Grazing Corn (BMR 84)

BMR Corn has one purpose for its utilization in cover crop mixtures and that's FORAGE. Extremely high quality, palatable forage really sets corn apart from any warm season grasses. Utilize as a summer stockpile forage, provides large amounts of standing biomass to be grazed well into the winter. The cheapest method to harvest corn and converting that into profit is through grazing livestock! We encourage you to pencil out what's going to make your operation the most profit per acre with conversation in mind and this just could change the way you view your farm. Customers requiring a short season silage corn have experience an average forage yield of 18 tons/A and under ideal conditions higher tonnage potential is available.

*Based on a 1-10 scale. 1 = Poor : 5 = Average : 10 = Excellent

Corn has long been utilized as a forage source for livestock, proving to be extremely palatable with high nutritional value. We have seen in our plots how aggressively cattle will pursue consuming BMR corn over other warm season grasses. BMR cultivars only improve the forage quality and it's documented by researchers/farmers to notably increase milk production/productivity. Corn is considered a subtropical crop so it can withstand colder nights, higher elevations and Northern growing regions better than tropical warm season grasses like sorghum, sudan or sorghum x sudan species. Like millets, corn poses no prussic acid risk unlike the other warm season grasses previously listed. Grazing corn is the cheapest way to utilize biomass production and cattle have been observed to naturally balance their diets, not just gorging themselves on the grain.

*Based on a 1-10 scale. 1 = Poor : 5 = Average : 10 = Excellent

To optimum forage production corn is a high water and nutrient demanding crop. Competition with weeds species during young growth stages can prove detrimental. Growing in fields planning to grow hybrid corn for grain production, has a serious risk of disease and pest issues. BMR cultivars are bred to have less lignin causing the plant to be more susceptible to lodging. BMR cultivars designed for forage production don't have the grain yield potential of field corn therefore limiting its use only for forage production. BMR genetics aren't being progressed as aggressively as hybrid field corns, so there's some genetic lag. A shorter season corn won't have as much DM yield potential as a full season crop but instead should be better utilized to fill specific forage need gaps. Corn is naturally a very stalky plant therefore livestock have been observed to consume more digestible portions of the plant then come back and consume the stalks if give the opportunity.

*Based on a 1-10 scale. 1 = Poor : 5 = Average : 10 = Excellent

If you have grown corn in the past, many of the same characteristics hold true with some exceptions. Its not recommended planting corn until the soil temperatures can maintain above 50F. Normally if planting is delayed until later into the season, higher heat units allows for rapid germination and growth to catch up to earlier planted cultivars. Delayed planting can bring more risk due to increased risk of losing moisture and increased summer heat, leading to decreases yield. Just like planting field corn, good seed to soil contact is a must to achieve a good establishment. Due to the smaller plant structure of BMR 84, plant populations should be pushed upto 50,000-60,000 plants/A when grown for silage and narrower rows are encouraged. We commonly blend grazing corn into warm season mixtures and drill them all together with great success. BMR84 is a short season corn and should be utilized for that purpose because longer season cultivars will out yield BMR84 in longer growing windows. Making BMR84 an excellent choice for planting after a cereal crop or alfalfa cuttings, granted adequate moisture is available.

The US is the worlds largest producer of corn in the world, where its grown over a wide array of soil types and environmental conditions. For corn to preform at peak potential it requires a highly fertile, deep, well drained soil in which to grow. Being a warm season grass, frost will terminate corn relatively easy. Corn shouldn't be grown on soils with saline or regularly flooded soils due to low tolerance. Growing in fields where corn has been grown within the last two years, makes it very susceptible to pest and disease issues. This high water demanding crop preforms best in regions that receive 30+ inches of rain a year. Drought stricken corn will produce significantly less biomass and if exposed to high heat during pollination, this will only further degrade yield potential.

*Based on a 1-10 scale. 1 = Poor : 5 = Average : 10 = Excellent