Products by Nutrient Traits—5-Year Cumulative Data Hubner Seed Product Days of Maturity High Yield High %dNDF Low Lignin Low Lig/NDF High IVTD High NEL High STARCH Good for HMSC High milk/ton High milk/acre H3049RR 84 EX VG VG VG VG VG EX VG VG H3130RR 85 EX EX EX VG VG VG VG EX VG VG H5148PR / H3146RR 94 VG EX EX VG EX EX EX EX EX (Silage only) H3188RR 97 VG VG VG VG G G G EX VG VG H5150VT3 / H3150RR 98 EX EX EX EX VG VG VG EX EX EX H3161RR 98 EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX H5181PR 100 EX EX VG VG EX EX EX EX EX H5226VT3 101 EX VG VG EX VG EX VG VG VG H4230HX 103 EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX H5255VT3 / H3255RR 104 VG VG VG VG EX EX EX VG VG H5243VT3 / H3242RR 106 EX EX VG VG EX EX EX EX EX H5466VT3 / H3466RR 109 EX VG EX VG EX EX EX VG EX (silage only) H3473RR / H4473BR 110 EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX H5526VT3 / H3525 111 EX EX EX VG EX EX EX VG VG H5552PR 112 EX EX EX EX VG EX EX EX EX EX H4610BR 112 VG VG VG VG EX EX VG VG VG H5690PR / H3690RR 112 EX VG VG EX EX EX EX EX EX H5811VT3 / H4808Bt / H3806RR 115 VG EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX EX H4910BR 118 EX G G VG G G VG G EX

Rating Scale: G=Good    VG= Very Good    EX=Excellent

Silage Performance You Expect

In the ongoing development of its lineup, Hubner Seed always pays particular attention to the dairyman’s need for silage products that possess the trait characteristics for strong agronomic performance and excellent nutritional feed value.

When you look over the products above, specially designated for dairy operations like yours, you’ll find they are all:

• Above average in yield potential.
• High in neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility.
• Effective dual-purpose selections that can be used for high moisture corn or grain.
• Available with various kernel textures to optimize your cows’ starch absorption and/or maximize your grain harvest.

Research You Can Count On

Every year, Hubner thoroughly evaluates its DPH product performance through a vast number of silage and grain plots located all across six states. Products in the annual mix are always of varying maturities, and planted in a wide range of soil and climate conditions.

Over the past two years, Hubner has gone another level, sponsoring the Milk Max™ silage research program. Conducted by an independent lab, Milk Max involves the detailed analysis of nearly 300 silage samples—all of varying brands and numbers—giving Hubner and the entire dairy industry a deeper, comparative perspective of silage quality.

Talk to your Hubner representative to learn more and be sure to ask how to participate in Hubner’s Milk Max™ silage research program.

DPH Selection Criteria

Yield: A Hubner DPH hybrid must demonstrate an above-average yield for its maturity.

dNDF: This is the most important criteria in Hubner’s DPH selection process. dNDF is the percent of a corn silage hybrid’s NDF (neutral detergent fiber) that digests inside the rumen within the first 30 hours after consumption. For every one unit increase in dNDF, a cow can consume an additional 0.5 lb in DMI (dry matter intake) and may produce up to 0.53 lb more milk.

Lignin: This is the undigestible portion of fiber inside a corn silage hybrid’s total NDF. Knowing this figure, your Hubner advisor can determine if a given hybrid fits better in a high corn silage or a high haylage feeding ration. Conventional wisdom says lower lignin means better feed quality. However, researchers are finding that low lignin hybrids do not actually feed better than higher lignin hybrids with high overall NDF.

Lig/NDF: Using a formula—lignin divided by NDF multiplied by 100—Hubner can calculate how “lignified” the corn silage hybrid’s total NDF is. A figure of 6.0 or lower is considered excellent and translates into high DMI (dry matter intake) potential.

Starch: Knowing a hybrid’s starch level—or amount of raw food energy—is another key to solving the puzzle of rationing. High starch hybrids serve best when incorporated into a high haylage diet. However, they also serve well in high corn silage diets, with the understanding that it may require pulling dry grain or HMC out of the total feed ration.

Kernel Texture: The softer the kernel, the more available the starch is to the cow. Knowing which hybrids have a soft, medium or hard kernel texture indicates the need for kernel processing and calls out those hybrids that can offer maximum grain harvest if necessary.

IVTD: This is another corn silage hybrid energy measurement. It is calculated based on both the starch content and digestible fiber (dNDF) of a hybrid, yet does not distinguish which of the two factors contribute the most. Two IVTD figures can be the same, with one based on a high starch and the other on high dNDF. Either way, a high IVTD rating represents a cow’s highest potential for milk production.