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Written by Chris Curran
Dairy Technical Consultant
ccurran@countryside.com

Now that crops are harvested, packed, and covered with plastic, we need to think about the next step in feeding new-crop feeds and how they will impact diet and milk production. Here are a few tips to be mindful of when transitioning to new crop corn.

Corn Silage:

  • Ideally, we like corn silage to be fermented for a minimum of three months. That puts us out to mid to late December.  Most farms I work with now are unable to build up this amount of carryover due to limits on storage and acreage.  Planning a strategy for carryover for more first-year tonnage and added storage cost would be returned by maintaining consistent milk production through this time, year after year.
  • Early fed corn silage – This affects several farms and needs to be worked through.
  • Blending with old crop silage is highly favorable for at least a week, if possible. When opening up a bunker, the “wedge” feed portion is not very consistent and has lower packing density and higher spoilage than further in.  There is also a risk of acidosis when we feed into the green silage too fast.
  • Starch digestibility is poor for up to 6 weeks and then improves slowly. Supplementing a highly digestible starch or sugar at this time can have a positive effect.  Pure corn starch, fine ground corn, flaked corn and QLF molasses/sugar products are all available to us through our mills.
  • Fermented, old crop, HM corn is beneficial to feed through this transition. The fewer feed changes the better.
  • The protein in new corn silage is not as soluble as fermented feed, for the first 7 to 8 weeks. Adding a soluble protein source such as NPN or urea may help to balance this out.  These protein sources may stay in the diet depending on the amount of corn silage fed throughout the year and soluble protein needs.
  • Add yeast culture or enzymes and an adequate level of buffer to provide a stable environment for rumen microbes.
  • Milk production and butterfat may decrease and there is a possibility of SARA (sub-acute rumen acidosis).
  • Monitor cow behavior, manure scores (loose manure, or firm manure), and feed intakes.

High Moisture Shelled Corn:

  • Moisture range should be 28-32%.  Wetter end of the range is better than too dry unless storage structure requirements influence this.
  • Particle size is very critical to starch digestibility:  on a roller mill 12 cut per inch rolls or more, or a hammermill to get to 1000-1200 microns; 800-1000 for drier corn under 25%.
  • Use a preservative for HM corn if feedout rates are not adequate, especially in warm weather.
  • Lab test to determine the 7-hour starch digestibility and ammonia-N level to see where the feed is in its fermentation cycle and prolamin protein breakdown.

Please reach out to your local ALCIVIA Animal Nutrition Sales Representative with any additional questions or needs. 

 

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This week from the field, Tanner Hoyt discuss the importance of soil sampling and variable rate technology, as well as how to prioritize your fertilizer this fall.

As always, make sure to contact your local agronomist with any questions you may have. Stay safe!

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Grain exchange manager Judy Uhlenhake

We are full steam ahead into harvest at ALCIVIA grain elevators. We had an early start to harvest and then faced some rain delays. The next couple weeks look like a great opportunity to get a lot of the crop in. The markets have shown some ups and downs as well. All commodities are trading lower today mostly spurred by technical selling and profit taking. 

The markets are giving you some opportunity to price some 2022 grain. Wheat prices are soaring higher. It would be a good time to lock in some sales at these levels. 

Next Tuesday, November 9th, is the USDA S/D report. 

When harvest is rolling, it is difficult to watch the markets and make marketing decisions. Please let us help you with these decisions. The best way to work the market is using open offers. You decide what price level works and we can put in a working offer to get the bushels sold if they reach that level. Reach out to a grain marketing specialist to get a plan together to price your grain coming in the elevator and the grain stored on the farm. We are here for you.

Have a great day!

Keep the faith and stay safe!

Judy Uhlenhake

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by Lacey Seibert
Vice President of Grain & Logistics

In today’s competitive grain markets, ALCIVIA has strong incentives to use a variety of strategies for reducing variable costs of handling grain. Train-loading elevators—high capacity, high-speed grain loading facilities—are a great example of an innovative solution that improves efficiency and provides greater market access to ALCIVIA members. These facilities provide improved operational efficiency, reduced transportation costs, and attract grain from further distances.

ALCIVIA has a 110-car shuttle loading facility on the Union Pacific Railroad, in Evansville, WI. Corn, beans, and wheat trains from Evansville find their way to feeders, processors, and export facilities in Wisconsin, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, the Gulf, and the Pacific Northwest. The Evansville facility has dumping capacity of 50,000 bushels per hour and storage capacity of 10,000,000 bushels. In the 2021 fiscal year, the Evansville team utilized the site’s 40,000 bushel per hour load-out capacity to ship over 15,000,000 bushels.

In Whitewater and Cottage Grove, ALCIVIA loads 25 car sets on the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad. Bushels from these facilities are sold to processors in Wisconsin and Illinois. Between Cottage Grove and Whitewater, ALCIVIA has 6,500,000 bushels of storage capacity. Each dumping 35,000 bushels per hour and loading out 15,000 bu. per hour, these sites collectively moved out 7,000,000 bushels of corn, soybeans, and wheat in the 2021 fiscal year.

On the Canadian Pacific Railway, ALCIVIA’s Fall River, facility, loads 110-car shuttles of corn, soybeans, and wheat to feeders, processors, and export facilities in Illinois, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. In the 2021 fiscal year, the Fall River facility put it’s 40,000 bushel per hour dumping capacity and it’s 80,000 bushel per hour load-out capacity to work, receiving and shipping out over 8,800,000 bushels making great use of the sites 4,900,000 bushels of storage capacity.

ALCIVIA’s diverse market access through 3 different rail networks has provided members the opportunity to respond to year over year variability in competitive grain markets. The ALCIVIA team is focused on keeping a pulse on which markets are demanding grain and utilizing rail assets to respond. In the last year, ALCIVIA has made significant investments in maintaining the railroad tracks around these facilities as well as the storage and dumping capacities. ALCIVIA’s train-loading elevators are key to its vision of customer success powered by engaged employees.

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Join the Midwest Farm Report program called ALCIVIA Co-op Talk with Pam Jahnke and Bob Bosold. This episode of Co-op Talk discusses Verity Business Solutions and financing options from the VP of Credit, Hans Pflieger.