3
T
HE
3M’
S
OF
S
ILAGE
Appendix
B
Ag-Bag International, Ltd.
MB7010 HyPac November 2003
3M’s of AG-BAG
®
SILAGE
The “3M’s of Ag-Bag
®
Silage” represent
documented methods and technology of good
silage making. Ensiling has proven to be the most
efficient method of storing and preserving the
nutrient value of your crops. We invite you to benefit
from proven methods and profit-making concepts.
Read on, it can change your future.
THE ART OF MAKING
EXCELLENT SILAGE
1. Silage making is a science, that incorporates
good management practices. Although many
factors affect the profitability of a farming operation,
forage quality is definitely on of the most important.
2. It’s an accepted fact that rapidly fermented, high
moisture feed retains a higher nutrient value than
any other method of harvesting and storing crops.
3. By understanding the basics of the fermentation
process and using good management practices,
you can aid nature in achieving a rapid, efficient
fermentation, which preserves more of the valuable
nutrients in your forage crops.
4. By learning how to consistently make excellent
silage, (The silage referred to in this publication is
fermentable feed compacted and stored in an
airtight Ag-Bag
®
bag) it can lead to a greater
production of meat and milk.
5. A good anaerobic fermentation improves the
palatability of feed. The fermentation process using
the Ag-Bag
®
system is very similar to the digestion
process in the first stomach of cattle. Well
fermented silages are a natural feed for cattle. It’s
very much like putting your animals on green
pasture year round.
The quality of silage is largely determined by three
things:
Dedication
Preparation
Execution
3M #1 – MANAGEMENT
T
HE
S
OIL
The soil should be fertile and pH balanced to insure
good germination. Good soil management always
produces the highest quality crops.
T
HE
S
EEDS
High quality seed designed to produce well in your
area, for length of season and weather
considerations are a must. You can’t produce crops
any better than the seeds you plant.
T
HE
E
NSILING
P
ROCESS
Silage is a feedstuff resulting from the
preservation of green forage crops by acidification.
Acidification is the result of the fermentation of the
forage in the absence of oxygen
.
Research has
proven conclusively that the process of ensiling
green crops is the most efficient method of storing
and preserving the nutritional value of crops for
feeding to ruminant animals. The breaking down
of the cellulose and lignin of the plant cells by
fermentation helps make the forages more
digestible, thus producing more value. In some
cases, the forages are more digestible than green
feeding or pasturing . All types of forages can be
fermented and successfully bagged.
F
ERMENTATION
The miracle of fermentation starts with the
bacterias – enzymes – sugars – proteins and an
oxygen-free environment.
1.
Respiration
– When a forage plant is harvested
and placed in an Ag-Bag
®
bag it is alive and
therefore, respiring actively. Even though the
forages are packed extremely tight some air is
unavoidably trapped in the mass. The oxygen is
utilized by the aerobic bacteria existing in the crop,
and by the breakdown of sugar in the plant cells.
2.
Aerobic Fermentation
– This phase of the
ensiling process is called
aerobic respiration
. End
products of this phase of the process are
carbon
dioxide
and
heat
. These reactions are not
complete and other end products are produced
