making grass silage - usda ars...dan undersander-agronomy © 2013 high quality grass silage results...
TRANSCRIPT
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Making Grass Silage
Dr. Dan UndersanderUniversity of Wisconsin
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Fermentation analysis profile
Legume Silage
Grass Silage
Corn Silage
Moisture: 65%+ <65% 60-65% pH 4.0-4.3 4.3-4.7 3.8-4.2 Lactic Acid 6.0-8.0 6.0-10.0 5.0-10.0 Acetic Acid 1.0-3.0 1.0-3.0 1.0-3.0 Ethanol (% of DM) <1.0 <1.0 <3.0 Ammonia-N (% of CP) <15.0 <12.0 <8.0 Lactic: Acetic ratio 2+ 2+ 3+ Lactic (% of total acids) 60+ 60+ 70+
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
High quality grass silage results from:
1. Harvesting high quality forage
2. Inoculation
3. Proper packing
4. Covering
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Making Good Grass Silage
Want 10–15% WSC (sugars) in the dry matter Young, leafy grass that has been well fertilized,
grass/clover mixtures and autumn cuts tend to have low sugar levels
Buffering capacity is directly related to how much sugar it takes to lower silage pH. Grass typically has a low buffering capacity and an
adequate supply of sugars High rates of N increase buffering capacity.
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Grass Dry Matter Digestibility
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10
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leaf stage boot stage heading full flower
Digestible DM
Indigestible DM
Recommendedharvest
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Cool Season Grasses Head only on first Cutting
Harvest 1st cutting at boot stage 2nd and later cuttings are primarily leaves
Boot stage Heading
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Mowing, Conditioning
Mowing height - 3.5 to 4 inches Promotes rapid grass regrowth Reduces dirt contamination
Condition with flail conditioner Make wide swath Tedding may be necessary Rake/merge
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Chopping
Chop at 60 to 65% moisture Cut length ¾ to 1 inches
Longer makes compaction more difficult Good compaction - Faster acid fermentation Good compaction - Less spoilage on feedout
Improved feed uptake Apply inoculant
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Precutting forage before baling Cutting forage for hay/haylage - bales that break
apart easily for feeding Bale is more dense Bales break apart easier for use in TMR Higher feeding efficiency Improved stocker cattle gain
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Different Types of Inoculants
Traditional homofermentative types: Lactobacillus plantarum, L. casei, Pediococcus
species, Enterococcus faecium Lactobacillus buchneri, a heterofermenter Combination of homofermenters with L. buchneri
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Homofermenter vs. Heterofermenter
Homofermenter (L planatarium)1 6-C Sugar 2 Lactic Acid
Heterofermenter (L buchneri)1 6-C Sugar 1 Lactic Acid + 1 Acetic Acid + CO2
1 6-C Sugar 1 Lactic Acid + 1 Ethanol + CO2
1 Lactic Acid 1 Acetic Acid + CO2 (L. buchneri, not all heteros)
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
End Product Comparison
Lactic acid - strong acid; weak spoilage inhibitor; fermented in rumen
Acetic acid - weak acid; good spoilage inhibitor; not fermented in rumen
Ethanol - neutral; poor spoilage inhibitor; partially fermented in rumen
Carbon dioxide - lost dry matter
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
So…
If you want to preserve crop quality: Lactic acid
If you want a silage that doesn't heat: Acetic acid
In any case, you want to minimize ethanol & CO2
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Homofermentative Inoculants -Expectations
High lactic acid content, low other products
Low pH
Improved DM recovery
Slightly better animal performance
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Homofermentative Inoculants - Results
pH Lower but not all the
time Works more often in hay
crop than whole-grain silages
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70Alfa
lfaGra
ssCor
nSm. G
rain
% Trials with lower pH
(Muck and Kung, 1997)
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Aerobic Stability Problems
Is the problem a management problem that can be solved without an additive? 55% to 70% moisture, stability problems are almost
always related to management issues Below 55% moisture, you have a number of options:
Feed out in winter Homofermentative inoculants for sporadic warm weather
issues should make small improvements in stability L. buchneri or combination of products for more
consistent warm weather issues.
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Issues with L. buchneri
Slower growth than L. plantarum, takes 45 to 60 days storage time before having much effect
Will not reduce heating with immature silage; propionic acid is the best solution.
Results in dry matter loss
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L buchneri inoculants - Expectations
Higher acetic acid content Better bunk stability Slightly elevated pH Improved DM recovery from less spoilage offsetting
more fermentation losses Animal performance - ??
Keeping silage cool benefits intake High acetic acid may reduce intake?
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Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2013
Rapidly Fill and Cover
Fill bunker silos in 1 or, possibly 2 days Wrap bales within 3 to 4 hours
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Pack Silage Well
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Silage Pile Height to Top of Slope (feet) = 10 August 23, 2007
Horizontal Portion of Side Slope (ie 3 for 3:1) = 3.0Top Width (feet) [ can be zero]= 100 Values in yellow cells are user changeable
Silage Delivery Rate to Pile (T AF/Hr) = 120 Typical values 15-200 T AF/hr
Silage Dry Matter Content (decimal ie 0.35) = 0.34 Recommended range of DM content = 0.3-0.4
Silage Packing Layer Thickness (inches) = 6 Recommended value is 6 inches or less
Packing Tractor - Each Tractor Tractor Weight (lbs) Tractor Packing Time (% of Filling Time)====================================================================================================Tractor # 1 Typical tractor weight is 10,000-60,000 lbs 40,000 100 100Tractor # 2 Typical tractor weight is 10,000-60,000 lbs 40,000 100 100Tractor # 3 Typical tractor weight is 10,000-60,000 lbs 0 0 0Tractor # 4 Typical tractor weight is 10,000-60,000 lbs 0 0 0Proportioned Total Tractor Weight (lbs) = 80,000Average Silage Height (feet) = 8.1 Green cells are intermediate calculated values
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Packing Factor = 501.8 Values in pink cells are results of calculations
Est. Average Wet Density = Bulk Density (lbs AF/cu ft) = 44.5 Wet Density greater than 44 lbs AF/cu ft is recomme
Maximum Achievable Bulk Density (lbs AF/cu ft)= 73.0 Wet Density greater than Max. Wet Density is unrea
Gas Filled Porosity = 0.39 Gas Filled Porosity less than 0.40 is recommended
Est. Average Dry Matter Density (lbs DM/cu ft) = 15.1 Density greater than 15 lbs DM/cu ft is recommended
Maximum Achievable DM Density (lbs DM/cu ft)= 24.8 DM Density greater than Max. Achievable is unrealist
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Cover bunker or pile
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