Donna Amaral-Phillips, Jeff Lehmkuhler, and Chad Lee
Extension Dairy Specialist, Extension Beef Specialist and Extension Agronomist, University of Kentucky
Remember to consider:
1. If corn is going to be fed as green chop, grazed, or as hay, test for nitrates before harvest to be sure the crop will be safe to feed. For corn harvested properly as silage or baleage and which goes through a good fermentation, nitrate levels could decrease 30 to 50% and can be tested after fermentation and before being fed. If you need to decide which corn fields to harvest as silage or hay, testing before harvesting will allow one to determine which fields need to be harvested as silage (those higher in nitrates) and those with safe levels of nitrates which can be harvested as corn hay. For sorghums and sorghum-sudangrasses, nitrates should be tested before harvest to be safe for your harvest method.
Remember to consider:
1. If corn is going to be fed as green chop, grazed, or as hay, test for nitrates before harvest to be sure the crop will be safe to feed. For corn harvested properly as silage or baleage and which goes through a good fermentation, nitrate levels could decrease 30 to 50% and can be tested after fermentation and before being fed. If you need to decide which corn fields to harvest as silage or hay, testing before harvesting will allow one to determine which fields need to be harvested as silage (those higher in nitrates) and those with safe levels of nitrates which can be harvested as corn hay. For sorghums and sorghum-sudangrasses, nitrates should be tested before harvest to be safe for your harvest method.
