Introduction
Unlike corn grain, quoting the price of silage is challenging with no public market providing official prices. This online decision tool for corn silage sales in Ohio was developed to help producers determine pricing for corn silage sales, based on various resources including extension tools from several land-grant universities and agronomy research.
Some values are guided based on localized and timely information including Ohio county-level cash corn prices from Barchart.com and operation costs in Ohio from Ohio State University Extension. These values will be updated yearly. This tool should only be used for reference and users are encouraged to adjust the value of silage based on their individual circumstances. The full spreadsheet is available for download below, if users want to manipulate more values.
Using the Spreadsheet
The downloadable spreadsheet includes 4 stages. Enter the necessary values to get the per-acre gross value of silage:
1. Quantity Estimates: Grain and silage yield
Enter “Estimated grain yield” and “Dry matter of silage” (%). Then, the tool provides guided “Estimated silage yield wet basis” and “Silage yield dry basis.” If users have a better estimate of silage yield wet basis instead of grain yield, they can enter their own silage yield wet basis (D7) instead of entering the “guided value” (E7).
2. Price Estimates
To estimate the price of silage, we refer to cash price* and 2nd hay auction prices**. For corn grain discount and average grain loss for harvest before black layer, the guiding values draw on a conventional estimate and Nielsen et al. (1996), respectively. Users can change these values.
The two stages report the per-acre gross value of silage. Sellers mainly rely on the value of grain, while the buyers take hay values—opportunity costs—into account as well as the grain value. The tool shows the potential negotiation range.
3. Price adjustment for harvest cost
Reflect on additional opportunity costs (harvest costs of grain and nutrient removal) and who will be in charge of silage harvest expenses.
4. Range to negotiate
Find the complete range to negotiate based on the inputs entered. The range is displayed in three different units: dollars per acre, dollars per ton wet basis, and dollars per ton dry matter.
About FFMPI
A new unit in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, The Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute aims to find solutions to the most pressing issues in farm management and agricultural policy. Utilizing the three arms of the college—research, teaching, and outreach—the group will develop programs and materials for Ohio producers around marketing, finance, risk management, supply chain, human resources, and ag policy.
Spreadsheet Creators
Dr. Seungki Lee, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, is an agricultural economist with expertise in environmental and resource economics and industrial organization.
Jason Hartschuh, assistant professor, is the OSU Extension field specialist in dairy management and precision livestock. His areas of expertise include dairy risk management, managing the cost of production, feed quality, and adoption of precision livestock technology.
Questions about the spreadsheet? Contact Jason (hartshuh.11@osu.edu) or Seungki (lee.10168@osu.edu).