Tips For Good Silage Management MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. With few exceptions, all crops grown in the U.S. can be harvested, conserved, and fed as silage. Since the eady 19505, there has been a steady increase in both the total quantity of forage pro duced and the percentage of it conserved as silage. Reasons for the popularity of silage include: • It is much less weather depen dent than haymaking. • It is more suitable than hay for large-scale livestock production. • It is adaptable to a wider range of crops such as com, sorg hum, and winter cereals. • It allows the harvesting of maximum nutrients per acre. When made by suitable tech niques, silage should be well preserved and lose a minimum of nutrients. These have been the goals since silage-making was introduced here in the 1870 s. Our knowledge of the bioche mistry and microbiology of silage fermentation has increased tre mendously in the second half of the 20th century. Silage is a pro duct of anaerobic fermentation. It involves the conversion of water soluble carbohydrates to lactic acid, which drops the pH to a level sufficient to inhibit any further biological activity (change) in the ensiled material when maintained under anaerobic conditions. In most circumstances, good silage is achieved by encouraging the dominance of lactic acid bac extra Advanta Spring IS HERE! Time To Order Muncy-Chief Seeds MOST HYBRIDS AVAILABLE ALL GUARANTEED TOP QUALITY MF MR UR $49.90 $47.90 $46.90 $44.90 $42.90 $41.90 $39.90 $37.90 $36.90 RETAIL - Smaller Amounts Or In Seed Bags Single Cross $70.00 $68.00 $67.00 3 Way Cross $65.00 $63.00 $62.00 Double Cross $60.00 $58.00 $57.00 SEEDS IN REGULAR SEED BAGS OR IN BULK DELIVERY 1991 AND ADVANCE PRICES ON SEED CORN FOR 1992 BULK BAGGED 50 Bu 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.50 Single Cross 3 Way Cross Double Cross SEED OATS BULK BASIS Certified Ogle Seed Oats Certified Noble Seed Oats Certified Hercules Seed Oats Other Select Seed Oats SOYBEANS BULK BASIS 30 BU. LOTS Cert. Soybeans Williams 82 9.50 DELIVERED PRICES TO DEALERS OR C.E. SAUDER & SON MILL, EAST EARL, PA. PHONE 215-445-4822 OR PACMA WAREHOUSE, PALMYRA, PA. PHONE 717-838-7050 MUNCY-CHIEF HYBRIDS, MUNCY, PA. 17756 Phone 717-546-5981 Toll Free Pa. 800-874-4803 NE Except Maine 800-874-4805 teria and discouraging the activi ties of plant enzymes, Clostridia, coliform bacteria, and yeasts. In the initial stages of ensiling, plant respiratory enzymes oxidize solu ble carbohydrates, resulting in heat production and decreased amount of sugars available for fermentation. Plant proteases hydrolyze pro teins to amino acids and peptides. Soluble nitrogen can increase from 20% of the total nitrogen in pre-ensiled com to over 50% within 24 hours post-ensiling. Sil ages containing high amounts of soluble nitrogen usually do not support optimum animal production. The Clostridia, coliforms, and yeasts compete with lactic acid bacteria for fermentable carbohy drates, and many of their end pro ducts have no preservative action. Clostridia are responsible for sec ondary fermentation which can convert lactic acid to butyric acid and degrade amino acids to amines and ammonia. Clostridial silages have high nutrient losses, high soluble nitrogen content, low digestibility, and low intake by livestock. Yeasts are linked to aer obic deterioration of silage, parti cularly during the feedout period. It is likely that no other ingre dient in beef and dairy cattle rations today is as variable in qual ity as silage. Making consistent, high quality silage requires atten tion to details and sound management. SPECIAL BULK OR BAGGED SALE PRICES MUNCY-CHIEF SEED CORN LARGE FARM PRICES IN BULK OR EVEN WEIGHT BAGS 1500 LB. 25 FULL BUSHEL LOTS SAVE $15.10 PER BUSHEL Nine of the key factors that affect silage quality are additives, feedout, storage structure, crop, weather, maturity, moisture, chop length and filling, packing, and sealing. Because many of these factors are interrelated, it is diffi cult to present their significance individually. The silage maker must understand the importance of each. Crop. Grow the crop(s) that offers the greatest economic advantage and produces the most nutrients per acre. With few exceptions, a satisfactory silage can be made from any crop. The ideal crop should have adequate fermentable carbohy drates, a low buffering capacity, a physical structure suitable for compacting (to exclude oxygen), and a harvest period of several days. Maturity. For “hay crop” silage (i.e., alfalfa, clover, orchard grass, hybrid Sudan or sorghum-sudan grasses), harvesting at the opti mum stage of maturity is often a compromise between increasing yield (quantity) and decreasing quality as the crop matures. For “grain-containing” silages (corn, sorghum, winter cereals) optimum yield and quality normally occur at about the same stage of maturi ty. The following harvesting guidelines are most common: • Alfalfa- late bud to 1/10 bloom. • Perennial grasses- before heads emerge. es 4.25 4.25 4.25 3.75 10.00 INC., • Summer annuals heads emerge. • Com- fully dented kernels • Sorghum- soft-dough kernels, • Wheat, barley, oats, triticale, rye- boot (maximum protein con tent);- soft-dough kernels (maxi mum TDN yield). Moisture. This is probably the most important factor affecting silage quality. Ensiling a crop too wet can result in seepage, undesir able clostridial activity and butyr ic acid, high fermentation and storage losses, and reduced silage intake and performance by lives tock. Ensiling a crop too dry cre ates problems in eliminating air (poor compaction), achieving suf ficient fermentation to lower the pH for preservation, and prevent ing spoilage from aerobic deterioration. Chop Length. Common sense and attention to details are impor tant. Sharp cutter knives, shear bar Farm Calendar (Continued from Page A 10) Northumberland Co. Spring Awards banquet, Sunbury Social Club, Sunbury, 6:30 ■■33BES3BBBH Satnrdax, Max IX Armed I (trees l)a\ Mid-Atlantic Herding Stock Dog Club herding clinic, McVeytown. Bedford Co. Sheep and Wool Field Day, Bedford Fairgrounds, liedfordjH^jm^Mjjm^^ In 5 years Kverneland has brought a new dimension into forage production! SNawrap Till • lha Idaal ona-man machina for cualom wrapping. Computar controilad from cab, 30’ Kvarnaland pra'Otratchar, Kvarnaland Applicuttar, and hydr. fall dampar for |«ntla bala dlocharga. Simple solutions are \ery often the best - and least expensive' Theiefcne, it is not a surprise that Kveineland in 5 tears has achieved the Win Id leadership with the Silawrap System Because the Silavvrap System offers • Minimal investments in fixed constructions • Forage production fai less depending on weather • High feed v alue • Harv estmg and storing with minimum loss One-man opeiated silage production Great flexibility in harvest and storage Highly reliable technology in method and machines The experience behind more than 10 000 Silawraps NORCAN FARM EQUIPMENT CORP. 6055 Corporate Drive, East Syracuse, NY 13057 Phone (315) 463*5276 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 4, 1991-A35 and knives closely adjusted, and the use of a recutter screen are all daily management decisions dur ing silage harvest. How fine (or coarse) should sil age be chopped? Theoretically, 1/4 to I/2-inch length is recom mended, but fineness varies with the crop, power (fuel) require ment, tonnage per hour, etc. Short chopping permits greater compac tion of the crop in the silo versus long chopping. This means there is less oxygen for the plant respi ration and aerobic bacteria phases, less heat production in the ensiled material, and a higher nutritive value in silage. before Filling. Packing, Sealing The crop should be harvested and the ing value of the stored produce. Silage additives are receiving wide-spread acceptance in the U.S. as management tools that are essential for silage making. Monday, May 20 Clearfield Co. estate planning. Multiservice Center, 7 Christmas Tree pest management workshop and tour, McCurdy Tree Farm, Dillsburg, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Lancaster Co. Home Horticulture Seminar, Simple Garden Che mistry, Farm and Home Center, 7:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Milk Producers Voluntary Ag Association annual meeting, Baron’s Inn, Greene, N.Y., noon-4 p.m. * <*!;__* Sllawrpp 755* • stationary (or 3-polnt) mods! fully eomputorlxod, Infra-rod operation from loading tractor. One man operation. The dom.naling position ol bilawtap in moi e than 20 leading agt icultut al nations in the woild death confiims the K\ ei neland philosophy - -always to be a nouble-shooter foi demanding farmeis- For more details on how \ou too can benefit fiom bilawiap - and users leferences - please eontaU us toda> Video.tapes atailable Kverneland f whole tanning moans business “• <0 '"7
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