Forage based silages

[capt]

Anyone out there have experience with silages other than corn silage. For example, field peas/oat/barley all together or forage sorghum or sudan sorghum hybrid? Any typw of silage that requires less input than corn silage?

 

[Big D]

I have used wheat, alfalfa, corn, forage sorghum, hybrid sudan and brown midrib (bmr) sorghum. For the cow herd I prefer the hybrid sudan, (less grain). For the feedlot we have used the bmr forage sorghum for the last 6 years.

What do you want to know, or what can you teach me?

 

[capt]

Big D,

Thanks for the reply. I have limited experience with corn silage as well as hybrid sudan silage. I am just looking for something that will yeild well, have a consistent uniform emergence under gated pipe irrigation, require less water,etc. My experience with both corn and sudan silage was under sprinkler irrigation in Northeastern CO and I am working with some producers in south cerntral CO to help them become more efficient producers. What do you think of the bmr sorghum silage. There are a few guys that have grown it for hay and like it but have had consistent emergence problems under gated pipe. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Big D]

My experience with the bmr sorghum has been on center pivot irrigation. I can relate to the emergence problem on gated irrigation, but I can't offer much help there. Here we are mostly on rolling sandy soil with sprinkler irrigation. Our bmr has yielded around 20 ton / acre using around 6 inches of water. I have some friends up north of me that can raise 30 ton, so they say. I have figured that at 20 ton / acre my cost including harvesting is around $12/ ton before ensiling. I use all of it at my own lot and have been pleased overall. The last bmr I planted was called dividend and I liked it less than the other varieties I have used. Sorry I can't be of any help on the emergence issue.

D.

 

[rkm]

Tried a lot of different silages, always go back to corn silage and alfalfa haylage.

 

[mhill]

All crops require some input. I use corn silage and sorghum/sudan silage. We put up a bag a sorghum sudan because we were afraid we would run short on hay. We are planting it again this year because the cows love it!!! It grows great in a drought, you get multiple cuttings, and you can graze it. Only drawbackis it needs lots of nitrogen to get a quick regrowth.

 

[capt]

I sure appreciate the replies. It sure is starting to look like water is going to be the limiting factor this year. The cows I fed the hybrid sorghum silage to loved it as well and required less water also. I would really love to be able to convert to center pivot sprinkler irrigation, but where we don't pump out of a deep aquifer and rely on runoff and stored in a reservoir, water this year is a very precious commodity that it looks like we won't have much of. Any suugestions will always be welcome. THANKS

 

[Stocker Steve]

Some folks here are looking at other grasses to get away from the cost of corn silage. Reed canary grass and Italian rye grass are quoted at 6 to 9 tons of DM per acre per year, with lower input cost than corn.

Thirty tons of corn silage per acre sounds good but I assume that its about 75% water...

 

[RedAngus121]

Alflafa and Corn silage is what we feed. We grow alot of corn anyways so might as well cut a cuple acres for Silage Normly the poorer Corn. But we Cut alot of 260 Bushel per acre for the Feed lot cattle as well. We mix all of are feed in a Tub Grinder

 

[capt]

Stocker Steve,

Do you graze or hay or cut silage with the reed canary grass and Italian rye grass? We used to have a couple of small fields that sat in a low spot that were reed canarygrass and I really liked the hay from those spots. Only trouble now is after a few years of dry and short runs of irrigation water, those previously wet spots are now dry and don't yield very well. Mother Nature can sure kick you in the hind end pretty hard. We can always find some wheat or barley straw as well as baled corn stalks to help cheapen a ration, but I like to mix it with some silage. Makes a better ration with less dust and harder for the cows/bulls/steers to sort and eat only the highly palatable portion. Would sure be interested inhearing more about the Italian ryegrass as well.

THANKS

 

[Stocker Steve]

Stocker Steve,

Do you graze or hay or cut silage with the reed canary grass and Italian rye grass? We used to have a couple of small fields that sat in a low spot that were reed canarygrass and I really liked the hay from those spots. Only trouble now is after a few years of dry and short runs of irrigation water, those previously wet spots are now dry and don't yield very well.

We also have some low spots with unimproved reed canary. It is pretty stemy and low protein by the time you can get in there with haying equipment. Cattle with graze the regrowth but not with gusto.
I have been seeding improved reed canary with alfalfa. It is slow to establish but very high yielding.
I just seeded my first field of Italian rye grass with a little red clover & turnips. Most folks seed it straight or with clover & rape. It is a very high quality feed for dairy or stockers. Goggle Michigan and Wisconsin for some test data.