October 10, 1997

Corn Silage Drydown In Wisconsin During 1997

Joe Lauer, Corn Agronomist

Below are silage moisture levels for various counties in Wisconsin. These data were collected from the same spots in the field and harvested over time. Projected dates for silage harvest will change as environmental conditions influence maturity and the rate of drydown

Table 1. Corn silage drydown in Wisconsin counties during 1997.



County


Corn hybrid
maturity rating


Sample
date

Silage moisture (%) on sample date
(Min-Ave-Max)

Rate of drydown between sample dates
(% per day)

Projected date for 65% silage moisture *

Chippewa

Flint Thompson
715-726-7950

Shorter-season
(< 95 d RM)

9/4
9/8
9/11
9/15
9/18

72-72-73
69-71-72
63-65-66
63-66-68
61-63-65

---
0.1
2.0
-0.3
1.0

9/18
9/20
Now
9/17
Now

Full-season
(> 95 d RM)

9/4
9/8
9/11
9/15
9/18

72-73-73
69-71-72
67-67-67
69-70-72
67-68-69

---
0.5
1.3
-0.8
0.7

9/20
9/20
9/15
9/25
9/24

Fond du Lac

Mike Rankin
414-929-3171

Shorter-season
(< 100 d RM)

9/9

69-71-78

---

9/21

Full-season
(> 100 d RM)

9/9

72-75-78

---

9/29

Jefferson

Matt Hanson
920-674-7295

Shorter-season
(< 105 d RM)

8/28
9/2
9/9
9/16
9/23
9/30
10/7

83-84-86
77-81-84
73-76-77
67-69-72
64-66-69
61-65-68
61-65-69

---
0.6
0.7
1.0
0.4
0.1
0.0

10/5
10/4
9/30
9/24
9/25
9/30
Now

Full-season
(> 105 d RM)

8/28
9/2
9/9
9/16
9/23
9/30

76
75-79-85
63-73-79
61-68-72
70
64

---
---
0.9
0.7
---
---

9/19
9/30
9/25
9/22
---
---

Manitowoc

Scott Hendrickson
414-683-5062

Shorter-season
(< 95 d RM)

9/4
9/8
9/11
9/15
9/18

74-76-77
74-75-76
69-72-74
64-70-74
63-67-68

---
0.3
1.0
0.5
1.0

9/26
9/28
9/25
9/25
9/22

Full-season
(> 95 d RM)

9/4
9/8
9/11
9/15
9/18

72-74-76
72
69-70-70
68-70-72
66-68-69

---
---
0.7
0.0
0.7

9/22
9/22
9/21
9/25
9/24

Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Washington

Mike Ballweg
920-467-5740

Shorter-season
(< 95 d RM)
NIR
-------
Microwave

9/8
9/15
9/22
9/29
-------
9/22
9/29

79-80-82
77-80-82
71-72-74
62-65-67
-------
64-67-68
57-60-61

---
0.0
1.1
1.0
-------
---
1.0

10/8
10/15
10/6
9/29
-------
9/26
---

Full-season
(> 95 d RM)
NIR
-------
Microwave

9/8
9/15
9/22
9/29
-------
9/22
9/29

80-82-88
79-83-87
74-77-82
64-73-78
-------
68-70-75
63-67-71

---
0.0
0.9
0.6
-------
---
0.4

10/12
10/21
10/16
10/15
-------
10/2
10/3

Waukesha

Matt Hanson
920-674-7295

Shorter-season
(< 100 d RM)

8/28
9/2
9/9
9/16
9/23
9/30
10/7

84-86-87
80-83-84
78-80-82
74-76-78
67-70-73
65-67-72
51-57-65

---
0.6
0.4
0.6
0.9
0.4
1.4

10/9
10/8
10/9
10/8
10/3
10/3
---

Full-season
(> 100 d RM)

8/28
9/2
9/9
9/16
9/23
9/30
10/7

83
77
76-78-80
70-74-78
72-73-73
71-72-73
55-60-64

---
---
0.0
0.6
0.1
0.1
1.7

10/3
9/26
10/5
10/4
10/9
10/13
Now

*Projection uses average drydown rate of 0.5% per day. Rate is greatly affected by environmental conditions.