As many producers finalize their seed selections for 2026, the foundation for next year’s silage crop is being set well before planting. But how do these early decisions affect yield, quality and feed efficiency?
Hybrid selection plays a major role in forage quality, cow performance and feed costs for the next 12 months. Making seed decisions now allows farms to take advantage of early-order pricing or discounts, review data from last season and coordinate with agronomists, nutritionists or crop managers on the best plan.
Kevin Putnam, northeast dairy specialist with Pioneer, works with producers across the region to help guide hybrid selection and silage management. He offers practical advice on using harvest data and plant performance to make informed decisions for the coming season.
What Can You Learn From Last Year’s Harvest?
Looking back at last year’s harvest is one of the simplest ways to make better silage decisions for the year ahead. Yield, forage quality and what shows up in the bunk all provide clues about which hybrids fit your farm.
“I think it’s a good practice to go back through your records from harvest,” Putnam says. “Look at how the crop performed in each field, check your yields, note any disease pressure and review forage quality results. Understanding what worked and what didn’t helps guide your decisions for the next year.”
That review shouldn’t stop at the field. Putnam also encourages producers to take bunk samples and watch what’s coming through the cows. Regular forage tests help track starch levels, fiber digestibility and fermentation quality, while a quick look at the manure can reveal whether kernels are being processed adequately— or if too many are passing through whole.
“If you’re seeing a lot of intact kernels, that’s a sign to revisit your processing and cut length for next year,” he notes. “You’ve already paid to grow that grain, so you want to be sure the cows can actually use it.”
He recommends using harvest and bunk data to fine-tune seed and hybrid choices rather than making major shifts in hybrid lineups based on a single season.
“Every year is different. Some seasons crops mature faster or slower than expected, but it’s important not to make major changes based on just one year,” he adds. “I recommend reviewing your harvest data and considering your farm’s goals for yield and feed quality to make informed decisions for the next season.”
- What to do next: Pull harvest and bunk data together before finalizing seed orders to avoid overreacting to one season.
Can Plant Health and Stability Help Reduce Risk?
In some regions, 2025 brought record-breaking silage yields. In others, farmers wrestled with a roller coaster of early rains followed by drought stress. That kind of year-to-year and even field-to-field variability underscores the need for hybrids that can stand up to a wide range of environments, not just shine in a “perfect” season.
For Putnam, the conversation for hybrid selection in 2026 should quickly turn to plant health and standability. Leaf diseases like tar spot, northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot are now common in many areas and can reduce both yield and quality if they appear too early.
“Late-season plant health is huge,” Putnam says. “We want the ear maturing and drying down while the plant stays alive and healthy. We don’t want the plant to die early and drag the silage too dry before the ear is ready.”
When plants dry prematurely, fields can look “ready” from the road, but the ear may lag behind in maturity and starch accumulation. That mismatch can leave producers with silage that’s either too wet for ideal fermentation or too dry and hard to pack. In both cases, they sacrifice quality and feed-out stability.
Instead of stopping at top-line yield numbers, Putnam encourages producers to dig into the agronomic profile of each hybrid, paying particular attention to how it performs under pressure. That means looking closely at disease ratings for the leaf diseases most common in their area, evaluating each hybrid’s drought tolerance and stress response, and understanding its late-season plant integrity.
“I’m a big fan of the ‘Steady Eddies,’” he notes. “Some hybrids may not always top the plot, but they’re consistently near the top, year after year, across a lot of different environments. Those are the ones that help you sleep at night.”
That consistency matters because most farms can’t risk a hybrid that’s spectacular one year and below average the next. By prioritizing stability and resilience, producers can better protect themselves against the kind of weather and disease swings that defined 2025.
- What to do next: Note last year’s disease pressure and prioritize hybrids with strong late-season plant health ratings.
How Many Hybrids Should You Plant?
The next practical question is how many hybrids to work into the plan. Too many can complicate management; too few can leave a farm exposed.
Diversity, Putnam says, is one of the simplest tools producers have to protect against weather swings, variable field conditions and maturity challenges. Different maturities and hybrid types respond differently to stress, so spreading acres out can soften the blow if one hybrid or one field has a tough year.
“Four to five different hybrids might be a good spot to start depending on how many acres you’re actually working,” he says.
Farm size, whether silage is the primary use or part of a dual-purpose strategy and whether you work with one or multiple seed companies will all influence that number.
Just as important as how many hybrids is how they are spread out by maturity. Staggered maturities help widen both pollination timing and harvest windows, which can be critical when a hot, dry spell or prolonged wet period hits at the wrong time.
“One hybrid means one pollination window. We want to spread our risk,” Putnam notes. “By planting hybrids with slightly different maturities, you give yourself a buffer if one week of weather doesn’t cooperate.”
That mix of hybrids and maturities gives farms more flexibility — not only to manage risk, but also to line up harvest timing, packing capacity and labor with the realities of a busy fall.
- What to do next: Aim for a manageable mix of maturities to spread risk without overcomplicating harvest.
Who Should Be Part of the Discussion?
Hybrid selection shouldn’t fall solely on one person. Nutritionists, agronomists and on-farm managers each bring valuable insight that connects genetics to feed value, crop health and cow performance.
“Ideally, all of the above would be there or at least at different times be part of the discussion,” Putnam says.
Nutritionists link hybrids to ration goals and bunk outcomes, while agronomists provide insight on field performance and disease resistance. On-farm managers add practical knowledge about harvest and operations.
“Get a lot of people at the table. It’d be good to have everybody there, or at least part of the conversation at some point,” he says.
Including multiple viewpoints helps farms make informed decisions that balance agronomic performance with feed quality and efficiency.
- What to do next: Bring key advisers into the seed discussion early so hybrid choices align with both field performance and feed goals.
Planning for a Strong Silage Season
As producers look toward 2026, the most successful silage programs will be the ones built on good records, the right hybrids, and a strong advisory team. Using last year’s data to refine seed choices, spreading risk across maturities and agronomics and checking that what goes into the bunk matches what the ration calls for all add up to more consistent feed.
By leaning on good data, tapping the expertise of nutritionists and agronomists, and favoring steady, resilient hybrids, producers can turn an unpredictable growing season into a more predictable feed supply.
