Optimum basic ration preservation

To ensure that you can provide your animals with high-quality, nutritious feed throughout the year, it is necessary to provide a consistent and clean supply of forage. This means that it may be necessary to preserve the harvested basic ration.

Silage is a method that preserves nutrients well and at the same time is efficient in terms of production costs.

Preservation with lactic acid fermentation

The plants are covered in various microorganisms, including lactic acid bacteria. In the absence of air, these convert part of the sugar in the plants into lactic acid. The acid formed leads to a rapid reduction in pH value and keeps the forage stable from a microbiological point of view. The forage can now be stored.

However, there are companions to the lactic acid bacteria on forage crops can cause problems during the silage making process.

Undesirable microorganisms

Clostridia are among the biggest enemies of lactic acid bacteria. They convert sugar, protein and lactic acid into butyric acid, which is not good. Clostridia are found in the soil and therefore enter the silage primarily as a result of dirt ingress during harvesting.

Coli bacteria predominantly produce pungent smelling acetic acids. Putrefactive bacteria decompose high-quality protein. These bacteria enter the equation as a result of contaminated forage.

Yeast and mould can cause unwanted reheating.

The basic prerequisite for silage

The most important parameter for optimum silage quality is therefore to start with clean forage.

The end-to-end harvesting process needs to be carried out as smoothly as possible to avoid dirt ingress. The dry matter content of the material to be harvested should also be between 30 % and 40 % and air pockets removed as soon as possible.

When all of these factors interact, lactic acid bacteria can accelerate pH value reduction and have a positive effect on silage quality.

Boosting the fermentation process

Silage additives can be applied during the harvesting process to positively influence the silage process and ensure the forage quality remains stable in the clamp.

The silage process can be accelerated and fermentation improved by adding lactic acid bacteria using a silage additive system. The more evenly the silage additive is applied to the forage, the better the chance of preventing incorrect fermentation and stopping it from reheating when the clamp is opened.

It is important to note that the silage additive is only an additional factor in producing stable silage.

The silage additive tank from PÖTTINGER is the surest way to achieve high-quality, stable silage.