Weighing the Differences Between
Silage Additives and Inoculants
TThe quality of silage you feed
your livestock is affected by several
critical factors. First, the silage
that is fed out can’t be any better
than the crop that was put into the
silo. If that crop is harvested at
less than peak nutrient value or
damaged by weather, the nutrient
value of the silage will naturally
be lower.
Silage management practices
also have a major impact on
quality. Using the proper length of
cut, packing the silage well and
protecting it effectively from expo
sure to air are all important in
preventing loss of nutrients and
dry matter.
Another factor critical to the pro
duction of high quality silage is the
presence of certain types'of bac
teria which preserve the ensiled
crop through of fermen
tation. shown, how
ever, that nature does not always
provide these bacteria in numbers
great enough to ensure a rapid,
efficient fermentation. So even if
you harvest your crop at peak
nutrient value and use the best
silage management practices, you
can’t be sure of getting the highest
quality silage consistently, year
after year.
Several methods have been de
veloped to make up for this short
fall in nature. One is the use of
silage additives. Another is inocu
lation of silage with bacteria to
promote fermentation.
A Mixed Bag of Additives
There are three major categories
of silage additives in use today:
acids, nutrients and enzymes.
Since the material in a silo is
preserved by acids produced during
fermentation, it would seem logical
to improve preservation by adding
acid directly rather than relying on
the natural process.
The problem is, in order to en
sure preservation, you would have
to add at least 10 pounds of acid per
Microbes in Agriculture
When it comes to selecting the most effective
product for improving silage quality, a pro
ducer has many choices to weigh.
ton of silage, which can be a very
expensive proposition. The usual
recommended rate of application
for acids is too small to have a
significant impact on preservation.
Also, acids can be dangerous to
handle and corrosive to equipment.
The addition of nutrients such as
molasses, whey, urea or ammonia
can obviously increase the feed
value of silage. But, whether these
additives actually aid in fermenta
tion and preservation of the ensiled
material itself is less certain. In
theory, nutrient additives such as
molasses will provide additional
carbohydrate "fuel” for fermen
tation. However, as with acid, it
takes several pounds of additive
per ton to promote such an effect.
In view of their cost, nutrient addi
tives should be considered more for
the feed value they may add to
silage than as aids to fermentation.
Another silage additive category
is enzymes. Enzymes are non-living
substances produced by living
organisms during such processes
as digestion. They can be compared
to the tools a workman needs to do
a job. Just as these tools cannot
do the work by themselves, so
enzymes added to silage cannot
produce acids without live bacteria
being present. And enzymes can
not reproduce and spread through
the silage as bacteria do.
Inoculation: An Active
Approach
None of the silage additives just
described increase in volume after
being added to the silage. However,
assuming the bacteria in a silage
inoculant are alive and capable of
reproducing, they will multiply
quickly and spread through the
silage, producing a rapid, efficient
fermentation which preserves the
ensiled material with a minimum
loss of dry matter and nutrients.
It is very important that the
bacteria in a silage inoculant be of
the right type. For example, bac
teria which can produce an effi
cient fermentation in milk do not
have the same effect in silage.
Ideally, the bacteria in a silage
inoculant are not only alive and
capable of reproducing, but are
also specially selected from those
strains best adapted for silage
fermentation.
These two criteria have been
applied to the development of
new Pioneer* brand 1177 silage
inoculant. 1177 is a product of
the same kind of intensive genetic
research and quality control which
have made Pioneer a leader in
hybrid seeds.
Used in combination with good
crop and silage management prac
tices, 1177 can help you overcome
the shortfalls in nature which may
have prevented you from getting
the best silage possible.
1177 silage inoculant is available
from your Pioneer sales represen
tative. Ask him for more informa
tion about it.
One In a series of articles de
voted to improved silage making
sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred
International, Inc.
trademark of Pioneer Hi-Bred
International Inc Des Moines lowa, USA