Pricing Drought-Stressed Corn for Corn Silage

Dr. Bill Weiss, Professor and Extension Specialist & Dianne Shoemaker, Extension Field Specialist, Dairy Production Economics

With a “normal” corn crop, pricing a standing crop for silage can be “interesting”.  Pricing a drought-stressed corn crop is even more interesting.  What is the actual nutrient content of the  crop?  How well will the crop ferment?   Will nitrate levels put the potential silage crop at risk?  There are many unknowns, with the biggest challenge being how to determine the dollar value to assign to that risk. 

The value of drought-stressed corn silage can be estimated using expected nutrient composition and the cost of the nutrients.  The average composition of drought-stressed corn silage in Table 1 is reasonable, but the composition of silage for a specific situation (e.g., hybrid, growing conditions, etc.) could be substantially different. The nutrient values were calculated based on numerous feed prices in central Ohio.   To read more  click here to download the pdf of 2012 Pricing Drought Stressed Corn Silage

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