January 25, 2007
Contact: Jon Greenwood, Canton, 315-386-3231; Joe Giroux, Plattsburgh, 518-563-7523; R. David Smith, Cornell University, 607-255-7286

Click here for NNY field trial data chart

NNY Corn Hybrid Evaluation Data from 2006 Farm Trials Now Available

Dairy and beef producers need to make informed decisions about which corn silage hybrids to plant. Selecting the right hybrid can add to a farm�s bottom line. For example, researchers in Idaho found that high quality corn silage produced $315 more beef per acre than low quality silage. Across Northern New York (Essex, Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence, Lewis & Jefferson counties), corn for silage is grown on 103,186 acres. How do farmers evaluate the many hybrids available to them? They check the results of regional field trials funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, and the data for the best 19 of 42 corn hybrids grown in field trials on two NNY farms is now available.

Dr. William J. Cox and Dr. Jerry H. Cherney of Cornell University�s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences have issued a table of the top 19 recommended corn silage hybrids, the best of 42 hybrids tested in field trials in St. Lawrence County at Greenwood Farms near Canton and in Clinton County at the W.H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy in 2006.

�A well-chosen corn silage hybrid, good management and proper harvesting, storage and feeding add up to a crop that helps produce desired milk and beef yields,� Cox says.

Field Crops Educator Peter Barney of Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County says, �Hybrids that have been tested more than one year should be given more weight because they have performed above-average in more and likely different growing conditions. One year may be dry, another wet. Multiple years of data provide a better performance review.�

The data for the 2006 corn silage trials is posted as a new fact sheet. Click here to download a PDF.

The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funds research and education outreach for Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties. The Program has been funded with the long-term support of New York State Senators James W. Wright and Elizabeth O�Connor Little. For more information, go online to www.nnyagdev.org or contact Program Co-Chairs Joe Giroux, Plattsburgh, 518-563-7523 or Jon Greenwood, Canton, 315-386-3231, or Program Coordinator R. David Smith, Cornell University, 607-255-7286.

Cox and Cherney also evaluated corn silage hybrids on farms in Cayuga and Livingston counties. The results of those trials and the NNY trials are printed in What�s Cropping Up, a publication of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Cornell University. A copy of the issue with the additional hybrid trial data is viewable by clicking here.