There is a "quick" method of estimating time to harvest a
drought damaged corn field: the "squeeze test". - Select a few
stalks (like described in the previous paragraph) and chop them
into pieces about the same size that the silage chopper would
using a heavy knife or cleaver. Also, you could chop a round of
the field with a silage chopper and sample the chopped material.
Grab a hand full of the chopped material and squeeze it for 30
seconds. - If the juices drip easily from the material, then it
is too wet. In this situation, wait to chop in a couple of days
or test again in a couple of days. - If the sample doesn't drip
any juices from the squeezed material, then slowly open your
hand. - If the stalk material remains compacted and doesn't fall
apart or quickly expand back , the moisture level is acceptable
for ensiling. - If your hand is not wet and the stalk material
falls apart when you open your hand, the material is too dry to
ensile. If the chopped silage is too wet: - Stop chopping and
allow the fiel