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SILAGE ADDITIVESMany farmers don't use a silage additive for any of their silage making. Typical reasons given are:
So what is good silage?You need to ask yourself what do you want? This maybe different in
differing farm circumstances. Early cut silages with high D values are
still vital in high performance herds even if fed with maize silage.
Cutting early in the season is the way to achieve this but problems
of wilting and fermentation can occur.
The above actual silage samples did not have any additives applied. Are they good silages?Samples A and B are typically low in crude protein and energy but what about the fermentation? They are dry silages so should not be a problem, but have a look at the fermentation characteristics. High Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA's) shows that some undesirable fermentation took place and lactic acid did not dominate the fermentation. At these dry matters Lactic Acid should be 50 - 60 grms and represent 70% of the total fermentation acids. In these cases the VFA are likely to be acetate, which will restrict intake. These silages will not be stable. Once opened they will suffer badly from aerobic spoilage and possible yeast action. This would be worsened by poor consolidatory bag / clamp management at feeding. What about sample C?This silage is quite wet but has a high Ph. This also has low levels of lactic acid, and butyric acid will dominate the VFA's, and the 3:1 ratio of VFA to Lactic Acid is the complete opposite of what is desired. The VFA's are likely to give an increased level of butyric acid. If we assume that there is 20 grms of butyric acid per kg DM and 10kg DM is fed of this silage this is 200 grms / day. This creates a very high risk situation of ketosis in the cow as well as reducing intakes significantly. Conclusions
The silage additives recognised world wide as being effective are ECOSYL products. They have been evaluated under a wide range of conditions and have shown consistent results in improving D value and milk yields. Please see the additive selector below and then follow the links for further details of individual products or go to www.ecosyl.com Additive selectorECOSYL Products offers a complete range of silage additives. They are designed to be 'task specific' rather than 'crop specific', ie they are formulated to deal with the specific problems associated with each crop type. It is not always necessary to have a different product for each crop. The unique MTD/1 strain has been proven over a wide range of crop types and no further fermentation / animal performance benefits have been found by adding other strains. Different numbers of MTD/1 bacteria may be applied to different crops, however, depending on the ensiling conditions, especially DM and sugar contents. The new range of hybrid acid / inoculants all include a special formulation
of potassium sorbate which is a more reliable solution than an inoculant
for the problem of aerobic spoilage. They all still contain MTD/1
for added fermentation and animal performance benefits.
ECOSYLThe conservation of good grass is one of the main factors to better profit. Whether you are a dairy or beef farmer, quality milk or beef is of paramount importance. Quality silage can often be assisted by a good additive and the one with the most independent feeding trials and the one that has stood the test of time is the range marketed by ECOSYL PRODUCTS ECOSYL FOR YOUR GRASS SILAGE - DID YOU KNOW?
If you are planning to spend on a silage product spend on the
tried and tested one. ULV low volume applicationIf you are using low volume application check out Ecosyl ULV, it has been the only product available for low volume work at 1 million bacteria per gram the competitors claim only 10% of this number. Before you buy any low volume applicator you have to see the Ecosyler, it is blockage free & versatile. You may be buying product applying 100,000 bacteria per gramme at a Million bacteria pergramme price ECOSYL 66Cost £1.18 per tonne - if ordered before 31st January 2008 (£78 per bottle) A silage inoculant designed to speed up and simplify handling and application at harvest, improve fermentation in the clamp, and increase both daily intake and milk yield.
DOUBLE ACTION ECOSYLCost £1.92 per tonne - if ordered before 31st January 2008 (£96 per can) This additive brings together both an acid and an inoculant in one. Designed for clamped grass silage where aerobic spoilage could be an issue for high dry matter grass, wide clamps, second cuts and buffer feeding. It gives all the fermentation and animal performance benefits of Ecosyl 66 plus improved aerobic stability.
Ecosyl Products have won the 2007 Queens Award for Enterprise in support of Dairy Farmers globally. Call the office on 01606 738617 to place your order.Reference / Further ReadingSilage Making Tips - The Nine Basic Rules...
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