RWN News Digest
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Efficient Forage Conservation and Storage
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Top quality forage forms the basis of all high yielding diets in
profitable dairy herds
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Cutting out the Waste
Having
grown top quality forage, can we reduce the losses in harvesting and
storage to keep the feed value as close as possible to that of the
growing crop. It is time to revue our conservation
techniques. Silage is expensive to grow and costly to make, be it grass,
clover, wholecrop, forage maize or crimped cereals. Having said that, great strides have
been made in our ability to reduce losses during conservation with
better machinery, more effective new additives and improved clamping
techniques.
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| I
have been heavily involved with silage and silage additives for over 25
years. Throughout that time I have seen literally hundreds of clamps per
year. Over the years problems with silage have changed. Back then the
problems were poorly fermented wet butyric silage resulting from excess
nitrogen, low sugars, soil and slurry contamination and low dry matters.
Now the problems are more often down to heating, aerobic instability,
moulding, shoulder and top surface waste mainly due to excessive wilting
resulting in high dry matters combined with a lack of consolidation,
delays in sheeting or air ingress due to inadequate sealing. |
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But still
the losses are there. There will always be some loss from fermentation
during silage making, but the high levels of loss that we see on many
commercial farm pits can be greatly reduced.
The majority of silage clamps have far more waste
than should be considered
an acceptable loss
Waste
can be highly visible in the form of slime layers, spoiled shoulders and
mouldy silage forked off the pit and dumped, or where silage is rejected
by the cows and left in the trough. Waste can also be invisible and go
completely un-recognised. This can be due to high fermentation losses as
a result of inefficient fermentation. It can also be due to
heating behind the face due to lack of stability. Waste can also show up
in reduced milk yields, poor fertility and increased concentrate feed
rates.
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an effective inoculant is used, a 1000 tonne silage clamp will typically
contain around 50 tonnes extra silage due to the more efficient
fermentation. The silage will also retain more of the feed value that
was in the crop when it was cut, up to 50% more true protein, higher
levels of sugars, more energy etc. In addition the silage will normally
be more stable on the face, be eaten more readily by livestock and
generally perform better with a higher feed value. This applies to all
silage whether 1st cut, 2nd cut, 3rd cut, big bale, wholecrop or maize. |
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As
a general rule using a silage inoculant to treat forage
costs only 3p - 5p per cow per day to generate around 1.5 litres
extra milk. That is around £6 clear profit for every £1 spent before
taking account of the extra 50 tonnes silage in the clamp. The majority
of the farms that I am involved with, do use a forage additive, yet many
others don't, or only treat some of the forage. I am only too aware of
the constant battle with cash flow on dairy farms. Yet I find it a
little odd that when the cost benefits which have been demonstrated time
and time again are so great, some farmers decide to miss out on a
significant contribution to bottom line profit.
Forage
makes up more than half the diet. As a nutritionist I well know the
problems of trying to ration cows with poorly conserved forage. In
recent years I have concentrated heavily with some success, on finding
ways of improving the dry matter intakes and feeding quality of forage
crops and also in reducing conservation losses. RWN in conjunction with
FIAM (Federation of Independent Agricultural Merchants) has developed a
range of very advanced and very competitively priced forage additives
which are well ahead of the game in giving a rapid,
efficient fermentations together with greatly improved aerobic stability
on high dry matter grass, wholecrop, maize and crimped cereals.
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| Most
inoculants on the market are homo-fermentative and convert sugars
directly to lactic acid, rapidly and efficiently dropping the pH of the
silage. That's fine on silage between 15% and 25% dry matter. Above 25%
dry matter there is a danger of aerobic instability and heating behind
the face caused by yeast and mould activity. If this happens then lactic
acid is broken down and the silage can mould with high resultant losses.
When clamping forages over 25% dry matter we recommend using a
specialist additive such as Gold Shake Premium or Gold Shake Arable,
which are suitable for higher dry matter material. |
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Attention to detail with clamp management can greatly reduce waste on most pits
A few points
to consider: Whether or not an inoculant is used, efficient silage
fermentations rely on the clamp being effectively sealed right from the
start and there being no air present throughout the fermentation.
Consolidation and effective sealing is all-important. As a guide if you can easily push your fingers into the
silage deeper than the finger nail or first joint, then there is a
danger of aerobic instability, especially on mature, long chopped
silages over about 26% dry matter. Roll layers no more than 6" inches
(15cm) thick. Dual wheels are less effective since they halve the
pressure when rolling. If possible use an additional tractor for
rolling. Sheet immediately after filling. Make sure you have enough
clamp space. Do not over fill clamps un-consolidated shoulders are a
disaster. Plan your clamps so that the smallest possible face is open at
anyone time and do use a shear grab.
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Typically
silages lose about 20% of the weight of the top metre during storage.
Black plastic is porous to air. It can let through up to 2 litres of
oxygen per m2 / day. If the sheet is lifting in the wind, chances are it
is sucking air into the clamp like a bellows.
We are
currently working with Silostop clear oxygen barrier sheets, close weave
protective nets and gravel bags to ensure effective sealing of silage
pits, in order to keep the air out. Always side sheet and always double
check that all the edges are sealed and the clamp really is air tight.
Always use an effective additive.
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Always use Silostop Clear oxygen barrier
sheets. Silostop is the only genuine oxygen barrier and is many times
better at keeping air out of the clamp than cheap clear polythene cling
film type products or black plastic. Having seen for myself the
consistent results that the Silostop system produces in reducing top
waste on silage and the improvement in quality of silage in the top
metre of the clamp I would recommend Silostop oxygen barrier sheets for
sealing all silage pits over any other product.
If its worth putting in the pit its worth doing properly
Always use an additive. RWN's GoldShake
range of forage additives have been highly effective in improving both the
efficiency of fermentation and the aerobic stability of silages.
Treating all your grass silage, big bales, wholecrop and maize is an
opportunity not to be missed.
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Summary
All silage clamps are subject
to dry matter losses, however attention to detail in consolidating the
silage, more effective sealing to exclude air together with the use of
advanced new forage additives can dramatically cut losses and increase
animal performance
It is essential that we continue to improve both the quality and the
quantity of forage that we produce within the UK dairy industry
I cannot
remember a time where there have been so many exciting new advances in
forage crops, forage conservation, feeding and dairy nutrition open to
dairy farmers. Taking full advantage of new technological advances
really can bring rewards.
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Working
together for a more profitable future
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