Roughage tour Grass - Week 16
More return with an silage agent?
For many dairy farmers, mowing the first cut is just around the corner. And with it the use of silage agents. Trust and use have increased in recent years. What makes an silage agent effective, does it yield anything and what does it cost?
The cultivation of good roughage has occupied an increasingly important position within the dairy farm in recent years. Can an silage product help with this or is good roughage and sophisticated silage management sufficient? Some of the participants in the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour tell about their experiences.
Experiences of the participants
The opinions about the usefulness and necessity of the use of silage agents differ widely among dairy farmers. For example, Wim Bos from Zuidbroek (Groningen) does not use silage agents for his roughage. The dairy farmer simply does not see the benefit of it. “There is only one that will benefit and that is the supplier. I bale all the grass, so I don't have to do it for heating. Good grass does not need silage and it cannot repair mistakes,'' Bos argues.
Frank Rooker from Aartswoud (North Holland) does apply an silage agent to part of the grass harvest. The grass at Rooker is ensiled in lasagna pits consisting of the first, second and third cut. With the third cut and thus the top of the silage, an silage agent is occasionally used to prevent overheating.
Silvain Kusters from Guttecoven (South Limburg) does use an silage agent. He sees this as a piece of certainty for a successful grass harvest. This year, Kusters has opted for an silage agent based on lactic acid bacteria only.
Lactic acid-forming bacteria
The bacteria that form lactic acid are also the most commonly used. Not all pits require a large amount of lactic acid-forming bacteria. It may even be counterproductive, according to research by Wageningen UR, because an excess of lactic acid lowers the pH extremely.
At a pH of 4,5, the bacteria must stop, otherwise the pH in the rumen will become too low during feeding and the utilization of, for example, starch may deteriorate. In silage, lactic acid is also a food source for yeasts and thus for heating. This means that an silage agent containing only lactic acid can actually promote heating in some cases.
In the table below, the costs of forcing and the costs of the silage agent are listed below. For example, it appears that at a percentage of 15% in heating, an silage agent costs money, above that it yields money.
Erik van der Deure
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