Ensiling made easy
Would you like to feed your cows with a high-quality silage, and facilitate excellent dry matter consumption? Do you want to increase the yield of your dairy cows and at the same time sustainably stabilise the health of your animals? Or are you fighting problems such as reheating or the formation of mould, and have not yet found a solution? In that case, you are in exactly the right place with the Josilac® silage inoculants! Read everything on the subject of silage inoculants in the following text.
Contents
Why does the use of silage inoculants pay off?
High-quality silages are defined by a very good dry matter intake and excellent nutrient digestibility. The high intake of roughage increases milk production, promotes animal health and thereby improves the lifetime performance of the cows. Therefore, the primary objectives of ensilaging are:
- good storage suitability,
- low storage / fermentation losses,
- high quality.
The quality of silage depends on the maturity of the ensiled material, the weather, the dry matter as well as sugar content. Other important influencing factors are the buffer capacity, nitrate content and microbial load. Some of these factors can be controlled by the farmer. This means silage quality can directly be influenced by the right silage management.
Faulty fermentation and reheating – what do I need to know?
Ensiling conditions during the silage season are not always the same and are not always ideal. Wet weather conditions and a low lactobacilli colonisation can quickly lead to faulty fermentation. Faulty fermentation causes
- A loss of protein which therefore leads to poorer protein quality. This has effects on the ration costs and on the health of your animals as well as on the quantity of the milk.
- Energy and dry matter losses and reduced feed intake. Therefore, less milk is generated at a higher cost.
Reheating is also a common problem. Reheating causes
- Dry matter and energy losses. Therefore, less milk is generated at a higher cost.
- A lower feed intake and poorer digestibility.
- Poor feed hygiene.
- A higher risk of mycotoxins.
For grasses and legumes, the acidification time is important to achieve superior silage nutritional quality with stable proteins. For grasses and legumes, it is essential to experience a fast drop in pH after ensiling in order to achieve a high-quality silage with stable nutrients. If the pH does not drop fast enough, undesired fermentation pests could grow and diminish the nutrient content and loose proteins.
The more easily the ensiled material ferments and the higher the dry matter, the more the focus should be on protecting the later opened silage from reheating and nutrient deterioration by formation of aerobic molds and yeasts. Heterofermentative bacteria with their production of acetic acid deliver the perfect protection against the growth of mold and yeast. Combined products with homofermentative and heterofermentative bacteria have an advantage over products consisting only of heterofermentative bacteria as they are capable of acidifying the silage at the start of ensiling.
How do I apply Josilac® in practice?
Josilac® silage inoculants are dissolved in water and distributed on the silage at a dosage of 2.7g per short ton using a suitable dosing equipment. The amount of water in the tank depends on the harvest speed and volume, nozzle output and type of dosing equipment. After mixing, the solution should be used up within 48 hours.
How do I determine the dry matter content?
The dry matter content of silage can be easily calculated even without much measuring technology. Simply form some of your silage into a ball, and press it together firmly. Then look at the table to obtain an initial value regarding the dry matter content:
| < 20% | slight pressure, liquid runs out |
| 25% | strong pressure, liquid runs out |
| 30% | strong pressure, very little liquid runs out, hands become wet |
| 35% | strong pressure, hands become wet |
| 40% | strong pressure, hands become slightly wet |
| 45% | strong pressure, hands only feel damp |
| > 45% | strong pressure, hands remain dry |
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Contact & Service
Would you like detailed information or a consultation? The more precisely you specify what interests you, the better we can assist you. Are you interested in purchasing Josilac® silage inoculants? We are glad to put you in touch with our dealer near you. Just send us a message with your request.