A Fact Sheet with “Preliminary Results for Corn Silage Hybrids for Northern New York” based on variety trials that took place in Madrid and Sackets harbor, is now online at www.nnyagdev.org.

The data, funded by the Northern NY Agricultural Development Program, will help regional farmers select the highest yield, highest quality corn hybrids for their farm business.

“Optimizing your corn planting to grow the maximum number of stalks and ears produces strong economic yield and attention to forage quality impacts the value of the crop as a feed for dairy cows,” says Cornell University Crop and Soil Sciences Professor Dr. Bill Cox, who conducted and analyzed the silage trial results in collaboration with E.V. Baker Professor of Agriculture Dr. Jerry Cherney.

Cox says the trials in Madrid at Greenwood Dairy and Sackets Harbor at Robbins Farms were harvested on the same day with 39 varieties evaluated at each farm site.

The varieties include some grown 85-90 days, some grown 91-95 days, and some grown 96-100 days.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, corn is grown for harvesting as silage on 88,470 acres in Northern New York.

For more information, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County at 379-9192.