FORAGE
THE SILAGE MAKING PROCESS
AN EFFICIENT FERMENTATION IS ESSENTIAL
Silage making is a complex process involving many different criteria which, if managed correctly, results in high quality and well fermented silage.
Care must be taken to ensure grass entering the silage clamp is of highest quality. The silage making process requires:
- Oxygen Elimination
- Heat
- Moisture
- Sugar
- Bacteria
No matter how good the fermentation process, the quality of the silage can be no better than the quality of the grass from which it is made from.
FREE Agri-Lloyd Pre-Cut Grass Test Kit
THERE ARE TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES WHEN PRESERVING AND MAINTAINING THE CROPS GROWN FOR SILAGE
- A RAPID DROP IN THE pH OF THE CROP
- AEROBIC STABILITY FOR PROLONGED CLAMP LONGEVITY
| PROBLEM | CAUSE |
| Rancid, fishy odour, slimy, sticky texture | High butyric acid levels due to soil contamination, high manure levels, low dry matter crop under 30% |
| Mouldy silage with musty odour | Presence of oxygen, poor clamp filling and sealing, high dry matter above 50% or poor feedout management |
| Smell of vinegar | Acetic acid fermentation due to high levels of air reaching silage |
| Sweet smelling silage | High levels of ethanol produced by moulds |
| Ammonia odour | Due to excessive protein breakdown, clostridial fermentation and high pH levels |
| Smells burnt or tobacco | Due to excessive heating which is caused by secondary fermentation, also excessive wilting |
Agri-Lloyd provide industry leading forage audit services as part of our science based approach to rumen health and nutrition. We operate a state of the art Forage Analytical Assurance Group (FAA) approved laboratory, which enables us to deliver detailed forage analysis report.
The analysis is conducted by the International Centre for Nutritional Excellence (INCE) lab and a full written report is provided within 48 hours turnaround time, setting the standard for the industry.
CONTROL OF THE FERMENTATION PROCESS IS KEY
HM INOCULANT® SUPPORTS SILAGE MAKING PROCESS
HM Inoculant® supplies a concentrated and complex mix of three specifically selected strains of lactic acid producing bacteria that function at different pH levels within the silage making process to give a more rapid and efficient fermentation process.
