The dry matter content in the silage maize has sometimes made a curious move in the past week. This shows the results of the sampling of the silage maize parcels participating in the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour. It is striking that the dry matter contents do not rise sharply or have sometimes even fallen slightly.
The samples were taken from the 10 plots throughout the Netherlands. Jan Roothaert, Livestock Product Manager at Limagrain, analyzed the samples. He reports: "The chopping of the maize has started in the past week. Because there has been some rain here and there, the green plants in particular have absorbed water. As a result, the dry matter content has remained stable or has even fallen slightly. "
In other places the dry matter content is rising very fast. It is important to keep a close eye on the ripening of the maize, especially with the predicted high temperatures of almost 30 degrees. "This one can suddenly go very fast," says Roothaert.
Growers generally aim for a dry matter content of 35% to 38%. This means that the maize in the south of the country can be harvested next week. The maize in the center of the country has to wait another week and the north can start in about 10 days. The advice of Limagrain is to keep a close eye on the maize by walking deep into your plot and looking at the cob and the plant in various places.
| Plot | Percentage dry matter week 36 | Percentage dry matter week 37 | sown in |
| Arch forest | 29,7% | 33,4% | Week 17 |
| Beerzeveld | 29,8% | 31,3% | Week 17 |
| Doetinchem | 33,4% | 31,3% | Week 17 |
| Jelsum | 29,2% | 31,6% | Week 17 |
| Newerkerk | 33,7% | 32,8% | Week 19 |
| Overloon | 31,6% | 34,4% | Week 17 |
| Sint-Oedenrode | 34,5% | 34% | Week 18 |
| Udenhout | 35,4% | 34,2% | Week 17 |
| Zeewolde | 24,7% | 30,9% | Week 19 |
| Zuidbroek | 29,2% | 29,8% | Week 17 |
In the video below, Limagrain specialist Ludwig Oevermans shows how the dry matter content in maize is properly estimated using the Corn Manager App.
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.