Unified™ Corn Silage Helps Deliver Performance and Improved Profitability
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INDIANAPOLIS — Farmers are turning to research to help make important decisions about the best corn silage hybrid to match their goals and help protect their bottom line. New farm trial results for Mycogen® brand Unified™ corn silage with SilaSoft™ technology show the advantages can extend beyond improved digestibility and include significant feed cost savings and profit potential.
“When we released Unified corn silage research trial results in 2017, farmers challenged the numbers,” says Bill Sutliff, Nutritionist for Mycogen Seeds. “Now, the on-farm trial results are in, and the savings add up.”
Unified corn silage features the unique ability to combine the fiber digestibility of BMR hybrids with a softer, more digestible kernel. This allows dairy cows to break down additional starch and capture more energy from the same amount of feed.
Producer Trial Results
Mycogen Seeds launched Unified corn silage for the 2017 planting season and tracked results of the new line of hybrids with seven dairy farms across the country. Participating farmers planted Unified corn silage in 2017 and used it in rations in late 2017 and into 2018. Each farm worked with its nutritionist and Mycogen team to manage feeding trials and monitor results as they fed Unified corn silage.
“The results have been eye-opening for both Mycogen and the farmers who trialed Unified,” Sutliff says. “Every dairyman I meet is trying to do more to keep their farm sustainable and profitable. Reviewing the results from Unified, the opportunity to add more to their farms’ bottom line is clear.”
Unified corn silage was fed to controlled groups in comparison to Mycogen brand BMR for a 90-day trial. The combined seven herds showed an average gain of 2.86 pounds of energy-corrected milk (ECM) per cow per day and 3.75% improvement in feed efficiency.
Real Profit on Western New York Dairy
A dairy in western New York incorporated Unified corn silage into its ration and recognized the benefit to the bottom line. The following data show positive results of feeding Unified corn silage compared with a conventional corn silage over a four-month period.
Results of Unified corn silage vs. conventional corn silage Four-month trial |
||||
Groups Fed Unified™ Corn Silage |
Days in Milk |
Energy-corrected Milk (ECM) (lb.) |
Milk/day (lb.) |
Profit from ECM ($/cow/day) |
First lactation |
173 |
+10.7 |
+12 |
+1.68 |
Third lactation |
102 |
+5.3 |
+5 |
+0.86 |
1Dollar value is calculated using Feb. 2019 milk component pricing in the Northeast
Based on trial results, the diet formulation of Unified corn silage resulted in a savings of $0.15 per cow per day. When combined with profit potential from ECM, the two groups generated an extra $1.01 to $1.83 per cow per day when feeding Unified corn silage.
Koepke Farms in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, has fed Mycogen brand BMR corn silage for the past decade and showed a 3.5-pound ECM advantage when feeding Unified compared with cows fed BMR. For every 100 lbs. of ECM, Unified corn silage improved income over feed cost up to $0.48 per cow per day.
“When we began developing Unified corn silage and seeing the early results in precommercial trials, we knew it would be a game-changer,” says John Anderson, Nutrition Team Lead for Mycogen Seeds. “But seeing these results in real life has been rewarding. We’re driven to help farmers reach the next level of profitability and efficiency for their farm. Unified is doing just that.”
High-quality corn silage starts with top of the line genetics. Producers interested in learning more about Unified™ corn silage with SilaSoft™ technology should talk with their local Mycogen Seeds dealer, sales representative or nutritionist, or visit Mycogen.com/Unified.
About Mycogen Seeds
Mycogen Seeds offers leading genetics in corn, soybeans, silage corn, sunflowers and canola. A retail seed company of Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, Mycogen maintains a robust global research and development program. Mycogen delivers diverse seed solutions with high-performance genetics and the latest and broadest trait technology options. Mycogen works with its dealer network to tailor product solutions and help farmers be better acre after acre. For more information about Mycogen® brand products, visit Mycogen.com or follow Mycogen Seeds on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), is intended to become an independent, publicly traded company when the previously announced spinoff is complete by June 2019. The division combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. Corteva Agriscience provides growers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry — including some of the most recognized brands in agriculture: Pioneer®, Granular, the newly launched Brevant™ seeds, as well as award-winning Crop Protection products — while bringing new products to market through our solid pipeline of active chemistry and technologies. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.
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™®Trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners. ©2019 Mycogen Seeds
Contacts:
Kacey Birchmier
Corteva Agriscience™
Agriculture Division of DowDuPont
515-535-6149
kacey.birchmier@dupont.com
Laurie Underwood
Bader Rutter
262-424-1256