OUTLOOK, Sask. – An increasing number of Saskatchewan irrigators are opting for corn over barley in hopes of finding a high-yielding, high-energy silage crop for livestock.
Korvin Olfert, an irrigation agrologist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said the benefits of growing silage corn are becoming more apparent thanks to new corn varieties and better crop management techniques.
“Corn has less protein but it also has higher energy and better yields than barley,” Olfert said.
“The reason you grow silage crops is usually for the energy so that’s why a lot of people are opting for corn, especially when you go north of Saskatoon where there are lots of dairy farms. In some areas, it’s becoming very difficult to find a crop of irrigated barley.”
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During a recent tour of the Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation Diversification Centre in Outlook, Olfert outlined the benefits and challenges of growing corn on the Prairies.
The first challenge is to determine how many heat units are available and to choose an appropriate corn variety.
Outlook, located about 100 kilo-metres south of Saskatoon, receives an average of 2,300 to 2,400 heat units per year, Olfert said, which means a corn variety that requires only 2,100 or 2,200 heat units should reach maturity nine years out of 10.
By comparison, a 2,600 heat unit variety might reach full maturity only one year in 10.
Corn heat units in Outlook are measured between May 15 until the first Ð3 C frost in the fall.
“They used to grow corn around here in the 1970s but the big difference now is there are lower heat unit varieties available so we can grow corn quite a bit more consistently than we could before.”
Terry Hogg, an irrigation agronomist also based in Outlook, said corn is becoming a more attractive option because it offers more energy than barley silage.
The average total digestible nutrients in barley is usually in the upper 60s while corn silage consistently has TDNs over 70 percent.
Hogg said there is no accurate data on the amount of corn grown in Saskatchewan but he estimated roughly 10,000 acres are produced each year for silage or grazing.
“Total acreage is not expanding that fast, I don’t think, but we have definitely noticed more in the irrigation areas in the last few years,” he said.
“It’s expensive to grow but you get a lot of tonnage with it.”
According to Olfert, air seeders are not ideally suited for planting corn. They will produce a good crop but yield potential will be lower.
Ideally, a precision planter will be used and seeds will be placed about six inches apart with row spacings of roughly 30 inches, which translates into about 31,000 plants per acre.
For optimal yields, producers should seed in late April or early May, depending on the location.
Corn crops also require more nutrients than barley.
For maximum yields, irrigated corn that receives roughly 500 millimetres of water should have 150 to 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre and 50 to 75 lb. of phosphorus.
“That’s about 30 to 50 lb. more nitrogen per acre than a really good barley crop would use so it takes a lot more in terms of fertility to grow a good crop of corn,” Olfert said.
Weed control is also critical in the early growth stages.
“When the corn plant is small, it’s not very competitive and if you have weed pressure in the early stages, that will really limit your yield potential,” he said. “Once you get the corn up a foot or 18 inches, it’s away to the races. There’s nothing that will catch up to it after that.”
The method of harvest can influence the choice of a corn variety. Hogg and Olfert do not recommend that farmers grow corn as a grain crop, but those who do should opt for a lower heat unit variety to ensure timely drydown.
“Ideally you’d like your kernel moisture to be down around 20 percent, but you can take it off at 25 or 30 percent,” Olfert said.
“If you’re taking it for grain, you’ll also be combining it in the late fall, in November or December, so you’ll want to make sure you have a good heater in your combine.”
The safe storage point for grain corn is around 14 percent moisture so producers should be prepared to dry the crop.
Harvesting corn as silage requires less management.
Silage corn can be taken off at approximately 65 percent moisture so farmers have a bit more flexibility in terms of seeding date and drydown, he said.
Grazing is a third option.
Gerald Follick, a cattle producer who has been grazing cattle on corn for several years, said he gets as much as 600 cow-grazing days per acre off his irrigated corn. Last year, his herd of 230 cows cleaned up roughly 1.75 acres every two days. Grazing started in mid-October and continued until mid-February.
“It’s not real high in protein but its good for maintaining cows and there’s quite a bit of (feed) volume out there,” he said.
“We like it because your cows are out in the field all winter and you’re not starting tractors every day to fed them.”
Follick said cattle will clean up the cobs first and then eat the leafy material, leaving only two or three feet of barren stalks.
Trampling is not a major concern although some leafy material is lost in the fall due to frost and wind, he added.
Because harvesting, silaging and storage costs are eliminated, Follick said it costs about half as much to maintain a cow on grazing corn than it than it does to maintain a cow on corn silage.
As a result, an increasing number of dryland producers are looking at corn as an affordable feeding option.
“There’s actually quite a few drylanders trying it,” Follick said.
“Even in a dry year, if you can get it started good, they say it will outperform barley.”
The Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation Diversification Centre in Outlook is conducting trials on 30 different silage corn varieties and six different grain varieties this year.
The trials, conducted on behalf of the Alberta Corn Committee, are now in their third year.
