Crop rotation and nutrients
How much nutrient is removed from your fields during the span of one crop rotation? You may be surprised! With or without manure or biosolids, there are often more nutrients removed from your field than what is added through manure and/or fertilizer. Are you curious? The “quick” version of the NMAN3 software field plan is for people that do not need a nutrient management plan, but are interested in knowing what their manure is providing or how their soil test compares to their crop removal, or how much commercial fertilizer is required to supplement applied manure or biosolids. There are many useful features in the tool, including Ontario-specific information (township average crop yields, N-P-K recommendations), instant imperial to metric, and an economic tool and much more.
A step-by-step guide will lead you through the “field” version of the NMAN3 software. It can be used online (or downloaded) http://apps.omafra.gov.on.ca/ NMAN/NMAN3.html
Forage quality of frost-damaged immature corn silage
Producers need to consider the nutrient quality of frost-damaged corn silage. Frost damaged corn silage will have a lower grain-to-stover ratio. Use wet chemistry laboratory analysis, and newer measures (including crude protein, NDF, fibre digestibility, starch, ash and fat) to more accurately estimate corn silage digestible energy. Slightly immature, frost damaged corn that has dented can make good silage. In general, this will have slightly higher fibre and crude protein and slightly lower energy levels than normal corn silage. Quality may not be optimum for high producing dairy cows, and it is sometimes a good idea to consider harvesting the better cornfields for silage. Very immature corn silage at the milk or early dough stages will have lower starch and higher fibre levels. This can be fed to animals with low to moderate energy requirements, such as beef cows and stockers. Additional grain can be more easily included in feedlot rations to increase the energy content.
