New inoculant helps maximize your homegrown feeds

By Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Ph.D., Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical service specialist

The goal of ensiling is to store high-quality forage that can be later fed to cattle to support health, growth and productivity.  When ensiling forages, the production of lactic acid drops silage pH and preserves crop quality by killing pH-sensitive detrimental bacteria that degrade forage quality.  Once this occurs, the silage is stable until feedout.  However, re-exposure to oxygen during feedout can begin a cascade of deterioration that results in the growth of spoilage yeasts and molds, massive spoilage, loss of nutrients, and a feed that does the opposite of promoting cow health and production.

Good forage harvesting and storage management practices to decrease pH and limit spoilage include the use of bacterial inoculants.  For decades, farmers have used Crop-N-Rich^® MTD/1^® silage inoculant with great success.  The bacteria in Crop-N-Rich MTD/1, Lactobacillus plantarum (strain MTD/1), is the most well-researched inoculant bacteria.  Hundreds of trials have demonstrated its superior ability to rapidly produce lactic acid and drop pH in a variety of crops and under a variety of conditions.  It is convenient, mixes into solution easily, and, at a 1-gram-per-ton application rate, easily flows through any type of applicator.

For years, many producers have coupled Crop-N-Rich MTD/1 with Crop-N-Rich Buchneri, which consumes lactic acid and produces acetic acid with strong antifungal properties.  These two bacterial inoculants have a synergistic relationship that benefits silage quality.  Research and field experience showed that combining these two separate inoculants resulted in a high-quality, stable silage with greater dry matter recovery and less spoilage and heating at feedout.  The only challenge is that it requires farms to order, store and mix two products.

To eliminate this potential bottleneck, Vita Plus consultants are thrilled to offer Crop-N-Rich Nexus in 2024. “Nexus” is defined as a “connection or link.”  Crop-N-Rich Nexus is exactly that; it connects two research-proven and highly effective bacteria.

This brand-new, dual-purpose inoculant combines the bacteria in Crop-N-Rich MTD/1 and Crop-N-Rich Buchneri in one package to provide a high-quality, easy-to-use product with a high dose of bacteria at a competitive price.  More than 30 research trials – conducted on a variety of silages, including corn, alfalfa, sorghum, wheat, rye, grass and triticale silages – support this combination and have been published and presented at international scientific conferences.

Contact your Vita Plus consultant to learn more about our research-proven Crop-N-Rich inoculants and how they can support your forage program.