Forage Additives
Grass silage has been the predominant forage for livestock farmers for many years. It has provided a source of forage to maintain milk production when grazing is limited or during the winter months. Grass silage has the potential to produce a relatively high energy, high protein feed that requires minimal supplementation under the correct conditions.
The quality of grass silage is closely related to the type of ley, stage of harvest and management of the forage in the clamp. With increasing dairy cow yields, and the need for higher dry matter forages to aid intakes, producing high quality grass silage has become increasingly difficult. Many producers have become victims of inconsistent weather which affects the harvest window and further reduces silage quality.
Grass silage requires high levels of management inputs to achieve high yields and good quality. The use of additives over the years has helped the fermentation process and the preservation of important nutrients. Additives must be specific to the conditions the crop experiences.
Different considerations should be given to crops with high and low dry matters because they will undergo individual fermentation pathways to achieve the desired preservation. The way in which preservation takes place may alter the feeding characteristics of grass silage. In a poor fermentation nutrient availability, palatability and intake may reduced. This in turn will result in poor animal production performance. It is therefore important to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to produce quality forage.
Biotal AxpHast GOLD
AxpHast GOLD is recommended for low dry matter legumes and big bale silage, and minimum wilt, wet grass including young, lush forages with variable (down to 0.5%) sugar levels.
Readily digestible cellulose is held in bundles in plant fibre by hemi-cellulose fractions. AxpHast GOLD's unique enzyme formulation breaks down these fractions, opening up the cellulose and making it more readily available for digestion in the rumen. A further benefit is that the fibre retains a higher percentage of the grass juices (effluent).
Available in 100 and 25 tonne treated sachets
Store in clean cool dry conditions out of direct sunlight, preferably in a freezer or refrigerator.
Non-toxic and harmless to man and animals.
No specific precautions other than those for handling powder products are required
Clamps and bales should be left for 45 days before being opened.
Once opened, the silage remains aerobically stable for several days
High dry matter (DM) silage usually contains enough sugars for preservation without using an additive.
It can, however, be prone to heating and yeast and mould growth when exposed to air.
AxCool Hi Dry is an additive that enhances the aerobic stability of high DM grass clamp silage. AxCool provides the following production benefits:
- Improved face stability in clamps.
- Longer feeding out period for bales after being unwrapped.
- Reduced wastage, heating, yeasts and moulds.
- Reduced wastage, heating, yeasts and moulds.
- Reduced losses worth £31 per cow.
Biotal Solo
Biotal Solo is available in both 100 and 25 treated tonne sachets.
Also available in granular form - 20kg treats 50 tonnes. Apply at 400g per tonne.
Store in clean cool dry conditions out of direct sunlight, preferably in a freezer or refrigerator.
Contains viable lactic acid bacteria, a mixture of specific hydrolytic polysaccharide enzymes and a balanced mixture of nutrients to provide rapid activation.
Non-toxic and harmless to man and animals.
No specific precautions other than those for handling powder products are required.
Producing good quality silage depends on efficiently converting plant sugars into lactic acid which acts as a preservative. In untreated silage, this process is not controlled and is dependent on naturally present lactic acid bacteria. A good preservation is not always achieved, resulting in a slow pH drop, dry matter losses and decreased intakes.
Solo Silage Inoculant is designed to treat low to medium dry matter (DM) grass.
In Solo, an elite lactic acid bacteria strain is used to make the preservation of the crop more efficient, reaching the target pH more rapidly.
The bacteria can utilise a wide range of sugars and will grow quickly across the pH range from 7.0 to 4.0. In fact, in little more than six hours it can produce 1000 times more microbes than a typical Lactobacillus.
Biotal AxpHast GOLD
Available in 100 and 25 tonne treated sachets
Store in clean cool dry conditions out of direct sunlight, preferably in a freezer or refrigerator.
Non-toxic and harmless to man and animals.
No specific precautions other than those for handling powder products are required.
AxpHast GOLD is recommended for low dry matter legumes and big bale silage, and minimum wilt, wet grass including young, lush forages with variable (down to 0.5%) sugar levels.
Readily digestible cellulose is held in bundles in plant fibre by hemi-cellulose fractions. AxpHast GOLD's unique enzyme formulation breaks down these fractions, opening up the cellulose and making it more readily available for digestion in the rumen. A further benefit is that the fibre retains a higher percentage of the grass juices (effluent).
Biotal SuperSileGold
SuperSileGold is provided as a premix powder in sachet form which should be diluted in cold, clean tap water and applied through a liquid applicator according to instructions. SuperSile Gold is available in both 100 and 25 treated tonne sachets.
Store in refrigerator or freezer.
Once diluted use within 48 hours.
SuperSileGold is a biological concentrate for forage preservation, effective in wet, low-sugar forage.
Non-toxic and harmless to man and animals.
No specific precautions other than those for handling powder products are required.
The aims of good silage making are to:
- minimise loss of nutritional value
- minimise spoilage from naturally occurring fungi, yeasts and bacteria
- preserve the forage in stable form
The success of a natural silage fermentation requires:
- sufficient numbers of lactic acid-producing bacteria during fermentation
- availability of sufficient sugar in the forage to bacteria to convert to lactic acid
SuperSileGold is the efficient, natural biological additive for perfect results in wet, low sugar forage.
SuperSileGold provides highly efficient strains of bacteria with rapid doubling times and a proprietary enzyme package to increase sugar availability for lactic acid production.
The resultant increase in rate of lactic acid production ensures a rapid drop in the pH of the silage ensuring minimal loss of nutritional value and maximum protection from spoilage.
- Rapid pH drop
- Reduces effluent and nutrient loss
- Improves palatability
- Easy to apply
- Non-corrosive
- Non-toxic
- Suitable for use on organic farms