First 2 weeks of fermentation critical as silage season kicks off

The last few weeks undoubtedly brought instability to all markets including dairy and beef. As we face this uncertainty, we as farmers are often powerless to do anything meaningful, to halt any decline in the prices paid for produce.

We do however have the power to further make improvements and increase efficiency within our own farm gate.

As dairy and beef producers, one area that needs more consideration is to further increase the amount of milk which we produce from forage. Milk from forage has been, and will always remain, the hallmark of profitability on our dairy and beef enterprises.

The weakening of milk and beef prices, combined with strengthening concentrate prices, provides the potential for a perfect storm.

What can we do?

As milk producers, we have become leaders in pasture management and grazing techniques in order to produce the maximum amount of milk from forage.

However, when it comes to milk from forage, whilst indoors, usually from October to March, we often fall short in the quality of forage produced, and this can be identified as an area for improvement.

The quality of our conserved forage needs improvement, to the point where it gets close to grazed grass.

Image source: Amy Lynott

How can we improve the quality of winter forage?

By now some dairy farmers have completed their first-cut silage, or are about to start.

We are all too aware that early cutting increases the dry matter digestibility (DMD) and protein content of silage, but what many do not realise is what’s happening to this high-quality forage in the clamp, in two or three days and even up to 14 days after sealing the pit.

Agri-King has for many years focused on this area. The days immediately after the pit is sealed are when energy is lost, protein is lost, tonnes of forage DM are lost, and ultimately a lot of money is lost.

Higher fermentation temperatures in untreated silage, “burns up” sugars (energy) and protein. With this “burn up effect” shrinkage of the pit occurs. This is more commonly referred to as fermentation losses.

This shrinkage, although accepted by the industry, can often be as high as 12-14% of the tonnes of DM ensiled.

Now, how many farmers pay attention to their fermentation temperature or the speed of fermentation, despite ensiling high-quality grass days earlier?

How many farmers weigh the amount ensiled, sample the green-chop ensiled, and then record the amount fed out? Not many, but if we can’t measure, we can’t manage forage stocks and quality.

However, sometimes when we don’t write a cheque for that directly, we don’t see it as a cost.

Over the years, Silo-King has consistently achieved 7-10% less DM loss by speeding up fermentation.

The Silo-King applicator is attached neatly to this forage harvester. Image source: Amy Lynott

How can you reduce fermentation losses?

Silo-King’s unique strains of lactic acid bacteria help to reduce losses by creating an environment which allows for fast fermentation, at much lower temperatures.

Due to this “flash fermentation” we have retained more of the sugar (energy) and protein that was harvested. We also reduced shrinkage, as the pit became stable faster.

Our clients always remark, that the silage “fed very well” or “lasted well”, because more nutrients were available for digestion and there were more tonnes of DM to feed.

Carrying out a sugar test. Image source Agri-King

Enzymes make energy more available

Our unique enzyme combination attacks the cellulose and hemicellulose part of the plant fibres. Cellulose and hemicellulose are structural carbohydrates that contain sugar.

It’s only with the correct enzyme combination, that the cellulose and hemicellulose can be broken down from the plant fibre, thereby releasing the sugar to the rumen bacteria. This results in more energy becoming available for absorption into the blood, making more milk or beef.

This enzyme combination is very complex, and specific, almost like a “lock and key” scenario.

Achieving a longer shelf-life

Our anti-oxidants are used to scavenge up any remaining oxygen in the clamp, providing the ideal environment – anaerobic and cool with optimum pH. The presence of trapped air, in drier forages, leads to heating, resulting in respiration, energy loss and shrinkage.

Our clients have remarked on the extended shelf life of fermented forage and that they have cooler forages as a result of this feature.

Mould inhibitor

The job of the mould inhibitor is to fight off the growth of fungus, yeasts and moulds which are detrimental to cow health.

Again this feature is important, eliminating the growth of mycotoxins, often picked up in the field in crops such as wholecrop, maize or even contaminated grass.

Nitrogen binder

Lastly, a plant extract included in Silo-King helps reduce the effect of high nitrates in your forage.

It doesn’t remove nitrates, but converts them in two steps to ammonia, a source that the rumen can handle, without any harmful effects.

EU Approval

Silo-King to date is the only product listed on the EU list of approved inoculants, that uses enzyme technology to tackle plant fibres, and starch granules. In addition to this, Agri-King’s lactic acid bacteria strains achieve much faster fermentation times, at much lower temperatures.

To meet EU approval, Silo-King was put forward for testing by the regulatory body. Our enzyme package underwent various efficacy tests to verify how effective the enzymes were at breaking down cellulose and hemicellulose.

As expected, Silo-King delivered and was awarded approval two years ago. Our research and development team ensure Silo-King is constantly being improved, making it the world leading forage treatment product it is today.

Our team at Agri-King are always locally available to sample green chopped grass, ensiled with Silo-King, and this information can be correlated to later samples of the same fermented forage, as a means to highlight the benefits of Silo-King.

The applicator is neatly placed at the side of the machine

Cut early and harvest more energy

So, as we fast approach harvest, we would encourage you to cut early, thereby harvesting more energy and protein. Then, treat your forage with Silo-King, not only to protect this energy and protein, but to also enhance the forage further, through the use of our enzymes tackling the fibre matrix, releasing more energy for milk or beef production.

Users of Silo-King have access to our state-of-the-art laboratory, for further forage testing and ration balancing.

Remember, Silo-King is only the first part of the Agri-King offering which aims to increasing the efficiency and profitability of herds.

More information

If you would like more details on Silo-King or Agri-King’s products and services, just click here

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