What’s Growing on Your Forage Crops
There are many types of microbes that naturally occur on forage crops in the field. Their populations vary depending on the weather during the growing season, crop management practices and the plant’s stage of maturity. These bacteria, yeasts and molds are simply waiting for peak conditions to grow and multiply. Influencing the situation to get the right microbes to dominate at the right time is the difference between quality silage and compost.
The “good guys” in the war for an efficient and effective ensiling fermentation are homolactic acid bacteria, which drives a successful ensiling process. These microbes contribute to a rapid pH drop to below 5.0, when “bad” fermentations are prevented, in addition to shutting down the plants own auto-degradation process. However, these bacteria may often not be naturally present in sufficient numbers to create good silage.1
Spoilage microorganisms – particularly yeasts – also occur naturally in varying numbers on all pre-harvest crops as part of the mixed microbial community described above. If these yeasts become dominant, they can start the process of aerobic deterioration with raising the forage pH, which allows for further spoilage by molds and bacteria. These “bad guys” in the microbial fermentation “war” are also the reason producers can see instability during feed out. There are also naturally-occurring aerobic bacteria that can grow while oxygen is present. This can cause considerable nutrient loss and prevent a rapid pH drop.
Crops with high protein content and lower fermentable sugars — such as clover, alfalfa, grasses and some small grain cereal silages — are even more at risk, since they tend to be cut closer to the ground. When crops are cut close, there’s a higher risk for soil contamination. Soil can contain very high numbers of spoilage microbes like clostridia and enterobacteria, both of which can result in silages with feeding issues. Many consider clostridial silage to be the worst possible result. The silage will be wet, dark, smell foul and should not be fed to pregnant or transition cows and only fed in limited amounts to lactating dairy cows (to maintain intake of butyric acid below 50 grams per head per day).
When unstable and potentially moldy feeds are ingested by cattle, the consequences on rumen function and performance are likely disastrous. They can push a cow or steer with borderline rumen function into metabolic issues such as Sub Acute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) and can also contribute to health and fertility problems.
To win the microbial war in your silages, it’s important to use research-proven forage inoculants containing fast-acting, efficient homolactic acid bacteria. This loads up your silage with an army of good microbes and helps ensure the right balance is in place. Additionally, inoculants that contain Lactobacillus buchneri 40788 at an effective dose in addition to the homolactic bacteria, can help address stability challenges at feedout, saving DM and nutrients, minimizing associated health and fertility issues and maximizing profitability.
Ask the Silage Dr. on Twitter, Facebook or visit www.qualitysilage.com if you have questions about forage hygiene.
Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition
1 McDonald P., Henderson A. R. & Heron S. J. E. 1991. The Biochemistry of Silage, Chapter 4, Microorganisms.
Zach Zingula
Mon, 07/09/2018 – 15:31
Category
Silage
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