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The Ensiling Process and Additives

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The Ensiling Process and Additives AGRONOMY • Crops • Soils • Climate The Ensiling Process Pre-seal and Additives Plant and microbial respiration dominates during the Proper ensiling includes controlled fermentation, chopping, filling, and packing steps, causing changes which converts perishable wet forage plants to a and nutrient losses from the chopped crop. Respiration stable, stored feed energy source. Good ensiling is a wasteful process, because it uses sugar and manage ment is required for high silage quality and oxygen to release carbon dioxide, water, and heat. dry matter (DM) recovery. To guide silage manage ment Since sugars are highly digestible, their respiration practices, it is important to understand the biologi cal causes losses of energy and dry matter (DM). Sugars and chemical processes that occur during ensiling, are also the main food for lactic acid bacteria. their effects on silage quality, and how these pro cesses The activity of lactic acid bacteria ferments sugar can be controlled. to lactic acid, which decreases the pH to a low of 4.0 to 4.2, a level normally required for good The Ensiling Process quality silage. The heat produced by respiration raises silage temperature and increases the rate of There are four phases during silo storage of forage: microbial processes, both good (fermentation) and pre-seal, active fermentation, stable phase, and bad (respiration). Respiration rate increases with feedout (Figure 1). temperature, and reaches its maximum around 115°F Active Stable Pre-seal Feedout fermentation phase Plant respiration Protein degradation Yeasts Molds Acetic acid bacteria Lactic acid bacteria Clostridium bacteria Source: Adapted from R. E. Muck and R. E. Pitt, 1993, “Ensiling and its effect on crop quality,” p. 57. In Proceedings of the National Silage Production Conference, Syracuse, NY. 23-25 Feb. 1993. NRAES Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY. Figure 1. Biological processes during ensiling. PM 417h Revised December 2008 in forage with a moisture content between 50 and This becomes important when producers open a silo 70 percent. A rise in temperature above about 120°F after several weeks to put additional forage on top can lead to an undesirable high-temperature reaction of the ensiled crop. At that time, lactic acid bacteria that causes heat-damage-browning or the Maillard are usually the dominant microorganisms in the reactions, and decreased silage digestibility. Silage fermenting silage, and exposure to added oxygen can producers can reduce respiration losses by first rapidly cause a rapid reduction in lactic acid and increased wilting the forage crop to 60 to 70 percent mois ture for acetic acid concentrations, reducing silage palatabil ity. chopping. Drier silage is difficult to pack and allows air Well-fermented silage has a lactic acid concentration to circulate in the chopped forage, which extends the of 6 to 8 percent of DM. Consequently, an extended period of res piration losses and heating. homofermentation is desirable for both crop preservation and animal performance. The next management step toward making good silage is to chop the forage at the proper particle length. The Large numbers of lactic acid bacteria occur naturally in recommended cutting length is 3/8 to 1/2 inch. When plants and grow best under warm, humid conditions. forage is too coarsely chopped, it is diffi cult to pack As a result, high counts of lactic acid bacteria occur tightly, maintains excess air, and allows respiration on corn and alfalfa and remain high for two to to continue for an extended period. Chop ping too three days during wilting of alfalfa. Most lactic acid finely wastes fuel and may adversely affect the normal bacteria grow well above 60°F with fastest growth rumen function of cattle that eat the silage. Even with rates at temperatures between 80° and 100°F. When chopper knives set to cut at 3/8 to 1/2 inch, there will be moisture content is less than 40 percent, their growth some longer particles useful in ruminant feeding. is very slow, and fermentation may not be complete until alfalfa is stored for 4 to 5 weeks. At 70 percent To further reduce respiration losses shorten the filling moisture, most fermentations are finished within one period, pack the chopped forage tightly, and cover and to two weeks, except under cold (< 50°F) conditions. seal the silo as soon as possible. Clostridium bacteria and other undesirable bacteria are Active Fermentation present on the chopped crop, especially if it has been Processes during this phase occur under anaerobic contaminated with soil or manure. Growth of these (oxygen-free) conditions and should be dominated clostridium bacteria and yeasts are undesirable in by growth of lactic acid bacteria. This period lasts silage fermentation. They can con vert lactic acid to foul for one to four weeks and is characterized by a pH smelling butyric acid and pro duce ammonia from plant decline to around 4.0. During the first days of ensiling, protein. A clostridial silage is characterized by butyric however, plant enzymes and acetic acid producing acid levels greater than lactic acid levels, ammonia-N bacteria compete with lactic acid bacteria for sugars levels greater than 10 percent of total N, pH above 5.0, and pro teins. Plant enzymes break down proteins to and a “rancid butter” odor. Clostridial fermentation soluble nonprotein nitrogen (NPN). Protein breakdown may sometimes dominate in silage with a moisture is high est during the first day after sealing and content above 70 percent. decreases rapidly as oxygen is used up, with very little protein breakdown occur ring after one week of proper Stable Phase ensiling. Maximum pro tein breakdown occurs at a When lactic acid bacteria have used up all the sugar pH of 5.5 to 6.0, the typical pH of a freshly chopped in the crop or when pH gets low enough to stop their crop at ensiling. A very rapid fermentation or addition growth (4.0 – 4.2 or lower), the stable phase begins. of an acid at ensiling (which will be discussed in a As long as the silo remains sealed and anaerobic, little later section) to rapidly decrease pH to 4.0 can reduce biological activity occurs during this period. However, protein breakdown considerably. After ensiling, NPN in as oxygen slowly enters through silo walls and covers, the silage can range from 20 percent to as much as 85 this can cause the growth of yeasts, molds, and aerobic percent of total N. bac teria at the exposed surfaces of silos. Listeria bacteria grow in silage exposed to oxy gen, such as The two main groups of lactic acid bacteria are air entering through small leaks in plas tic covers or homofermenters, which produce only lactic acid around doors in a tower silo. In extreme cases, listeria from sugar; and heterofermenters, which produce can cause disease of the nervous sys tem in both carbon dioxide, ethanol, acetic acid, and lactic animals and humans and induce abortions or cause acid. The homofermenters are the most desirable death. because their activity does not cause DM loss as do heterofermenters. High levels of less desirable acetic Feedout acid and ethanol reduce the palatability of silage After the silo is opened and during feedout, the surface and, thus, animal intake. When oxygen is present, is reexposed to oxygen where yeast, mold, and aerobic heterofermenting bacteria produce less lactic and bacteria can again deteriorate silage. These organisms more acetic acid and, in the absence of sugar, convert convert remaining plant sugars, lactic acid, or other lactic to acetic acid. energy-rich nutrients in the silage to carbon dioxide, water, and heat. Because fermentation acids are destroyed during aerobic spoilage, silage pH in creases and grass silages, while their success in corn is less to levels sometimes exceeding 7.0. Heating and a yeast con sistent. Some strains of a bacterial species have aroma are the most common symptoms of aerobic been selected for use on particular crops. Therefore, deterioration of silages. Thus, feedout spoilage causes buy the inoculant product that is selected for the crop increased DM losses, degraded feed, and a higher risk you are ensiling. If that is not possible, try a product of toxic organisms and their spoilage products. for a similar crop within the same classification (i.e. legumes and grasses). Aerobic feedout losses are mini mal, however, when good feedout management is practiced. Remove a A relatively new approach in silage inoculant minimum of 2 inches of silage per day in the winter additives is to include a heterofermenter bacteria and 4 inches of silage per day in the summer from in the inoculant to direct the fermentation to aid in tower silos. For bunker silos, it is best to remove at preventing spoilage during feedout and improve ‘feed least 4 inches per day in the winter and 6 inches per bunk stability.’ The bacteria Lactobacillus buchneri day from the silage surface in the summer. Also, feed has been demonstrated to improve aerobic stability silage to the livestock in small portions two to four of silages by reducing the growth of yeasts. The times per day instead of in one big portion. beneficial impact ofL. buchneri appears to be related to the production of acetic acid. Aerobic stability is Silage Additives likely improved because acetic acid inhibits growth of specific species of yeast that are responsible for Producers hear and read advertisements and heating and spoilage upon exposure to oxygen as promotions about products to help make better silage. compared to untreated silages. Treating silage with To determine whether to use a silage additive or which L. buchneri most likely would be beneficial under one is best, it is important that you know how the circumstances where problems with aerobic instability additive influences silage fermentation.
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