2023 New York and Vermont Corn Silage Hybrid Evaluation Program

Nov 20, 2023

By Joe Lawrence

PRO-DAIRY continues to lead the Commercial Corn Silage Hybrid Evaluation Program, providing valuable information on the rapidly changing options related to corn hybrid selection and addressing both agronomic and nutritional aspects of corn silage to the dairy industry. Collaborative partnerships have grown into a formal partnership--the Northeast Corn Silage Hybrid Evaluation Consortium--that now includes the University of Vermont, Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, Penn State University, Western New York Crop Management Association and the University of Maine.

Program collaborators continue to leverage the hybrid trials as a platform for additional applied research projects. Recent studies that have allowed for the collection of additional data from the ongoing hybrid trials have addressed important issues related to corn nitrogen use efficiency and the impact of emerging insect pests.
In 2023, the corn silage hybrid evaluation program received 75 entries from 17 seed brands. Hybrid evaluation at multiple environments helps in decision making and expands the reach of this type of data to more farmers. Cornell, UVM, and seed companies collaborate to provide this robust evaluation.

In 2023, the hybrid relative maturity (RM) grouping was revised in response to entry trends and stakeholder feedback. The Early-Mid RM group was revised (from 80-95 day RM) to be 85-98 day RM while the Mid-Late RM group was refined (from 96-110 day RM) to be 99-110 day RM. Hybrids were either entered into the 85-98 day RM group (Early-Mid; n = 39) and were tested at two locations in New York (Lamb Farms in Oakfield and the Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro) and one location in Vermont (Borderview Farm in Alburgh) or were entered into the 99-110 day RM group (Mid-Late; n = 36) and were tested at two locations in New York (Greenwood Farms in Madrid and the Musgrave Research Farm in Aurora) and one location in Vermont (Borderview Farm in Alburgh).

Source : cornell.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.