The Rural Voice, 1986-10, Page 56(ALmnR)
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54 THE RURAL VOICE
ADVICE
SILO GASES
Corn silage prompts a good deal
of worrying by both farmers and
those in government. Farmers
worry about the correct moisture
content to ensile at, and govern-
ment representatives worry about
farmers killing themselves with silo
gas.
Corn reaches its maximum silage
dry -matter yield at 30 to 40 per
cent dry matter. This range
variance takes into account hybrid
differences and the location of
Corn Heat Units in Ontario. When
testing whole plant samples, a 35
per cent dry -matter reading will be
in line with 40 to 45 per cent grain
moisture.
Obviously, then, we will be
determining the right silage
moisture content with something
other than a grain moisture tester.
A microwave oven works well,
quickly drying corn silage for
moisture determinations. Weigh
out a 100 -gram sample of chopped
silage. Zap it for six minutes in the
microwave. Reweigh. Zap for two
minutes. Reweigh. Zap and
reweigh at two -minute intervals
until you no longer find weight
loss. (Burning the sample does not
constitute weight loss; use the
previous weight in your calcula-
tion.)
The moisture content of the
silage is equal to the weight of
water burned off divided by the in-
itial weight times 100.
A result of 65 per cent moisture
would then correspond with 35 per
cent dry matter.
Corn silage cannot all be
harvested and ensiled at the exact
correct moisture (for the same
reason we can't plant all our corn
on the best planting date). Safe
limits for storage are:
• for harvested storage, greater
than 60 per cent moisture,
• for upright concrete silos,
greater than 55 per cent
moisture,
• for larger upright silos, corn can
be stored at 50 per cent,
• for oxygen -limiting silos, as low
as 35 to 45 per cent moisture.
When the corn is in the silo, it's
time to worry about the farmer.
Nitrate, a form of nitrogen in the
corn plant, converts to poisonous
gas. Examinations of those killed
by silo gas show massive bleeding