'Amount of starch in maize silage moderate'

De potholes that the agency has investigated to date contain 345 grams of starch per kilo of dry matter. This is evident from an analysis of the first thousands of samples that Eurofins Agro analyzed. "The starch content is therefore slightly above the level of last year," it writes a statement. "However, in a 'normal season' this is around 370 grams to 380 grams of starch per kilo of dry matter."

Furthermore, Eurofins Agro reports that the variation in starch content is considerable. "Around 90% of the samples are between 240 grams and 412 grams of starch per kilo of dry matter, with extreme outliers at both the top and bottom."

Major regional differences
In the provinces of Utrecht and South Holland, the starch content is at a 'normal level': 376 grams of starch per kilo of dry matter. But in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, the starch content (mainly due to extreme drought) remains at 333 grams. The resistance amounts to an average of 29%, although Eurofins Agro expects this percentage to increase slightly when the more mature silage maize is sampled and analyzed.

The average nutritional value of the examined silage maize pits is located at 989 VEM. "This is a good starting point for the energy supply in the ration," it writes. However, the differences are also large here: from 765 VEM to 1.085 VEM. The potholes in Flevoland score slightly lower on average than the potholes in South Holland: 979 VEM versus 992 VEM.

High lactic acid content
Finally, it appears that the lactic acid content in the silage maize silages this season, 59 grams per kilo of dry matter, is considerably above the 5-year average of 52 grams per kilo of dry matter. "On the other hand, the sugar content is slightly lower, which means that the preservation has been successful," Eurofins concludes.