What is the Solution for Growers Stranded by BMR3?

With the phasing out of Bmr3 corn by companies like Corteva, dairy and beef producers across the country find themselves searching for new silage options. Fortunately, there are high-quality corn silage options available on the market, providing dairy and beef producers with the nutritional values they need to ensure healthy, highly productive livestock.

What to Look for When Making the Silage Switch

Acknowledging NDFD30:  Higher NDFD30 allows for higher feed intake which improves milk production and average daily gain in beef. Different companies set their own various nutritional standards. Fiber Digestibility is one of the first factors Rob-See-Co looks at when deciding which corn products will fit in our Silage Program.  We mandate that our products have a minimum 58% NDFD30 with many products exceeding 60% or higher.

Starch and Starch Digestibility

Percentage of Starch shouldn’t be overlooked as a source of energy especially when the starch has high IVSD-7. Starch digestibility is essential, as it has a direct impact on the energy available to cattle. In dairy cattle, this translates to higher milk production. In beef cattle, better starch digestibility can lead to more efficient weight gain.

Extended Harvest Window

Chopping too early, or too late, can have a negative impact on silage quality, regardless of the seed provider. Smart hybrid selections with more generous harvest windows ensure farmers can maximize silage quality at harvest time.

Nutrition that Yields

It doesn’t matter how well a hybrid tests for nutritional values if it doesn’t perform well in the field. Choosing hybrids with proven track records showing strong yields is vital in making smart silage selections.

Minimize Fall Slump

Dairy farmers know the phrase “fall slump” all too well. By selecting hybrids with strong digestibility metrics early in the fall, silage can be fed earlier in season without risking quality loss or lower milk production.

Using Planter Box Treatments to Boost Performance and ROI

Choosing silage products specially designed to have high digestibility and nutrient absorption is a fantastic start in improving animal health and dairy/beef production, but utilizing planter box treatments takes those benefits even further.

By using planter box treatments in silage operations, growers can achieve up to a 3 ton increase over conventional corn and up to a 5 ton increase over Bmr3 varieties. Planter box treatments which improve plant emergence, like Streamline Ag’s HomeStead, lead to more consistent plant growth. Streamline Ag’s Homestead product has also shown evidence of increasing nutritional factors within the finished corn silage. That means more feed grown on less acres and higher nutrition per pound of silage.

Rob-See-Co’s Commitment to High-Quality Forage

With a strong commitment to forage and silage, in 2021, Rob-See-Co acquired Masters Choice to provide premium seed products designed for animal feed, and to expand product offerings. Combining Masters Choice’s 10+ years of testing with our ongoing corn silage research, Rob-See-Co and Masters Choice specialize in providing products to support higher digestibility and nutrient absorption for livestock.

In addition to Masters Choice hybrids, in 2023 Rob-See-Co developed Real Silage Dairy and Real Silage Beef silage options. The “Real Silage” program looks at high fiber digestibility (NDFD30) along with high percentage starch corn products. These products were selected to meet demanding nutritional standards, to provide a balance of NDFD30, starch, and starch digestibility, while maintaining high tonnage and yields.

Bringing it Together

Dairy and beef producers selecting silage options for healthy, high-producing livestock should look for higher NDFD30, starch digestibility, wider harvest windows and silage which will help them avoid the fall slump. Adding in tried and tested crop inputs like Streamline Ag’s planter box treatments can boost crop health, productivity and even nutritional values.

To learn more about Rob-See-Co silage options, visit https://www.robseeco.com/forage or reach out to your local Rob-See-Co dealer or distributor.