1. Field Observations and Weather Outlook

Not much to report from the field this week, other than this really being your last, best chance to harvest alfalfa before giving it a rest until mid-October to preserve root reserves and stand health through the winter. There is still time to plant cover crop mixes that include daikon (end of august) and/or red clover (through September).

The weather has cooled, which will slow corn dry-down. But some of our earliest-maturing acres may be ready for chopping as I type, or early next week.

So here's our final reminder that we will have a Dry Down Day event on Sept 3rd at Keystone Mills in Fort Plain (682 Fordsbush Rd) from 10-3. For more details, click here.

And here are some more resources shared by Joe Lawrence of Cornell PRO-DAIRY:

Crop season safety
Corn silage harvest timing: Not all growing degree days are created equal
Corn plant dry down
Corn silage harvest toolkit: 2023 edition
Corn silage 2019: Two different crops
Sampling for Moisture Content in Corn Silage Fields
Harvest & Storage Hoards Recap Article: Small details equal silage success
Reference presentation (video): Managing for Quality Silage: Bunk Silos and Piles
Managing forage in the face of more frequent extreme weather events
Penn State: Considerations in Managing Cutting Height of Corn Silage

Favoring Hight Cutting Height:

• Weather Conditions known to reduce Fiber Digestibility
• Abundant inventories
• Expectation of high yields
• Heavier Soil Types
• Lower Quality Hay Crop Silage

Favoring Lower Cutting Height:

• Low inventory
• Low Yield
• BMR Hybrids
• High quality Hay Crop Silage 
• Fields intended for rotation

2. Growing Degree Days (GDD) (See: Climate Smart Farming Growing Degree Day Calculator)

The silking dates in section 2 begin July 14th, when I first saw tasseling in the region - so this does not mean that every crop in that particular area tasseled on that earliest date. Your crop may have tasseled on or more closely to one of the later dates. So:

While our GDD tables in section 2 can get you in the ballpark, check your own whole-plant DM to make sure you're ready, and not ahead/behind schedule!

Growing degree days (GDD) are calculated by taking the average daily temperature and subtracting the base temperature for development of a given organism ((High + Low)/2 - base temp = GDD). For corn silage, we are using base 50/86, as corn development starts at 50 degrees F and ceases above 86. Check your location and planting date.

Remember: Silage corn needs 750-800 GDD (depending on hybrid maturity) after silking to reach a whole plant DM of 32%. Under typical late season dry down conditions we can expect the crop to reach 35% DM four to seven days later. We can expect to accumulate 15-25 GDD per day, or even up to 30, so peak maturity can creep up on us quickly. But no matter what the numbers say, always check your crop to see how close you may be to harvest. For more details, see this article.

Blue: Time is make plans (35% DM anywhere between 5-11 days from now, depending on maturity).
Green: Gas up the havester and the trucks (35% DM in 2 - 8 days, depending on maturity).
Yellow: See you in the field (35% DM in less than a week).
Red: It's already in the bunk house or it's going for high-moisture corn or it's goin in the bin for grain (DM likely > 35 - 40%).