Now that it is summer, we are starting to think ahead to fall harvest. Minimizing ensiling losses or shrink can maximize the profitability of our corn silage harvest. Many publications have shown typical losses of 10% to 20% shrink from harvest to consumption by the cow. However, a slight percentage decrease in shrink can have an impact on profitability. The following are four areas that shrink can be avoided.
Field to bunker: Harvest at 35% to 40% dry matter. Ensiling too wet or too dry will lead to improper packing and poor fermentation.
Bunker: Avoid introducing oxygen into the pack to help reduce spoilage. When exposed to air, yeast and molds can grow and increase the spoilage of corn silage. Using an oxygen barrier in addition to a protective plastic barrier can reduce shrink by 3% to 5%. Silage inoculants will also enhance the fermentation process leading to less dry matter loss.
Bunker to Feeding: The goal of defacing silage is to cause minimal disturbance to the silage pack. Keeping a smooth bunker face will help avoid air from entering the pack. Shoot for 12 inches of forage removable per day.
Refusals: Refusals are also considered shrink because they are lost dry matter not being consumed. Provide enough feed for 2% to 5% refusals for transition cows and 1% to 3% for all other groups. Longer particle sizes can also lead to increased refusals. A particle size over 19 mm can increase sorting tendencies.
Maximizing Profit
Given the outlook on fall corn prices, minimizing shrink can be a significant factor in cutting feed costs., The rule has been to multiply the price of corn by a factor of 10 when calculating the value of harvested corn silage. Recent outlooks for December corn are around $6.10/bushel. Using December prices, we can assume corn silage prices to be approximately $61 per ton. If the average production of silage is around 15 tons per acre, a reduction of shrink by 5% can save $45.75 per acre of harvested corn silage.
Proper ensiling practices can help alleviate the cost of shrinkage from spoilage, while proper ration balancing and particle size can decrease income over feed costs. If long particle size is leading to sorting, dry matter intake is not reaching full potential. The lost dry matter intake will also lead to decreased milk yield and thus decreasing overall profit.
