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Silage Production Part 1

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Both hay and silage production are important components in forage livestock ... One of the main advantages of making silage is that unlike hay production, ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Silage Production Part 1


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Silage ProductionPart 1
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  • One of the main reasons for producing forage
    crops is to produce feed for ruminant animals

3
  • Some of the feed is available through grazing,
    and this provides a way to provide forages to
    animals at a low cost

4
  • However, major portions of the forages produced
    in the U.S. and abroad are stored as conserved
    forages, which include hay and silages.

5
  • Both hay and silage production are important
    components in forage livestock systems, and both
    have particular advantages and disadvantages.

6
  • One of the main advantages of making silage is
    that unlike hay production, field drying is
    essentially eliminated
  • In addition, raking and baling are not required

7
  • When conditions are not favorable for making hay,
    silage making can provide a sensible and
    profitable alternative crop.

8
What is silage?
  • Chopped, fresh plant material that has been
    preserved by a process of fermentation (ensiling)
    in which organic acids are formed, particularly
    lactic acid.

9
  • The resulting acidity prevents unfavorable
    microbes from developing on the material and
    causing it to spoil.

10
  • Silage is sometimes classified in three ways by
    moisture content
  • Haylage - 40-60 moisture
  • Wilted Silage - 60-75 moisture
  • Direct cut - 75-90 moisture

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  • Advantages of producing silage instead of hay
    would include
  • more nutrients are preserved
  • shorter drying time
  • flexibility in harvesting (rain damage not as
    critical

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  • Potential disadvantages would include
  • Not easily transportable like hay bales
  • May need to invest in special storage structures
    such as upright silos

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  • Potential disadvantages would include
  • If improperly stored, losses will be high 

14
  • Silage may be made from essentially any
    vegetative materials but it works best if the
    materials to be ensiled contain an abundance of
    sugars that are easily fermented

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  • Good quality silage is commonly made from
    alfalfa, forage grasses, and small grains

16
  • Grain crops such as corn and sorghum make
    especially good silage because the grain provides
    sugars for rapid fermentation

17
  • Making corn silage is in one sense a relatively
    new practice. One of the earliest attempts to
    ensile corn was made in Germany in 1861. The
    first American silo was built in Maryland in
    1876.

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  • Recent estimates suggest that approximately 10
    of the corn acreage in the U.S. is harvested for
    silage.
  • The major region of silage production in the U.S.
    consists of the so called dairy states of
    Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan

19
  • A number of different structures are used to make
    and store silage. Silage is stored vertically in
    upright silos or tower silos.

20
  • Silos constructed horizontally either in or on
    the soil surface are known as trench silos or
    bunker silos.

21
  • A relatively new innovation known as silage bags
    or ag bags have been developed.
  • This has become a popular approach since it does
    not require construction or maintenance of a
    typical upright or bunker silo.

22
  • Upright silos have been constructed of wood or
    reinforced concrete in the past. Newer silos
    tend to be built of concrete blocks or glass
    lined steel.

23
  • One of the reasons that silage has become an
    important option in conserved forages is because
    it's feeding can be virtually entirely
    mechanized.
  • Upright silos can be equipped with silo unloaders.

24
  • Feed unloaded from the silo can then be
    transported by an augur directly to feed bunks
    for animal consumption

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