Published Sunday, January 06, 2008
Press Republic=
an
Farm briefs: Jan. 6, 2008
Information a=
vailable
on corn silage hybrids
CHAZY — A critical an=
nual
decision for farmers is determining which varieties of corn to plant. To he=
lp
with this decision, the results of the Northern New York Agricultural Devel=
opment
Program corn silage hybrid trials are available. They are conducted on farm=
s in
Canton =
and
Chazy and may help producers evaluate which hybrids will return the highest
quality and best yield for their farms and their dairy herds.
The Evaluations of Corn Silage Hybrids for Northern
New York for 2008 Fact Sheet is now available online at
www.nnyagdev.org.
Cornell University crop and soil sciences researchers B=
ill
Cox and Jerry H. Cherney worked on the two Nort=
hern
New York trials hosted by the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Instit=
ute
in Chazy and by Greenwood Farms at Madrid,
St. Lawrence County.
“The results from these trials reflect well the =
yield
and quality of corn silage that was planted during the first half of May of=
2007
in New York,
and provide an excellent opportunity to compare hybrids for yield and quali=
ty
before selecting hybrids for the 2008 growing season,” Cox said.
“The 2007 growing season in Northern
New York was more favorable for corn growth than in Central/We=
stern
New York. Temperatures were ideal throughout most of the growing season at =
both
Northern New York trial sites. Although =
three
of the four months were dry at Canton, 7.20
inches of precipitation were recorded in July, ensuring a high-yielding corn
crop at Madrid.
At Chazy, growing conditions were almost perfect for corn growth until well
into August when dry conditions set in. Nevertheless, corn yields were also
excellent at Chazy.”
According to Ev Thomas, vice president of
agricultural programs at Miner, “Growing conditions in 2007 were abou=
t as
good as it gets in the Ch=
amplain
Valley, a fair test=
of
seed companies ‘best and brightest’ hybrids. Each year we rely =
on
the results of these trials to select hybrids for the institute farm as wel=
l as
to advise farmers as to the hybrids that best combine yield and forage
quality.”
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