Establishment of self-sufficient concentrate by an ear corn silage production system through cooperation between arable and livestock farming
2017
Nemoto, E. (Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan). Lowland Farming Research Division)
We have developed an ear corn silage production system in which only nutritious ears of corn are harvested from whole plants by a self-propelled forage harvester equipped with a corn snapping header and a kernel processing unit, followed by using a roll baler for chopped material combined with a bale wrapper to prepare silage. The harvesting capacity was 2.1 ha/h with a harvesting loss of 1.1%. The ensiling capacity was 1.2 ha/h with a product loss ranging from 0.5% to 1.7% after improvements were made to the roll baler for chopped material, combined with a bale wrapper and its program for packing control. Ear corn silage (ECS) contained 48.1% starch and 28.9% NDF. The fermentation quality of the silage after approximately one year in storage was also good: a pH of 4.0, the presence of lactic and acetic acids, and less than 10% of VBN/TN. These results demonstrated the practical use of the ECS mechanical system. ECS residue (i.e. stalks and leaves) was considered to be effective in improving the physical properties of soil, but with no observable effect on crop yield. In the demonstration field, the ECS yield was 8.9 t/ha and the production cost was yen31.9/kg at 71% dry matter. Assuming that they harvested at 60% dry matter and the loss at ensiling was effectively controlled, the yield of ECS could have been 18.6 t/ha. This is higher than the 16.7 t/ha of yield necessary to sell at the asking price of a dairy farmer. The results above suggest that it is possible for arable farmers to profit by continuing the production of ECS.
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