Over the last 25 years, whole-plant corn silage has become an important and popular feedstuff for dairy production. Copious research has been dedicated to the development and evaluation of alternatives to enhance the nutritive value of whole-plant corn silage. These efforts have been aimed at manipulating the physical and chemical characteristics of whole-plant corn silage in an effort to maximize dairy profitability. Results from this review indicate that optimization of harvest maturity, kernel processing, theoretical length of cut, and cutting height improve or maintain the nutritive value and milk production of lactating dairy cows. Technological advancements have been developed and made available to dairy producers and corn growers desiring to enhance fiber and starch digestibility of whole-plant corn silage. Future research should be directed toward further assessment of new processors available in the market and the development of assessment methods for optimization of crop processor settings, harvest efficiency, and nutritional modeling.
Keywords: corn silage; forage analysis; fractionated silage; kernel processing; silage harvest.
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