Harvesting your Silage Maize: Optimising Timing for Superior Quality
Two out of three farmers do not harvest at the right time – here’s how to get it right.
Harvesting at the right time
60% of farmers do not harvest their silage maize at the right time, either because of hot and dry weather conditions in August and September or because of difficulties estimating the right moment.
The best stage at which to harvest silage maize is between 32 and 35% dry matter. The variation in moisture levels is a balance between yield, plant composition, ease of silage production, the ability to conserve silage and the desired ingestion level by livestock.
Understanding the progression of dry matter
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Determining the best stage for harvesting
Observing the grain fill level is a good way to determine the stage of plants in the field.
Monitoring the progression of dry matter to plan harvesting
Regional harvesting recommendations
When monitoring your forage maize for harvest, these are the general number of days at which one point of moisture is lost (22°C base 6).
Number of days to gain one point of silage DM from August to October
In fodder, number of days at which one point of moisture is lost (22°C base 6) | France (Paris) | Germany (Munich) | Poland (Poznan) | Belgium (Brussels) | Austria (Vienna) | Czech Republic (Prague) | Hungary (Budapest) | Romania (Bucharest) | Italy (Milan) | Spain (Madrid) | Bulgaria (Pleven) | Ukraine (Kiev) | Russia (Krasnodar) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
From 15 to 30 August | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
From 1 to 15 September | 2.0 | 2.5 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 1.9 |
From 16 to 30 September | 2.5 | 3.4 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
From 1 to 15 October | 4.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 8.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 10.0 | 4.7 |
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