Dr. Joe Lauer, UW-Madison Agronomy and Extension State Corn Specialist
The Kernels
- Corn exhibits a “double peak” for corn silage quality during its life cycle with the first NDFD peak at R1 and the second starch content peak at R5.5.
- Corn as a forage crop reaches maximum yield and quality values at nearly the same time (R5.5).
- At harvest (R5.5), the wettest plant part is the lower stalk, while the driest plant part is the grain. Adjusting the cutter bar can change forage moisture 3 to 4% points to better target the recommended moisture for the storage structure.