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Keep an eye on your corn and harvest on time
The corn is still fresh on most plots and the harvest is a lot later than we have been used to in recent years. Nevertheless, ripening is going very smoothly and the first plots are now being harvested. So keep a close eye on your corn and schedule your contractor on time.
In our new digital platform agrility corn growers from all over the Netherlands have registered a total of around 3.000 hectares of corn plots. The platform tracks the growth, yield expectations and current and expected ripening of each plot.
On September 10, the average dry matter content of all these plots is 31% with an average sowing date of May 22. The plots sown on time with early varieties are mostly ripe from mid-September. Like this plot LG 31.206 that was sown on April 30:
The optimum dry matter content for silage maize is usually 36-38%. Chopping at this ds content, with a well-gripped cob, gives the optimum yield from your maize cultivation:
- The crop has its own maximum dry matter yield achieved;
- The maximum starch yield has been achieved, the grains are fully ripe and the digestibility of the cob and plant is optimal;
- The palatability and utilization by cattle this DM content is highest;
- The chance of juice losses and scald is the lowest.
In the video, cultivation specialist Ludwig Oevermans see how to accurately determine the ds content:
Our advice
We know that fresh, healthy corn that goes into the silage with 36-37% ds, milks well. So if you can harvest quality and do not need corn that is too dry, you are going to ensile quality. And that quality, that is what it is all about. Due to the current moist soils, the corn usually still looks fresh green, but the cob does continue. I often see that growers then start looking a bit too late, and then of course the contractor still has to be scheduled.
With these high day and night temperatures, the dry matter content can increase by as much as 1% per day. So: keep a close eye on your plots and call in the contractor in time.
Want to know more? Ask your LG specialist or visit www.lgseeds.nl
