Pricing Corn Silage: A Guide for Dairy Farmers

Corn silage is a crucial component in dairy cattle diets, making up between 35% to 60% of total ration intake and accounting for 25% to 40% of lactating feed costs. To optimize farm income, it's essential to assign an economic value to corn silage.

Corn silage pricing can be determined through three methods: actual production expense, alternative ingredient market value, or a negotiated cost from the neighboring crop farmer for standing corn silage.

The Ohio State Extension 2026 Corn Budget estimates variable costs at $640/acre and fixed land, labor, and management costs at $550/acre, totaling $1,190 to grow and harvest an acre of grain corn. With a yield of 27 tons per acre, the value of standing corn silage is approximately $39/ton.

The OSU Extension 2026 Custom Rate Survey provides rates for chop, haul, and pack ranging from $7 to $14.40/ton, while industry costs for inoculant range from $0.50 to $1.50/ton, storage shrink $4 to $8/ton, and feed out cost of $0.6 to $2/ton.