Ration Choice® Corn For Your Herd Health
By Darren Kulicamp | June 27, 2022
It is hard to believe that we are over halfway through the month of June, which means a lot across the state of Michigan. Hopefully corn planting has ended with first cutting hay in the bunk shortly behind it, and of course June Dairy Month. There are a host of products that this month is dedicated to from cheese and milk to ice cream and of course the over 400,000 dairy cows that call Michigan home.
At DF Seeds, June Dairy Month has us thinking about our commitment to designing our forage product portfolio around providing the best forage products to feed the cows making our favorite dairy products possible. The process begins with our Ration Choice® corn portfolio. Our Legacy Brand, Ration Choice corn hybrids are not just another tall grain hybrid to make silage. Ration Choice hybrids have been-selected specifically for their high silage yield and must meet other selection criteria that our customers value, such as: starch content, starch digestibility, fiber digestibility and sugar digestibility.
To become a Ration Choice hybrid, each variety must prove itself like all the products in the DF Seeds lineup, in a plot. Legacy Brand corn silage hybrids are evaluated around the state from McBain, to Dansville and East into the Thumb as well as other locations around the Midwest. We compare our hybrids in plots alongside other leading competitors over multiple locations to determine which hybrids perform best for Michigan. Through our extensive plot testing program, we eliminate the guesswork and can deliver the right hybrids for your farm.
From each plot we harvest as many as 40 different hybrids that are either currently in the Ration Choice program, or that are candidates to bring on in the future. From there samples are sent in for forage analysis to the same labs you use on your farm. From these forage analysis results Legacy Brand and our Forage Specialist will determine which hybrids to designate as Ration Choice. These hybrids will perform best in your region for tonnage, starch content, starch digestibility and fiber digestibility that will meet the needs of your dairy herd.
Our Ration Choice corn portfolio includes hybrids of all maturities (80-113 day), with characteristics to suit your needs. We have Silage Specific (SS), leafy hybrids designed for superior tonnage, on less plants per acre with floury and full floury starch types. Ration Choice also contains high performing Flexible Acre (FA) hybrids for those that want high starch content and starch digestibility along with top-notch fiber digestibility and allows for better acre management flexibility from year to year.
The bottom line – If you are feeding corn silage, look to Ration Choice corn to help your operation achieve the best ROI for your operation.
For more information on Legacy Brand Ration Choice® hybrids that will perform best for your farm and livestock, please contact DF Seeds Feed and Forage Specialist, Darren Kulicamp.
