Silage Making

[Waterbuffalofarm]

Dear members,

ma y you have some idears about silage making!

Plastic is not possible.Do you have some knowledge with Plastic drums.

Thank you

Waterbuffalo

[Maizefarmer]

Waterbuffalofarm

What exactly do you want to know - I make hundreds of tons of the stuff every year - for dairy and beef cattle mind you - but in principal, for Asian water buffalo other than for the nutrient requirements and base forage content differances - the principals will be the same.

Irrespective of the forage used to make the silage the important considerations are:

- moisture content of crop when cut and moisture content when ensiled (i.e. sealed)

- crop partical length (important in that it influences the degree to which you can compact silage)

- sealing (the silage must be isolated from the surrounding atmosphere)

Moisture Content

To little mositure and your silage will combust (yes - it can literally set it's self alight). To much mositure and it will rot, destroying a lot of hard work and a valuable dry season food source. The ideal moisture content for your silage will be determined by the forage/grass/crop you decide to ensile. Different crops will have different max and min ideal moisture content. The moisture content will determine a number of basic parameters:

- acidity and/or alkalinity

- pile heat generation

In summary the above will determine the microbe activity and nutrient content of your silage, how long it will take to "mature", and how long it will remain usable. But none of the the can be determined in numerical terms untill you have decided what forage/grass/crop you are going to ensile. Decide this and I will be happy to give you what advise I can. Moisture content is relatively easy to measure and control - simply by cutting at the right time - and then allowing the crop to wilt naturally on the ground till the right moisture content is arrived at. It is possible to control mositure content to within a 2 - 3%.

Partical Length

Cut to coarse/long/large and vacuming out the air, or mechaincaly compacting with weight (e.g. driving a tractor over it if the volume is large) becomes difficult with the result that proportionaly to much air remains contained in the silage pile. Irrespective of the length or whatever is ensiled, the idea is to remove as much air as possible. By the same token, although the way round this problem would simply be to chop everything up so fine that the particles compact naturally with little to no space between them, this can be counter productive for microbe activity and residual mositure runoff. Again, decide the crop you wish ensile and we can then look at ideal partical sizes.

Sealing

Anything can be used - from large plastic wraps & plastic drums to lined pits in the ground ("clamps"). As a rule, the larger the silage volume the more "stable" it will be with better results.

As said, the above are basic considerations irrespective of what you decide to use - but come back with some input on what you wish to use, and I'll be pleased to provide you with whatever advise I can.

I did write up some detailed notes on Silage last you that are on this forum - with respect to maize and forage grasses, giving moisture content figures, ideal partical sizes, packing and sealing and how to monitor the clamp, unfortuneatly I cannot remember what thread those notes are under.

RDC - any idea where that thread is?

Maizefarmer

[RamdomChances]

This one MF ?

posted by MF on a different thread:-

I have no secrets – more than happy to do that and share the way I go about things with anyone who feels they could benefit from my experience.

Why don’t they practise ensiling In Laos for the dry season – is it because they don’t practise much forage cultivation to start with, is it because they don’t have a level of mechanisation to make it feasible – just why do you think ensiling is such a low priority for them?

If you send me your email address I will get "junior" (my daughter) this weekend to get some high res pictures and email them to you – it’s a good time actually because I can show you the whole process from cutting down and wilting, thru loading, packing and then sealing and vacuuming.

But just to recap on the basics………..

As a rule, just about any grass, grain or vegetable crop can be made into silage – subject to a few basic process rules.

1) Most importantly – moisture content at time of packing and sealing.

2) Cutting length – chop the crop up, do not ensile in long/big pieces.

Then while waiting for it to “mature” – moniter for:

1) Temperature

2) PH

3) Moisture

Moisture

Do not ensile any crop below 70% or above 80%.

If below 70% it will quickly overheat and destroy the bacteria needed to break the natural sugars down to lactic acid. If above 80% it will simply rot down to a stinky slushy mess.

Moisture content is something that must be taken into consideration right at the start i.e. when planning to cut the crop. Ideally, the moisture content should be calculated BEFORE the crop is cut – because that will determine how long it has to lie around before it can be ensiled.

It should be checked with a moisture meter, but if no m/meter is available then use the microwave oven method - a round figure handful (say 100grams) in a glass/plastic bowl, weighed before heating and then again afterwards, with the before/after weight difference converted to “percentage” is a ###### accurate alternative. This method can be further refined/used to calculate time required to dry out and a number of other parameters that are not essential, but very helpful to getting good silage results.

PH

Monitoring PH – critical and so seldom monitored in Thailand, and yet so easy to monitor. The quicker the PH drops the more nutrients are preserved. What determines how quick your PH drops is your initial moisture content. It should be checked every day for the first 14 – 21 days and you are looking for a consistent drop, Drawing this on a graph provides a very informative record from which a wealth of “feed” quality info can be interpratated. In simple terms, one should be aiming for 3.8 – 4.2

Ph can be reliably monitered with hospital type urine Ph strips – crush up some crop/silage, mix completely with an equal quantity of sterile water in a glass or plastic container (not steel or aluminium) and allow to settle for about 10 – 15 minutes. Dip the ph strip in for about 30secs – 1 minute and read the ph. Cheap and simple – even the most remote hospital/health clinic in Laos can offer sterile water and ph strips.

Tem

Stable temp throughout the fermentation stage(s) should be maintained – and by that I mean the environmental temp – hence the larger the silage quantity and the more isolated from the weather/sun/high temp – low temp fluctuations the better. Stick it in the ground if you can.

Particle Size

Important – to big then the cattle will pass a large percentage through their rumen without extracting as much protein/nutrient as they can. To small and it will pass through to quick,, again without giving the animal time to extract as much as they could. Ideal size for cattle – around 2cm – 3cm, possibly larger but not above 4cm.

Silage can be stored in ANYTHING so long as a number of rule are adhered to:

1) Single packs/quantities to be above 50kg – the more the better.

2) Must be SEALED from air

3) Large quantities should be packed consistently i.e. avid dense and lightly packed areas – keep it all the same.

4) Large quantities must have drainage at the base e.g. place chicken wire on some boards on the floor – that 1” or so below the boards will allow “runoff” to separate from the silage.

5) If in trenches – line trench with pvc and cover top with 25 – 50cm soil.

Monitor temp and PH daily – in a large volume say a volume measuring 10m x 5m 2m no harm in lifting a bit of one corner each day to get a handful out to test.

AS I said JungleBiker – drop me your email address by PM and I’ll get some photos over the weekend because all I am doing this weekend is ensiling. And if you want more “practical” detail – more than happy to help.

I would really like to know why stock farmers in Laos don’t put much emphasize on ensiling. In Thailand the reasons are usually volume, couldn’t be bothered or the false perception that it is a black art i.e. its been tried and failed, and because the farmer just couldn’t avoid to have a situation like that on his hands again, hasn’t done it again.

[RamdomChances]

This one also by MF is pretty good as well :-

Maize – 2 crops a year, harvested fully grown: the first at the start of the rainy season and the second when the monsoon switches over from rainy to dry

Most of the second crop is ensiled and then mixed with fresh grass which is grown throughout the year at feed time. I can grow a 3rd crop but the extra fuel costs for irrigation, although still profitable, reduce net income – on balance, not worth it.

Grass Ruzzi- First cut after 60 days, and then thereafter roughly every 30/35 days – with increasing fertiliser addition at each cut (Nitrogen) to the point that cost/benefit outweighs growth and nitrogen input – at which point the field is ploughed up and reseeded, on average every 36 months. I might put the animals out to pasture for a month or so right at the end – they’re pretty good at pulling the roots up of the old grass and it save the cost of having to spread the slurry.

Give me a day or to to go through some old records on my trials with other grasses. I f I am going to give you some “advise” I am going to make sure its ###### spot on and correct.

Don’t do anything yet but I think a solution could lie with Napier, or Guinea and/or Ruzzi grass(es)

The issue about growing them successfully (and successfully is in capital letters), is that all of them have very different water requirements, fertilizer requirements and soil requirements, the last of which (i.e. soil requirement) can be manipulated by way of fertilizer regime to a large degree (at least enough for successful cultivation).

The only thing common to all 3, assuming no water problem, is that you/we have a climate which is suitable for all of them, and therefore all of them are potentially viable COMPLETE feed solutions for Thai conditions. And when I say COMPLETE I mean that all the above can provide 9-10 MJ/kg DM Metabolic Energy @16-17% protein – no, I joke not. In effect, that has the potential to knock 75% + off your concentrate costs. I palatable – which they all are – the cows will lap it up in huge quantities, which will stimulate water intake and Bingo, big improvement in milk yield.

In very broad terms their respective soil requirements are as follows:

Napier: will need all your manure/slurry, will need regular fertilizer (Nitrogen and Phosphorus), will need urea and will need loads of water year round. As a feed it has one distinct advantage – the net phosphate output from the cow in urine and faeces – if slurried and returned to the field is + (i.e. providing all + phos needs for the plant to grow. I think it is something like 33% input to the soil versus something like 26% that the plant takes out when growing – hence the need to rotate every 3 or 4 years, and this “technique” if you can get it down to a fine point by way of careful crop choice can act as “self fertilization” – using different crops at different times for their respective benefits). Best I stop at this point…………… will cover all this later, but I I hope it makes the point, as these are issues which the average small Thai dairy farmer just does not consider when selecting and managing forage grasses and then wonders why he’s stuck with high concentrate costs.

Ruzzi: comparatively less water, but more nitrogen required. Harvested at shorter intervals. Comparatively higher DM but reduced Crude Protein (I,m sure I ‘m right on this last point – but until I have had time to go through my records I stand to be corrected).

Guinea: Purple variety – not Blue variety……….I need to check this one out, I just can’t remember where it fits in comparatively to the others.

……………and all should be wilted for 24 hrs after been cut before been fed (loads of water in the rumen reduce a “milker’s” appetite – another thing a lot of Thia’s don’t do).

Full thread here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=77439

water buffalo, you could check the links section out, there a few on silage there

[Maizefarmer]

Thanks RDC

Waterbuffalofarm - yes - forgot to include Ph - ph needs to be monitored as well - but generally so long as you seal it all up well and get the mositure content right to start with, then the PH (as a rule) shouldn;t be a problem.

I think I would go so far as to say that so long as one is dealing with a grass crop (any type) - then following the above basic rules will keep you safe with water buffalo - in fact it will be a bit of luxery for them as I don;t think there are to many farmers who go to much effort making silage let alone "fine tuning" it further to increase the nutrient content.

Get back to the forum when you are ready to cross that bridge and we can discuss it all in greater detail.

If its good for a cow I guess it's going to be mighty good for a buffalo!

Tim

[macan]

I believe that European (mozzarella) buffalo love silage though I remember hearing about a farmer that was feeding his youngstock on it... their enthusiasm led to the calves getting gastric ulcers. Some young goats and sheep may also be a bit sensitive.

If in doubt make hay while the sun shines.. and dry some grass too!