Mowers and Mower-Conditioners Cut height affects forage yield and quality, as well as crop regrowth and persistence. A low cutting height creates a risk of scalping the field and throwing soil into the forage, which increases ash content and can contaminate the feed. Cutting is a stressor, and cutting crops too low can remove growth […]
The key to good baleage is the exclusion of oxygen quickly and completely. Start with a very compact bale to reduce air pockets in the bale. Tight bales are made by reducing the tractor speed and picking up hay directly from the windrow that has not been raked. If raking is required to allow faster […]
Fast drying is key to successful haymaking. In this part of the world, good haymaking periods without rain are frequently narrow. It is often a struggle between getting the hay dry enough to bale before the next rain or baling before the hay is quite dry enough and getting mouldy, dusty hay. Conditioning and raking […]
The stages of silage harvest prepare the crop for efficient fermentation in storage. Efficient fermentation preserves forage quality and minimizes dry matter losses and spoilage. Wilting Wide swath haylage to achieve “haylage-in-a-day” and improve forage quality is becoming a popular management practice. This is contrary to the more typical practice of using the mower-conditioner to […]
Correctly timing how long to let the crop wilt when harvesting a forage crop will help ensure that it stores well. It either needs to have enough moisture to ferment correctly without seeping, or low enough moisture content to preserve as dry hay. There are three types of moisture to consider when wilting a forage […]
When forage is first put into a silo, conditions are aerobic (oxygen is present in the silage). Plant respiration and aerobic bacteria convert carbohydrates into carbon dioxide, water and heat, and use up the oxygen present. This phase should be as short as possible. The silage then becomes anaerobic (without oxygen). The growth of anaerobic […]
When forages are harvested for silage, anaerobic bacteria (i.e., lactic acid and acetic acid) are involved in the fermentation process. Weather, forage species, maturity, and harvest conditions can impact fermentation. The goal of using an inoculant may be to improve fermentation efficiency in storage, improve aerobic stability once the silo is opened or both. Silage […]
Weather conditions and agronomic practices affect the amount of nitrates in plant material, which set the stage for the production of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the silo. For example, a dry period during the growing season followed by abundant rainfall will encourage a corn crop to take up high levels of dissolved nitrates. If the […]
Baleage does not reach as low a pH as chopped haylage (and other types of silage). This means that greater emphasis must be put on good silage-making processes, especially the exclusion of oxygen. The length of storage time and how long the bales are exposed to oxygen before feed-out must be adjusted to weather conditions. […]
Storing hay outside and exposed can cause large losses due to spoilage, often up to 61%. While precipitation usually takes the blame for spoiled hay, the bales also wick moisture up from the ground. Storing hay under a roof will minimize spoilage. Typical storage losses under a roof are 2%–10%. While an initial capital expense, […]
The storage and handling of livestock feeds in the ensiled form has several advantages. These, however, can only be fully realized if producers select the type of storage structure (silo) most suited to their farm situation. It is important to think of each part of the feed handling picture, from field to feed bunk, as […]
Stage of maturity at harvest is the most important factor in determining the nutritional quality of a forage crop. Grasses lose nutritional quality faster than legumes. Mixed stands should be harvested when the grass is ready. If the alfalfa is maturing later than the grass, waiting on the alfalfa to reach the ideal growth stage […]
This article was originally written by Joel Bagg in 2012. It was edited August 22, 2025 by Christine O’Reilly to fix broken links to further resources. Dry weather during corn silking and pollination can significantly reduce grain yield expectations. Inadequate moisture can result in poor ear fill or even corn plants without any ear or […]
Resources for Evaluating and Salvaging Moisture Stressed Corn for Corn Silage Under exceptionally dry conditions, there can be corn fields which are severely moisture stressed to the point they will make very poor (or in some cases almost zero) grain yield (Fig. 1). Under these same conditions, forage yields on livestock farms may also be […]
This article was written by Emma Peel, a summer research assistant with OMAFA assisting with corn research and extension projects during the summer of 2025. Emma is an agriculture student at the University of Guelph Background Provided we are always planting into moisture, there can be various acceptable depths to plant corn depending on your […]