Worldwide research on silage

I recently had the opportunity to attend the International Silage Conference, for which more than 350 researchers and industry personnel gathered in Gainesville, Florida. I participated in a discussion on mycotoxins in silage, sharing our work on the importance of hybrid selection as a tool to help manage DON levels and the use of fungicides as a tool for DON management.

Changes during fermentation

One participant from the University of Wisconsin presented a recently completed study on the changes in DON levels during fermentation, which found significant increases in DON levels during the first 30 days of fermentation. Levels of approximately 1.4 ppm at harvest increased to 2.1 ppm and then continued to rise slowly through 90 days post-ensiling.

While DON levels were rising, a masked form of DON that is hard to test for, DON-3-Glucoside, declined, showing a change in DON forms during ensiling. Another presentation from Italy evaluated the use of inoculants to manage DON in silage. Proper silage harvest moisture, cut length and packing for oxygen exclusion were critical factors in managing the increase in DON during fermentation. Some inoculants even helped to decrease the DON levels in corn silage. While many inoculants were not tested, products that contained E. Faecium and E. Faecalis lowered DON levels in corn silage at 90 days compared to the untreated control.

Spoiled feed

Multiple presentations discussed the cost of spoiled feed. Besides the cost of shrink, there was also the cost of lost production. Feeding just 4% of spoilage from the top of a silage pile can cost the farm 4.5 pounds of milk per day. Using high oxygen barrier film instead of PE film decreases silage losses. From this presentation, I also learned that a system is available that automatically covers and weights bunker silos.

Inoculant benefits

While many posters presented data on the benefits of silage inoculants to improve farm profitability by decreasing fermentation loss, one other unique presentation was on using inoculants to grow probiotics in silage. While this is still a few years away, the results indicate that silage inoculants can be utilized to produce animal health products, such as antioxidants in feed, which in turn increase the antioxidants in the milk produced. They were also able to produce anti-inflammatory probiotics, which would benefit cows during challenging times, such as calving or mastitis, thereby improving the cow’s homeostasis.

Non-meat food waste

One of the more unique presentations was on turning non-meat food waste into a silage for livestock feed. This unique project, conducted in Canada, specifically focused on the 13.2% of food that is lost between harvest and retail, which was identified as the easiest portion of food to preserve as silage.

The two primary waste streams are expired food from grocery stores, where perishable fruits and vegetables need to be processed quickly after they are no longer cool, and waste from packaging plants of culls fruits and vegetables with blemishes.

The greatest challenge was maintaining the correct balance of food waste that could be blended, ensuring the final moisture level was 60 to 65% and so that enough fermentable sugars were present. However, if enough wet and dry ingredients are available, food waste can be packed and ensilaged to make excellent feed.

Economically, prepackaged food is easier to handle than post-processing, where the packaging needs to be removed before ensiling. For small operations, a small mixer and mini bagger can decrease the cost of landfilled waste and enable the use of fruit and vegetable waste to feed livestock later.

Baleage production

One session focused on baleage production. One of these presentations focused on preserving hay that was too wet for dry hay but not wet enough for true baleage, with an emphasis on the importance of oxygen exclusion through the use of sufficient bale wrap. While another study showed that adding liquid molasses to overly mature hay, made into baleage, could improve hay fermentation, digestibility and energy.

Safety

Silage safety was a topic from one of the keynote speakers over supper. As we talked around the table, it surprised me that every one of us knew someone who had either had a close call, been injured or killed in a silage accident.

One of the consultants at my table had a co-worker who was caught in a bunker silo collapse while taking a feed sample and luckily survived. Another had a co-worker who was helping remove tires from the bunker cover and fell, while another knew a client who got run over during harvest.

With harvest around the corner, take time to talk with your team to ensure everyone stays safe, so no one else is part of the next silage safety discussion.