Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Extension

Extension Responds: Feed supplies

New UW-Extension Web site links corn buyers and sellers

September 2004

Many livestock producers may find themselves short on corn and corn silage as the growing season comes to a close. Heavy rain delayed planting, especially in eastern Wisconsin , and the unusually cool summer has put the crop even farther behind schedule, explained Mike Ballweg, University of Wisconsin-Extension crops and soils agent in Sheboygan County .

Ballweg and other members of Extension’s Grain Team, have established a Web site where growers facing shortages can find growers who have excess feed to sell. The Web site is at http://farmertofarmer.uwex.edu. The Farmer to Farmer Corn and Forage List is free of charge for both buyers and sellers. Users can search for high moisture corn, corn grain, corn silage, haylage or hay. They can search in just one county or in any number of counties at once.

Ballweg said this site can benefit both buyers and sellers. Buyers can locate feed for their animals quickly. Sellers can find buyers and save a lot of money in grain drying costs if they sell their crop as high moisture corn or corn silage.

“In the eastern part of the state, only about 25 percent of the corn was planted on time,” Ballweg said. “And all over the state, the cool weather has put the crop behind by another three weeks. A lot of it will not mature before the first frost, and what is mature will not have enough time to dry in the field.”

That means high costs for drying corn. Ballweg said, this year, it will cost $0.45 to dry a bushel of corn from 25 percent moisture to the optimal 15 and one-half percent. Ballweg said growers facing that cost would benefit by selling the corn to someone who can use the high moisture corn to feed dairy cows.

In a good year for corn, farmers hope to have their crop in the ground as early as possible in May. This year, many farmers could not plant until late June or early July.

Buyers and sellers can access the Web site anytime between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1. People who wish to use this service but do not have access to the Internet can get access and assistance at their county UW-Extension office.

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