Save more money by reducing dry matter losses in ensiled feeds

By Cody McCary, Vita Plus forage specialist

Dry matter losses associated with the process of ensiling feeds are a common discussion point because small reductions can lead to large savings.

For example, applying Crop-N-Rich® MTD/1® to corn silage decreases dry matter loss on average 2.7% compared to untreated silages. On a 20,000-ton pile of corn silage valued at $40 per ton, that equates to 540 tons, or $21,600, retained due to the reduction in dry matter loss from the application of Crop-N-Rich MTD/1.

While the application of research-proven bacterial silage inoculants such as Crop-N-Rich MTD/1 is just an example, it highlights how small reductions in dry matter losses can add up. It’s not surprising that reducing losses even by single percentage units may interest some farms.

When discussing potential solutions to reduce losses, it is crucial to recognize that dry matter is made up of nutrients such as starch, protein, sugars and fiber. When given the chance, spoilage microorganisms consume these nutrients. Any nutrients consumed not only reduce the amount available to feed, but also reduce the overall quality of the ensiled feed, which forces nutritionists to find alternative avenues to replace lost nutrients and preserve animal performance.

Good silage management practices, which limit the time between ensiled feed’s reintroduction to oxygen and subsequent consumption by livestock, helps minimize spoilage microorganism impact on feed quantity and quality. Exposure to oxygen begins the spoilage process, and excessive exposure to oxygen increases spoilage risk.

Crop-N-Rich® Nexus silage inoculant is a tool to increase the shelf life of ensiled feeds from the time of ensiling through feedout. It contains a combination of L. plantarum MTD/1 and L. buchneri PJB/1. This combination promotes controlled production of acetic acid, which is antifungal and negatively impacts the growth of yeast. Yeasts are responsible for initiating the degradation process of ensiled feeds, and if left unchecked massive spoilage may occur.

In a recent experiment performed by the University of Wisconsin, corn silage was treated with Drive (DR), Crop-N-Rich Nexus (CR), or left untreated (CON) and ensiled in 5-gallon buckets. Buckets were either tightly packed full (D100) or loosely filled halfway (D50) and allowed to ferment for either 30, 60, or 120 days. After reaching the assigned storage length, the buckets were opened and exposed to air for an additional nine days. Samples were collected every three days, and nutrients were analyzed to better define the loss of nutrients during an aerobic challenge.

Intriguingly, Crop-N-Rich Nexus showed an ability to promote acetic acid production that negatively impacted yeast and mold growth. This was most evident in samples stored for 120 days because acetic acid concentration increased with extended storage lengths. Because yeast count was being controlled by the acetic acid produced by Crop-N-Rich Nexus, an improvement in 7-hour starch digestibility was observed. This can be seen in Figure 1 as both D100 and D50 samples treated with Crop-N-Rich Nexus maintained 7-hour starch digestibility out to nine days of exposure to oxygen. Specifically, after nine days of storage, Crop-N-Rich Nexus samples held 7-hour starch digestibility at 77% of starch, while the sample with the lowest 7-hour starch digestibility was 62% of starch.

To put this in perspective, if 1 ton of corn silage cost $40 per ton, 35% DM, and 35% starch, 36.75 pounds of 7-hour digestible starch is lost if starch digestibility is reduced from 77% to 62% of starch. This increases the cost per pound of 7-hour digestible starch from 21 cents to 26 cents per pound.

The ability of Crop-N-Rich Nexus to promote the production of acetic acid, which negatively impacts yeast population, is a tool that can be used to maintain nutrient preservation from the time of ensiling until consumption by dairy cattle.