Stine’s HP Corn® provides many benefits, including standability, an early canopy and more efficient use of each acre, but growers in Wisconsin and Minnesota are finding another advantage of HP Corn in narrow-row configurations — an increase in total digestible nutrients (TDNs) and tonnage for dairy silage and an increase in milk per ton.
Dairy silage is a high-moisture feed mixture commonly made from the ears and stalk of a corn plant, and it is essential for milk production. TDNs and tonnage are both important components of silage because they supply the animal with digestible energy. An increase in tonnage per acre means more TDNs are available for consumption. The more TDNs a cow consumes, the more energy the cow has to produce milk, which results in higher milk per ton — an important measurement used to determine the performance of a hybrid for silage. Silage farmers need corn hybrids that will boost both TDNs and tonnage, which is why many growers are turning to Stine.
Many of our Stine corn hybrids feature genetics that are specifically suited to withstand high-population environments. This allows growers to put in more plants per acre, resulting in more ears and stalks per acre and, ultimately, more tonnage and TDNs. Growers plant some 10–12,000 more plants per acre with a number of our hybrids in narrow-row configurations.
Stine RSA Justin Oden has spent considerable time with growers and dairy farmers in his region and has witnessed firsthand the benefits of Stine hybrids, including HP Corn, for silage.
“We’ve seen some great silage coming out of central Minnesota and northern Wisconsin these past few years with Stine hybrids. A lot of these growers came to us because they weren’t getting the results they needed from competitor hybrids. It was really affecting their bottom line when it came to milk per ton, which is what they get paid on,” notes Justin.
To learn more about our 2017 corn lineup and Stine corn for silage applications, contact your local Stine sales representative. And for more information on Justin's top picks for dairy silage, visit the links below.