Satter, known throughout the dairy industry for his work with corn silage, spoke about the benefits of incorporating highly digestible corn silage, specifically brown mid-rib, in the forage diets of transition cows.

�Brown mid-rib corn silage was the major component of the high-forage diet in our lactation studies,� explained Satter. �We fed the FullTime� forage hybrid, F657, in a diet of 65 percent forage three weeks prior to freshening and during the first four weeks of lactation.

�The brown mid-rib corn silage diet resulted in about 4.4 lbs/day more milk during the first four weeks of lactation, as compared to those cows fed a conventional corn silage hybrid containing either 55 or 65 percent forage.�

Following Satter�s discussion on the value of brown mid-rib corn silage to early lactation cows, Longuski presented the results of his research to the audience of producers, dealers and nutritionists. Working in the department of Animal Science at Michigan State University, Longuski has seen first hand the effect of brown mid-rib corn silage on milk composition and yield.

�In our full lactation study we fed brown mid-rib corn silage and conventional corn silage,� said Longuski. �Cows at peak lactation benefited the most with the brown mid-rib corn silage. Milk production increased more than 6 pounds per cow per day during the period of 50 to 150 days in milk. However, there was little performance difference among those treatments earlier and later in lactation.

�Milk protein content also was greater throughout the entire lactation period for cows on the brown mid-rib corn silage treatment,� explained Longuski. �Our conclusion is that cows at peak lactation have the greatest milk yield response to brown mid-rib corn silage.�

Mycogen Seeds is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and is an affiliate of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Mycogen Seeds is the leader in Silage-Specific� corn, the largest sunflower seed producer, and a leading producer of seed corn, alfalfa, soybeans and sorghum. For more information on Mycogen Seeds, go to www.mycogen.com on the Internet.

Contact Information
Name: Greg Cannon
Phone: (317) 337- 7568
Email: [email protected]

Name: Bruce Herz
Phone: (262) 938-5447
Email: [email protected]