An abundance of new information on an age-old feed has led extension specialists from Iowa State University and University of Nebraska—Lincoln to offer a one-day Silage for Beef Cattle Conference June 17. conference for cattle producers, nutrition consultants and extension personnel. The conference, sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition, will capitalize on the resurgence of silage in beef diets, said Galen Erickson, beef feedlot extension specialist with UNL.

“Corn silage appears to be very economical in beef growing and finishing situations, and we know many people use it,” he said. “If it is going to be used, however, it’s important to know the specifics about types, storage and pricing, and this conference will tackle all those issues.”

Speakers include university experts from UNL, Iowa State, and Kansas State University (KSU), and Lallemand Animal Nutrition. The program, which features eight presentations and a panel discussion, and will be held at the August N. Christenson Research and Education Building at the UNL Agricultural Research and Development Center (ARDC) near Mead. The conference is approved for 5 CEUs from the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS).

The conference begins with registration at 8:15 a.m., will adjourn by 4 p.m., and is free for those preregistered by Monday, June 13. Otherwise, the fee is $30. The conference brochure has agenda information, directions to the location, contacts for more information and a fillable registration form in pdf format. 

“Because we know there’s a great deal of interest in this topic, and we know not everyone can travel to attend this conference, we’re also offering a web viewing option for the entire day available to people with internet access from anywhere around the world,” Erickson said. “In addition to this streaming option, we plan to capture shorter segments that highlight the take-home points and provide them after the conference, and we’ll provide a proceedings of all the material presented during the day.”

UNL and ISU have provided joint beef nutrition programming for years, and working together to offer this conference was a logical choice, said Dan Loy, Iowa Beef Center director at Iowa State.

“This is a great opportunity for us to bring current research information to the cattle industry in Nebraska, Iowa and beyond,” Loy said. “Offering both an on-site location and an online streaming opportunity increases the reach of this information to a national and international audience.”

Erickson said Lallemand Animal Nutrition approached the team about working with them to sponsor a meeting focused on silage, and its financial support makes it possible for preregistered attendees to do so at no cost.

Erickson said it’s important for producers to understand how to select proper hybrids for silage, know when to put up silage and know how to store silage to minimize shrink.

“Optimizing both the amount fed and silage in combination with which other ingredients is critical in determining whether silage is an economical choice,” Erickson said. “This conference will provide that information, as well as tools for pricing silage.”

The conference speakers, their affiliation and presentation topics follow:

• Bob Charley, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, “Corn Silage Fermentation Process”
• Keith Bolsen, KSU, “Silage Safety, Shrink, and Methods to Control Losses”
• Renato Schmidt, Lallemand Animal Nutrition, “Impact of Silage Inoculant”
• Jim MacDonald, UNL, “Optimizing Corn Silage Harvest for Quality and Yield”
• Dan Loy, Iowa State, “Evaluation of Silages, and What a Feed Test Means for Good vs. Bad Silage”
• Andrea Watson, UNL, “Use of Corn Silage in Growing Programs and Protein Considerations”
• Erickson and Henry Hilscher, UNL, “Feeding Programs for Silage, Silage Hybrid, and Harvest Time Impact on Performance”
• Terry Klopfenstein and Hilscher, UNL, “Economics of Silage Use and Proper Pricing”

For more information, contact Erickson at 402-472-6402 or Loy at 515-294-1058.