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New and leading corn silage hybrids are annually evaluated for yield, moisture at harvest, quality characteristics, milk/ton, and calculated milk yields across NY locations.
Corn silage variety tests were not conducted in 2014 or 2015, but with the hire of Joe Lawrence, Cornell PRO-DAIRY Dairy Forage Systems Specialist, were resumed on a limited basis in 2016.
Lawrence used the opportunity of re-starting the trials to build a strong relationship and coordinated effort with Margaret Smith, Cornell School of Integrative Plant Science Professor in Plant Breeding and Genetics, who conducts grain research. “It has worked very well to pool resources to increase the efficiency of field work,” he said.
In 2016, 29 hybrids from eight companies were tested and more are anticipated in 2017. “We hope to double this number as the trials will be expanded to include both shorter and longer season hybrids,” Lawrence said. The hybrids were planted at two locations in 2016. One is on a farm in Cayuga Country and the other is on a farm in St. Lawrence County. Next year’s trial will expand to include locations in West and Central or Eastern NY.
“From our perspective it’s nice to have regional data. We conduct our own trials, but having the addition of data from a trusted resource is valued and trusted by the farmers. It’s extremely valuable for us to have PRO-DAIRY for this. They bring a level of testing that most companies are not able to achieve by running the data through the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) model,” said Jim Valent, 2016 Corn Hybrid Silage Trial Participant, Channel Seed.
“I love that PRO-DAIRY is conducting trials again. I think it’s necessary to have independent tests. And the trials are conducted in areas where we don’t have cooperating farms. We missed the last two years of trials,” said Adams Robertson, 2016 Corn Hybrid Silage Trial Participant, Seedway.
The 2016 results are posted on PRO-DAIRY's Production Management Resources web page tab.
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