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Sunflower Silage
Late planted sunflower may not reach maturity before the first killing frost. An alternative use is silage. The feeding value of sunflower is about 80% of the value of corn silage. Chemical composition is given in the table below in comparison with corn and alfalfa silage.
| ----------------------Silage----------------- | |||
| Sunflower | Corn | Alfalfa | |
| Dry Matter (%) | 30 | 43 | 43 |
| Protein (%) | 12.5 | 8.3 | 17.6 |
| Acid Detergent fiber (%) | 39 | 21 | 34 |
| Lignin (%) | 12.3 | 4.6 | 8.8 |
| Fat (%) | 10.7 | 2.4 | 3.6 |
Source: South Dakota State University
The information in the table is for silage made from mature sunflower plants. If silage is made from less mature sunflowers, the lignin content will be lower, protein level higher, fat content lower, and moisture level greater than 70%.
Milking cows were fed either corn silage or silage made from mature oilseed sunflowers. The South Dakota State University trial resulted in 8% less milk produced by cows fed sunflower silage. Fat tests were higher - 3.9 -vs- 3.54% for sunflowers -vs- corn silage.
Intake was 19% less dry matter for cows fed sunflower silage. Reduced consumption was attributed to the high fat content of the silage. Lower production resulted because of reduced dry matter consumption. Silage from immature sunflowers would be lower in fat content which should increase consumption and thereby milk production.
ENSILING IMMATURE SUNFLOWERS
The moisture content of immature sunflowers after a killing frost will be greater than 70%. Wait to harvest until moisture content is between 60 and 70% and chop plant material into 1 - 1 1/2 inch lengths.
FEEDING SUNFLOWER SILAGE
Best use of sunflower silage is for livestock other than high producing dairy cows. Forage quality could be improved by supplementing with other forage alternatives such as corn silage, haylage, or hay.
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