Corn Silage, Too Wet or Too Dry?

 

For corn silage ideal moisture concentrations are between about 62 and 70%. They can be harvested a little wetter (maybe up to 72%) if it goes into a bunker. The wetter it gets the more seepage you get (loss of nutrients and potential environmental issues if seepage gets into a water source, example; Fish kill). Wet corn silage also produces an acetic acid-based fermentation which means a loss of energy (1 mole of glucose is fermented to lactic acid and acetic and 1 mole of carbon dioxide is lost, which is energy). Clostridia is not a major risk for corn silage because pH drops quickly but it can be a major concern for wet grass or alfalfa silage.

 

 

Fires are caused when silage is chopped too dry. The silage doesn’t pack well, trapping oxygen which allows aerobic metabolism which produces a lot of heat. Wet hay is also a major risk factor for fire for the same reason, the wet hay allows aerobic metabolism (molds and yeast) which produce heat.