermentation so that high nitrates in fresh corn plants may end up as acceptable concentrations in the fermented corn silage.  Silage with more than 1.5% nitrate (0.35% nitrate-N) has a high risk of causing nitrate toxicity in cattle.  See the following University of Wisconsin-Extension fact sheet for more details on nitrate toxicity: https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/forage/nitrate-poisoning-in-cattle-sheep-and-goats/

Chop at correct particle length.  Do not chop too finely so that the effective fiber concentration of corn silage is reduced.  If the corn plants have limited ear development, fine chopping is not needed for good starch digestibility.  Generally, a theoretical length of cut (TLC) of about ½ inch is acceptable (longer with kernel processing and BMR silage) but this varies greatly between choppers and crop moisture concentration.  If using a Penn State particle size sieve, aim for 5 to 10% on the top screen.

Use a kernel processor.  Kernel processed corn silage tends to pack more densely than unprocessed corn silage which may help increase aerobic stability.  Kernel processing will also increase starch digestibility by breaking the kernel.  Poor starch digestibility is a major problem with dry, mature corn silage.

Reduce Shrink. Fill quickly, pack adequately, cover, and seal the silo as soon as you are done filling.  Practicing good silage-making techniques can reduce shrink by more than 5 percentage units, which can be worth more than $4/ton of corn silage (35% DM).

Preharvest Herbicide Treatments

Source:  Mark Loux, OSU

Information on preharvest herbicide treatments for field corn and soybeans can be found in the “Weed Control Guide for Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois”, at the end of these crop sections (pages 72 and 143 of the 2020 edition).  Products listed for corn include Aim, glyphosate, and paraquat, and for soybeans include Aim, paraquat, glyphosate, and Sharpen.  Some dicamba products are also approved for preharvest use in soybeans, and some 2,4-D products are approved for use in corn, and these are not listed in the guide.  The basic information for these follows:

Dicamba – soybeans:  Apply 8 – 32 oz/A (4 lb/gal products) as a broadcast or spot treatment after soybean pods have reached mature brown color and at least 75% leaf drop has occurred; soybeans may be harvested 14 days or more after a pre-harvest application; do not use preharvest-treated soybean for seed unless a germination test is performed on the seed with an acceptable result of 95% germination or better; do not feed soybean fodder or hay following a preharvest application of this product.

2,4-D – corn:  Labels vary with regard to types of corn that can be treated (some indicate no sweet corn) and based on whether crop is being grown for seed.  Apply after the hard dough (or dent) stage when silks have turned brown.  Weed seed production can be suppressed if applied prior to the flowering stage.  Allow 14 days between application and grain harvest.  Do not forage or feed corn fodder for 7 days after application.

Preharvest herbicide treatments are primarily intended to suppress/kill and dessicate weeds that can make harvest more difficult.  Products with contact activity will cause faster dessication and leaf drop of weeds, but may be less effective at killing weeds compared with systemic products.  Effective dessication with contact herbicides may still require a wait of a week or more following application, and this can can vary by weed.  The maximum paraquat rate is well below the rate required to actually kill large weeds, but it is still probably most effective for dessication of morninglory.  Glyphosate is not likely to be effective on marestail and waterhemp, and many giant ragweed populations, whereas dicamba or 2,4-D may with enough time between application and harvest.  The first frost will usually provide results similar to herbicides, so in a situation where crop maturity is delayed or the infested field can be harvested later in fall, consider whether a herbicide treatment is actually needed.  Preharvest treatments can also be effective for control of warm season perennials, and the systemic herbicides will be most effective where this is the goal.  Keep in mind also that for weeds with fruits that can contaminate harvest, such as black nightshade, the preharvest treatment can dessicate the foliage but will not affect the fruits, except that dessication of weeds may result in fruits closer to the soil.

Preharvest treatments are not intended to be used to speed up crop maturity, and largely do not accomplish this.  The restrictions on preharvest treatments that specify how mature the crop must be at time of application are designed to minimize any effect of herbicides on crop maturation.  Applying earlier than specified could interfere with that process.  The residue tolerances for this use are also based on a certain application timing, and failure to follow label guidelines could result in illegal herbicide residues in grain.  For crops being grown for seed, and for sweet corn and popcorn, be sure to check with the seed company/processor for approval prior to using any preharvest treatments.

Farm animals and COVID-19: Should you be worried?

With the rapid spread of the new coronavirus believed to have started in bats, some people might be genuinely concerned about their farm animals. Could the animals catch COVID-19?

The answer is murky.

While there have been no reported cases of pigs, horses, sheep, chickens, or cows getting COVID-19, their susceptibility to the respiratory disease has yet to be studied.

And though some pigs have been able to get COVID-19 in lab studies, it does not appear that they can catch or spread the virus very easily, said Scott Kenney, an assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

“There are a lot of unknowns,” Kenney said.

What is known is that ferrets, minks, domestic cats, and some dogs have become infected with COVID-19. But neither pets nor farm animals are thought to play significant roles in transmitting COVID-19.

Kenney, whose research focuses on viruses that spread from animals to people, is pursuing grants with colleagues to study whether various farm animals are susceptible to COVID-19. He will address the risk of animals catching or spreading COVID-19 during “Ask the Expert” presentations Sept. 22–24 at this year’s Farm Science Review, an all-virtual show sponsored by CFAES.

Kenney’s talks will be from 11:40 a.m. to noon on Sept. 22 and from 1:20 to 1:40 p.m. on both Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 at fsr.osu.edu.

For the first time in its nearly 60-year history, FSR will be exclusively virtual with livestreaming and prerecorded talks and demonstrations about the latest in research and farm technology. The show is free, but “visitors” must register before they can access all of the presentations.

The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is but one of many viruses in recent years that started in animals, then mutated and adapted so that it could spread to people. Viruses, in general, have been increasingly shifting from animals to people, particularly in the developing world, as people cultivate more and more acres that were once isolated forests and come into contact with wildlife.

While people are currently far more likely to catch COVID-19 from other people—rather than from their farm animals or pets—it’s still important for farm workers to wear masks at work, Kenney said.

And if they are sick, farmers would do best to avoid being around their animals and have someone else work with them instead, if at all possible, he said.

“Instead of thinking, ‘Oh, my animals can’t catch my cold,’ it’s important to consider that these animals could breathe in your virus. It only takes a couple of mutations for these viruses to switch to another species,” Kenney said.

As a farmer moves from one building to another on a farm, washing off boots and using a hand sanitizer before leaving each building would help cut the risk of spreading illnesses, Kenney said.

“More frequent washing means they are less likely to carry germs from one pen to the next or home with them.”

To register or find out more about the offerings at this year’s Farm Science Review, visit fsr.osu.edu.

Corn Silage Harvest Timing

Source: Mark Sulc, Peter Thomison, Bill Weiss, OSU

Silage harvest has begun in some parts of Ohio. Proper harvest timing is critical because it ensures the proper dry matter (DM) concentration required for high quality preservation, which in turn results in good animal performance and lower feed costs. The proper DM concentration is the same whether it is a beautiful, record breaking corn crop or a severely drought stressed field with short plants containing no ears.

The recommended ranges for silage DM are:

Bunker: 30 to 35%

Upright: 32 to 38%

Sealed upright 35 to 40%

Bag: 32 to 40%

Chopping corn silage at the wrong DM concentration will increase fermentation losses and reduce the nutrient value of the silage.  Harvesting corn too wet (low DM concentration) results in souring, seepage, and storage losses of the silage with reduced animal intake. Harvesting too dry (high DM concentration) promotes mold because the silage cannot be adequately packed to exclude oxygen. Harvesting too dry also results in lower energy concentrations and reduced protein digestibility.

Corn silage that is too dry is almost always worse than corn silage that is slightly too wet. So if you are uncertain about the DM content, it is usually better to err on chopping a little early rather than a little late. Follow the guidelines below to be more confident in your moisture assessment.

Kernel stage not a reliable guide for timing silage harvest

Dry matter content of whole plant corn varies with maturity.  Research has shown that the position of the kernel milk-line is NOT a reliable indicator alone for determining harvest timing. Geographic location, planting date, hybrid selection, and weather conditions affect the relationship between kernel milk-line position and whole plant DM content. In a Wisconsin study, 82% of the hybrids tested exhibited a poor relationship between kernel milk-line stage and whole-plant % DM. In Ohio we have seen considerable variation in plant DM content within a given kernel milk-line stage.

Appearance of the kernels should only be used as a guide of when to begin sampling for DM content, see section below When to Begin Field Sampling.

Determining silage moisture

Continue reading Corn Silage Harvest Timing →

Poultry Litter Application

Source: Glen Arnold, OSU Extension

Stockpiles of poultry litter can be seen in farm fields across Ohio. While common each year in wheat stubble fields, there also many stockpiles in soybean fields. Poultry litter is an excellent source of plant nutrients and readily available in most parts of the state.

Poultry litter can be from laying hens, pullets, broilers, finished turkeys, turkey hens, or poults. Most of the poultry litter in the state comes from laying hens and turkey finishers. Typical nutrient ranges in poultry litter can be from 45 to 57 pounds of nitrogen, 45 to 70 pounds of P2O5, and 45 to 55 pounds of K2O per ton. The typical application rate is two tons per acre which fits nicely with the P2O5 needs of a two-year corn/soybean rotation.

Like all manure sources, the moisture content of the poultry litter greatly influences the amount of nutrients per ton. Handlers of poultry litter have manure analysis sheets indicating the nutrient content. They are also required to inspect stockpiles and address any insect issues that may develop from the time stockpiles are created to the time the manure is field applied.

Poultry manure for permitted operations needs to follow the Natural Resource Conservation Service 590 standards when being stockpiled prior to spreading. These include:

– 500 feet from neighbors

– 300 feet from streams, grassed waterways, wells, ponds, or tile inlets

– not on occasionally or frequently flooded soils

– stored for not more than eight months

– not located on slopes greater than six percent

– located on soils that are deep to bedrock (greater than 40 inches to bedrock)

Farmers who want to apply the poultry litter delivered to their fields are required by Ohio law to have a fertilizer license, Certified Livestock Manager certificate, or be a Certified Crop Advisor. Check with your local Soil and Water Conservation District for proper setbacks from steams, ditches and wells when applying poultry litter.

Thinking about storing more grain this fall?

Source: Chris Bruynis, OSU Extension

There are several market factors that may have farmers looking to increase their storage for this fall. With lower prices, some farmers will look to store grain and hope prices will improve. With the current basis and price improvement between the harvest period compared to the January/March delivery period of 22 to 40 cents for corn and 16 to 34 cents for soybeans, elevators are sending a message to store grain.

The concern I have is that we will use some facilities that are not typically used for grain storage making aeration challenging at best. With poor air movement, grain going into storage will need to be of better quality, lower foreign material, and probably lower moisture.

Farmers interested in learning some strategies for successful drying and storage of grain, specifically corn and soybeans, are invited to join a Zoom Webinar on Monday August 24, 2020 at 8:00 PM.  Dr. Kenneth Hellevang, Ph.D., PE, Extension Engineer and Professor from North Dakota State University will be the featured speaker. He is one of the leading experts on grain drying, handling and storage.

To join the webinar, go to https://osu.zoom.us/j/7911606448?pwd=L1pQQ0VoODROZG56Q015enNBQkVVUT09 and enter the Password: STORAGE

Also, if you cannot attend the program during the broadcast time, the recording will be available on the Ohio Ag Manager website following the program. The recording will be located at  https://u.osu.edu/ohioagmanager/resources.

If you have questions, fell free to contact Chris Bruynis, bruynis.1@osu.edu or 740-702-3200. If you need assistance logging in on the evening of the program, contact David Marrison at 740-722-6073 or marrison.2@osu.edu.

Late-Season Waterhemp – The Goal is Stopping Seed

Source: Mark Loux, OSU

I am seeing an increase in both waterhemp and palmer amaranth in Knox County this year.  These can be devestating weeds and if not properly managed, can increase your herbicide costs dramatically.  Make sure you are scouting for these weeds now!

In our windshield scouting of soybeans this year we have seen a lot of weedfree fields.  This makes sense given the shift toward Xtend, LibertyLink, LLGT27, and Enlist soybeans over the past several years, which provides us with effective POST options for our major weed problems – common and giant ragweed, marestail, and waterhemp (now if we could just get rid of the baggage some of these traits carry).  We are however getting many reports of late-season waterhemp as it grows through the soybeans and becomes evident.  This also makes sense given that statewide we are in the midst of an overall increase in waterhemp, and continue to move up the curve in terms of number of fields infested and the size of the infestations.  Prevention and management of waterhemp and Palmer amaranth has been one of the primary goals of our state and county educational programs for half a decade or more.  And one of the most important points about waterhemp and Palmer that we try to get across is their capacity for prodigious seed production – 500,000 to upwards of a million seeds per plant – and what this means for their ability to rapidly ramp up populations, infest equipment, etc.

The bottom line here is that it’s essential to scout fields this time of the season and kill or remove plants that could produce seed.  Allowing even a few plants to produce seed means an increased population for the next year or two at least.  Running harvest equipment through plants loaded with seed is a primary mechanism of spread from field to field.  Plants can survive into late season because they emerged after herbicide treatments, or survived an improperly timed and less than effective POST treatment.  These plants should produce less seed than plants allowed to grow full season without interruption.  It’s also possible given waterhemp’s propensity to become resistant to any herbicide used against it, that the survivors are resistant to whatever POST herbicide was used.  Resistance to glyphosate, ALS, and PPO inhibitors is widespread in Ohio, and we expect the development of resistance to dicamba, 2,4-D, and glufosinate will occur given their intensity of use (which is why the current period of clean fields makes us nervous).  The only way to ensure that resistance does not develop is to follow herbicide programs with later season scouting and removal of plants to prevent seed.

The most effective way to prevent seed is to cut off waterhemp or Palmer plants just below soil line, remove plants from the field, and burn or compost or bury deep enough.  Plants left in the field can reroot at multiple nodes and regrow.  Another option to at least reduce seed production – use a weedeater to cut the tops of plants off.  Once plants develop mature seed (hard brown or black), most effective strategy may be to cut off and bag up seedheads and remove from field.  The value of herbicides this late in the season is questionable.  PPO herbicides are the only legal option at this point, with following restrictions (DBH = days before harvest; from Table 18 of Weed Control Guide):  Cobra/Phoenix – 45 DBH; fomesafen – 45 DBH; Ultra Blazer – 45 DBH.  Carryover and injury to corn from late-season applications of fomesafen is possible.  None of these herbicides are likely to kill large waterhemp plants although they may reduce suppress smaller plants enough to reduce seed.  Keep in mind that PPO inhibitors would be completely ineffective in waterhemp populations that are resistant to PPO inhibitors.

We suggest taking some time from now into September to scout fields for waterhemp and Palmer amaranth with the goal of preventing seed.  If you are lucky enough to have avoided waterhemp, use scouting to maintain this status and prevent new infestations.  If you are currently managing waterhemp infestations, consider late-season removal of plants as an important component of that management plan, and critical to maintaining POST herbicide utility.  Scouting should include local roadsides and waterways, and areas of fields subject to flooding or near migratory bird or deer paths.  Since combines are an effective dispersal mechanism, check the part of fields first harvested where combines are started up.  If you need to harvest fields with waterhemp or Palmer amaranth, harvest these last followed by thorough cleaning of combines, grain carts, semis, etc.  These efforts can go a long way toward avoiding future headaches and increased production costs.

Continue reading Late-Season Waterhemp – The Goal is Stopping Seed →

Ohio Noxious Weed Law

Its that time of year when some of our ugly weeds begin to make their presence known by rising above crop canopies, appearing along the side of the road, etc.  I typically receive many questions about noxious weed identification, control, legal issues, and more.  Below is the first page of the OSU Law Bulletin on Noxious weeds.  Click here to download the complete bulletin.

Estimating Corn Yield

According to the latest Ohio Crop Weather Report 94% of the Ohio corn crop is silking, 6 percentage points ahead of the 5-year average.  39% of the crop is in the dough stage and 1 percent of the Ohio corn crop is dented.

This time of year many of us begin to think about our potential corn yield.  The most popular yield estimator is the  THE YIELD COMPONENT METHOD.  This procedure was developed by the Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Illinois. The principle advantage to this method is that it can be used as early as the milk stage of kernel development, a stage many Ohio corn fields have probably achieved. The yield component method involves use of a numerical constant for kernel weight which is figured into an equation in order to calculate grain yield. This numerical constant is sometimes referred to as a “fudge‑factor” since it is based on a predetermined average kernel weight. Since weight per kernel will vary depending on hybrid and environment, the yield component method should be used only to estimate relative grain yields, i.e. “ballpark” grain yields. When below normal rainfall occurs during grain fill (resulting in low kernel weights), the yield component method will OVERESTIMATE yields. In a year with good grain fill conditions (resulting in high kernel weights) the method will underestimate grain yields.

In the past, the YIELD COMPONENT METHOD equation used a “fudge factor” of 90 (as the average value for kernel weight, expressed as 90,000 kernels per 56 lb bushel), but kernel size has increased as hybrids have improved over the years. Dr. Bob Nielsen at Purdue University suggests that a “fudge factor” of 80 to 85 (85,000 kernels per 56 lb bushel) is a more realistic value to use in the yield estimation equation today. For more on this check http://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/YldEstMethod.html.

Step 1. Count the number of harvestable ears in a length of row equivalent to 1/1000th acre. For 30‑inch rows, this would be 17 ft. 5 in.

Step 2. On every fifth ear, count the number of kernel rows per ear and determine the average.

Step 3. On each of these ears count the number of kernels per row and determine the average. (Do not count kernels on either the butt or tip of the ear that are less than half the size of normal size kernels.)

Step 4. Yield (bushels per acre) equals (ear #) x (avg. row #) x (avg. kernel #) divided by 85.

Step 5. Repeat the procedure for at least four additional sites across the field. Keep in mind that uniformity of plant development affects the accuracy of  the estimation technique.

The more variable crop development is across a field, the greater the number of samples that should be taken to estimate yield for the field.

Example: You are evaluating a field with 30‑inch rows. You counted 29 ears (per 17′ 5″ = row section). Sampling every fifth ear resulted in an average row number of 16 and an average number of kernels per row of 33. The estimated yield for that site in the field would be (29 x 16 x 33) divided by 85, which equals 180 bu/acre.