If you don’t think silage is a big crop in Alberta, think again.
In 2007, over a million acres were cut and chopped for silage – for dairy and beef cattle, and that number is thought to be increasing, said Colin Bergen, technician with the triticale, wheat and silage program at the Alberta Agriculture Research Station.
And the number may increase further thanks to research into what crops make the best silage.
“We want well-rounded varieties here,” said Bergen. “We don’t want to put out something that’s good in one area, but a dog in other areas.”
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The triticale and barley lines used in the silage research program at Alberta Agriculture have been through a number of tests, including grain yield tests, before they graduate to silage trials.
However, even though the project is called the silage program, Bergen said researchers don’t actually ensile anything, so the operation is more of a whole-plant testing program. As part of the testing, silage is cut and then weighed. Researchers then test a sub-sample of the cut material, and take a percentage of moisture and dry matter yields. The samples are then ground and pass through an NIR (near infrared spectrophotometry) machine, which measures protein and nutrient levels, as well as other factors
“The yield data and quality data is then given to the scientists and they put that together and make decisions if the lines are good enough to advance,” he said.
Good silage should have between 60 to 65 per cent moisture for ideal packing and minimum spoilage. At this stage, grain heads will start to fill and produce more yield for feed.
“The best way to see this is to pick some seeds off the head, and squeeze them,” said Bergen. “If you get water coming out, it’s maybe a bit too early. You want them to be just sort of nice and soft and doughy, not hard. You want a good portion of that seed to be filled.”
He also checks the chop once it’s gone through the hopper. If green water runs down his wrist, the material is still not ready. If he squeezes it and it sticks together, the silage is ideal.
Researchers have found that barley is best for digestibility and quality, followed by triticale and oats. Even though barley may be king, triticale is a bit hardier, as it does well in both overly dry and overly wet conditions, and will stand up better than barley in high-fertility fields. Adding triticale to the rotation spreads out cutting times as it fills later than barley and produces greater yields. Last year at the research plot, triticale yielded about 20 to 23 tonnes per hectare, winter triticale yielded about 18 to 20 tonnes per hectare, and barley about 12 to 15 tonnes per hectare.
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“Wewantwell-rounded varietieshere.We don’twanttoputout somethingthat’sgood inonearea,butadogin otherareas.”
COLIN BERGEN
