Three corn hybrids harvested as whole-plant silage were evaluated in three separate feeding trials with lactating dairy cows. In trial 1, 24 multiparous Holstein cows were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square with 28-d periods. Treatments were conventional (Pioneer 3563) and leafy (Mycogen TMF 106) corn silage hybrids, each planted at low (59,000 plants/ha) and high (79,000 plants/ha) plant ...

Corn silage is a major forage crop in Idaho, supporting its dairy industry. Corn silage produces more digestible energy per acre than other forages. Nutritionally, corn silage is palatable when ensiled properly, and high in energy because it typically contains 50% corn grain. Digestibility of starch declines as the kernel matures. Effective roller processing of corn silage ensures that most of ...

Wisconsin dairy farmers produce more corn (Zea mays L.) silage than any other state in the U.S. A University of Wisconsin corn silage research consortium evaluated corn hybrids and found that the range for NDF and digestibility among commercial hybrids is narrow, but more importantly, yield and quality differences among corn hybrids were repeatable (Coors, 1996). In 1995, an extension program w...

Adapting feeding system is an effective way for improving the nutritional quality of milk as currently intended by dairy industry. The objectives of this work were (1) to characterize milk from feeding systems based on herbage or corn silage with or without flaxseed and (2) to authenticate the milk from the three systems on the basis of the fatty acid (FA) profile. Bulk milk samples were collec...

In this study, total fatty acid composition and volatile fatty acid of silage species in Turkey was determined by using Gas Chromatography (Shimadzu 15-A). Total lipids were extracted from the corn silage, alfalfa silage and figüre silage samples by the method of Folch et al. Silage species were a total of 15 different fatty acids. These fatty acids between C12 to C24 have changed. Unsaturated ...

The survival and effect of three new probiotic inoculants (Lactobacillus plantarum CCM 4000, L. fermentum LF2, and Enterococcus faecium CCM 4231) on the nutritive value and fermentation parameters of corn silage was studied under laboratory conditions. Whole corn plants (288.3 g/kg DM) were cut and ensiled at 21°C for 105 days. The inoculants were applied at a concentration of 1.0×10 cfu/ml. Un...

Six ruminally cannulated cows were used in an experiment with a 3 x 3 Latin square design. Three all forage diets-alfalfa silage, alfalfa hay, or corn silage plus 2.2% urea (DM basis)-were fed for ad libitum intake four times daily. The microbial protein marker 15NH3 and the liquid marker Cr-EDTA were infused continuously into the rumen for 72 and 48 h, respectively; the solid marker, Yb-labele...

In this experiment, we evaluated the influence of increasing chop length and mechanical processing of whole-plant brown-midrib corn silage on intake, digestion, and milk production by dairy cows. Corn silage treatments were harvested at three-quarter milk line stage of maturity at 13- and 19-mm theoretical chop length without processing, or at 19- and 32-mm theoretical chop length with processi...

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of EM on the consumption, nutritive value and digestibility of corn forage (Zea mays L.) processed into corn silage after harvesting at two growth stages. Stage 1 silage contained 25 percent dry matter and stage 2 silage, harvested nine days later, contained 37 percent dry matter. The first experiment involved feeding trials with sheep and ...

Attaining high-quality corn silage is a critical aspect of profitability for corn and animal productivity. Biotechnology traits that reduce stress likely have more potential yield benefits for silage growers than even grain farmers. The corn genomes have been sequenced. We’ve put in thousands of markers that let us tag individual genes. Breeders have tools unlike anything they’ve had in the his...