Stability Of Silages (Continued from Page A3O) with several of the newer buffered propionic acid products. Label recommendations range from 1- to 4-pounds per ton of forage. As expected, our initial re search suggests that higher appli cation levels are better than lower. An optimum dose level cannot be recommended at this time because we cannot predict how many yeasts are naturally occurring on a forage in a particular field. In addition, packing, moisture, fill rate, and feedout rate markedly affect growth of yeasts in the silo. To date, there is insufficient data to show that any one product is consistently belter than another. A less commonly used additive to control yeasts and molds is anhydrous ammonia (5-7 Lbsiton). The major drawback with ammonia is operator safety during application. Ammonia is quite dangerous to work with and safety precautions should always be taken when it is used (protective eye-ware and re spirator if needed). Rations with ammonia treated silage must be carefully balanced for proper amounts of rumen-degradable and -undergradable protein. Both ammonia and propionic acid are most effective in controll Table 1 Effect of preservatives on the aerobic stability of com silage under controlled laboratoiy conditions 2 Preservative Untreated Silage Treated Silai Aerobic Stabihl Ammonia 1 Buffer propionic acid 4 2 4 days 3 4 days (2 lb /ton) 4 0 days (4 lb /ton) 'Aerobic stability = days before silage heals after exposure to air 2 Data from the University of Delaware 3 6 lb of anhydrous ammonia equivalent/ton of 35% DM com silage 4 A commercial product containing buffered propionic acid as the pnmary active ingredient Choi MO) Wa Better Gm\ Chore-Timi ing yeasts when applied at the time of ensiling. Table 1 shows some results from tests conducted in my lab with ammonia and propionic acid based preservatives. Comparisons cannot be made between the two preservatives as each was tested separately. In addition, these num bers should not be used as abso lute values for aerobic stability be cause they were generated under controlled laboratory conditions. What is important when viewing this data is the relative difference among treatments. Diagnosing Problems All fermented feeds contain some yeasts and molds. Yeasts make alcohol, so if silage smells like alcohol, many yeast are pre sent Silage with over 100,000 to 1,000,000 (also denoted as 10* to 10*) yeast per gram are usually very unstable and will heat quick ly. This is especially true when sil age is exposed to air during hot weather. Cold weather usually re tards the growth of yeasts and molds so producers tend to see less of a problem with heating sil ages during the winter. Silage can be sent to a labora tory for analyses of yeasts and ity—■ < 1 5 days > 6 days Northeast Agri Systems, Inc. Flyway Business Park Oslmarva Office 139 A West Airport Road 305 University Ave Utttz, PA 17543 Fedetalsburg, Md 1-500-673-2550 I -500-735-6361 717-569-2702 410-754-9434 .Monday-Frtday 7.30 am lo 4 30 pm 24 Hour-7 Day Repair Service «£§ jgSffCTI Here are just a few of the reasons to choose Chore-Time for your next feeding, drinking, or ventilation system: • Top Results • Features & Benefits • Cost & Labor Savings • Innovative Products • Quality & Performance • Support & Assistance • Better System Control If you are looking for improved feed conversion, bird growth, and production efficiency, look no further. Contact us today for details on the many reasons to choose Chore-Time. <„ ~.4il .1 , > tUi Hmti > t* molds. However, caution should be taken to ensure that the sample is frozen, because yeasts and molds can grow rapidly while in transit and thus give a false read ing. A question that is often asked is, when should propionic acid type products be used? Here are some scenarios. As an additive used at ensiling, propionic acid can be used to treat historic problems of silages heat ing in the silo or bunk (oversizing, slow feedout rate, poor packing and filling). Com silage or high moisture com that has been stored for pro longed periods of time (more than 6-9 months) or silage fed during hot weather are other good candi dates for treatment. Treating an entire silo or all of your silage may not be justifiable if the problem occurs for only a few weeks out of the year. How ever, one could rationalize against this logic because it is extremely difficult to predict in advance whethter silage will remain cool. Silage moved from one silo structure to another and purchased silage that is moved and exposed to air for several days before feed ing should be considered for treat ment with buffered propionic acid. However, ammonia and bac terial inoculants should not be used to treat silages that have completed the fermentation pro cess. Sprayiong the face of a bunk with a propionic acid-based pre servative is probably not useful because only silage on the im mediate face is protected as air can penetrate deeply into the silage mass. In an attempt to reduce costs, some suggest that only the top se veral loads of silage in a tower silo or bunk should be treated with a propionic acid-based product. However, this will not help to im- aa m prove the aerobic stability of the remainder of the silage. Because of their relatively high cost, preservatives designed to be added directly to the totally mixed ration (TMR) should be used only in instances where they are to be used for short periods of time. In a heating TMR, be sure to evaluate all sources of yeasts. For example, a silage may remain cool and stable by itself, but when mix ed with other feeds, the mixture may spoil rapidly. The primary source of heating may have come from the other dietary components such as other silages or high mois ture com. If given a choice, preliminary data from our lab suggests that it is better to control yeasts at that time of ensiling rather than after the fact in a TMR. Mycotoxins can cause major health problems for cows. Unfor tunately, our understanding of their control and knowledge is very poor. Molds produce most mycotox ins and for the most part, myco toxins are a separate problem from spoiling feed in the bunk. The ma jority of mycotoxins are produced in the field while a much smaller amount may be produced in the silo. None of the additives dis cussed in this article ate effective in reducing mycotoxin concentra tion in the silo. Justification For Preservatives The cost of a preservative may be justifiable if silage is constantly Table 2 The cost beating corn silage with a preservative Com silage, lb S. per cow/day -- One Tough Tractor. You Can Count on it! lortheasll Kubota's hard working 4 wheel drive L 2500 compact tractor is built tough, extremely versatile, comes with a powerful E-TVCS (Three Vortex Combustion System) diesel engine and delivers an efficient performance day-in and day-out, you can count on it! From small farm chores to large commercial land scaping - and everything in between - the Kubota L 2500 features a completely enclosed front wheel drive bevel gear, 8 forward and 2 reverse sliding gear transmission, wet disc brakes, rear 540 rpm PTO and 3-point hitch. If you need a powerful performance from a tractor you can count on, ask your Kubota dealer about the new, tough Kubota L 2500. We Ship Parts UPS LEBANON Rt. #7, Box 405, Lebanon, PA 17042 Rt. 419 1 Mite West Of Schaefferstown 717-949-2000 VHUVUV.UUMAUU Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 19, 1998-A3l Molds, Mycotoxins Kubota. KILLER BBQ$. II K II B | TRACTORS & EQUIPMENT] Serving Central PA Since 1921 spoiling and leading to poor ani mal performance. I have created a table projecting theoretical costs of treating a ton of 35 percent DM com silage ranging from $1 to $4/ton (Table 2). The cost per cow per day was calculated depending on how much of this silage a cow was eat ing (20, 40, 60, or 80 Ibyday). Based on this simple calcula tion, if a cow lost 1 lb. of milk per day (worth $0 14/day) because of consuming spoiled silage, it would be justifiable to treat this silage in all situations with the ex ception of where 80 pounds of sil age treated at a cost of $4 per ton were fed. It has been difficult to measure the amount of milk production lost when cows are fed spoiled silage, but in a recent study by Wisconsin researchers, cows fed spoiled high moisture com produced about 7 pounds less milk per day than those fed unspoiled silage. Preservatives also often help to reduce loss of nutrients in the silo. Calculations can be made for po tential savings of dry matter and used to justify the use of the pre servative. Heating and spoiling silage is undesirable because of losses in nutrients and lowered animal per formance. In instances where spoilage is still a major factor, preservatives such as buffered propionic acid and ammonia can be used. Condi tions on each farm should be care fully evaluated. Cost the reservitive >2 00/ton 13 00/ ■Cost (cents) per cow T B PILOTS! KELLER BROS. " AIRPORT 2550 RUNWAY 600 From Dealership MONDAY FRIDAY 7:30 - 5;00 SATURDAY 7:30-12:00 LANCASTER 1950 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601 At Route 30 & Fruitville Pike 717-569-2500
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