New York and Vermont Corn Silage Hybrid Trials

The New York corn silage hybrid trials expanded in 2017 with a total of 72 hybrids tested and the addition of three locations. Twenty-three hybrids were entered into the 80-95 day relative maturity group (Early-Mid) and were tested at two locations in NY (Hu-Lane Farm in Albion and the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro) and one location in VT (Borderview Farm in Alburgh). Forty-nine hybrids were entered into the 96-100 day relative maturity group (Mid-Late) and were tested at two locations in NY (Greenwood Farms in Madrid and the Musgrave Research Farm in Aurora) and one location in VT (Borderview Farm in Alburgh). The average Growing Degree Days (GDD; 86-50°F system) from May through August for years 2005 to 2017 is 2031 GDD at Albion, 2025 GDD at Willsboro, 1971 GDD at Alburgh, 2071 GDD at Aurora, and 1939 GDD at Madrid (Table 1a and 1b). Seed companies were invited to submit hybrids into either maturity group for a fee. The purpose of this trial is to provide independent, local data to aid in producer’s decision making and consultation recommendations. In 2016, we introduced a new concept for evaluating the impact of varying nutrient and digestibility characteristics of corn silage hybrids by utilizing the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS). Using version 6.55, results from 2016 showed a large range in predicted milk yield values based upon large predicted differences in feed intake of cows fed the example ration among the hybrids. With further understanding of the role of undigested NDF (uNDF240) and an ability to now look at potential differences in feed intake based upon predicted rumen pools of aNDFom and uNDF240, we chose to utilize CNCPS v. 7.0 for the 2017 analysis