Present: Don Sapienza, Jim Linn, Neal Martin, Larry Chase, Randy Shaver, Joe Harrison, Bill Weiss, Paolo Berzaghi, Joanne Siciliano-Jones, Mike Messman, Larry Satter
 

The following general agreements were reached:
 

1) Based on data supplied by Carl Hunt indicating that drying and grinding corn silages samples artifically increases starch and fiber digestibility, it was agreed to support only undried, macro in situ for fermented corn silage.
 

2) We agreed that digestion time should be 24 hours to represent 4x feeding level and better differentiate starch digestion differences. Original discussion suggested 30 hrs but further consideration of starch effects suggested the shorter time.
 

3) It was agreed to immediately circulate Bill Weiss's most current equation.
 

4) We felt that Bill Weiss's equation could be used for corn silage if:

        A) fiber digestibility determined by macro in situ were to replace fiber digestion coefficient

        B) an estimate of starch availability were included
 

5) We agreed that starch should be measured in corn silage according to the procedure of Mary Beth Hall published in the National Forage Testing Conference Proceedings, Madison, WI, July 1998.
 

6) We agreed starch availability will be estimated with reduction adjustment for uncracked kernels or kernel particles left on screen per results of Bill Weiss's current study ( to be available this fall).