Forage and Feed Preservation
Silage Inoculants Help Lock Forage Quality, Consistency and Palatability
After working all year to produce high quality haylage and silage that will be the core component to the feeding program that fuels the health and productivity of your milk cows, it is important to protect that input by applying forage inoculants at harvest.
There are a lot of factors that go into producing high quality silage, including hybrid selection, harvest timing, proper chopping length, storage (silo, bunker, stack or bag) and proper face management when feeding.
Once harvested the nutritional value of the forage begins to decline and it goes through a fermentation process. To help reduce fermentation loss, improve aerobic stability and support longer bunk life it is important to create rapid fermentation and pH decline to accomplish this.
How Do Forage Inoculants Deliver High Quality Feedstuffs?
Naturally haylage and corn silage harvested at the proper moisture content will ferment on its own. The challenge is that based on environmental conditions and the crop, uneven, erratic or slow fermentation can result in feed value loss. This can result in high pH that can allow the wrong organisms driving the fermentation that results in lower feed values as well as wild yeast and mold growth.
The key to preserving haylage and corn silage is to get a rapid, controlled fermentation that drives pH down below 4.0 as quickly as possible. This is accomplished when natural bacteria consume sugars from the feed, produce lactic acid and compete with other organisms that lead to poor quality silage.
Most commercially available forage inoculants contain lactic-acid producing bacteria. Some also add enzymes into the formula. Enzymes help break down additional carbohydrates to provide food for bacterial growth.
Adding a high-quality, broad-based forage inoculant that drives rapid fermentation and pH drop at harvest can help preserve the nutritional value of the feed throughout the storage and feeding period.
Innovative LIRA GOLD Silage Inoculants Rapidly Lock In Silage Quality
Knowing that rapid fermentation and pH drop are key to preserving forage quality at harvest, LIRA GOLD inoculants are formulated with an innovative technology that combines lactic-acid producing bacteria, purified enzymes and readily available food source in a protective capsule that breaks down quickly when applied to silage.
The beauty of this technology is that it delivers on several key conditions to driving rapid fermentation and pH drop.
- The food source in the capsule immediately feeds bacteria to initiate a rapid early growth phase while awaiting access to the natural sugars in the forage
- Specific purified enzymes begin breaking down natural sugars to increase availability of food for bacterial growth
- The 4 strains of lactic-acid producing bacteria in LIRA GOLD inoculants were selected for their ability to quickly produce high levels of lactic acid
These benefits result in the following:
- Forage pH is driven down below 4.0 within 24-48 hours
- Enzyme activity stops around 4.5-4.0 pH to avoid abnormal forage breakdown over time
- Forage quality is locked in at as close to “in the field” level for delivering maximum fed value
- A greater ability to drive proper fermentation, including hard to ensile, low carbohydrate haylage and high moisture corn.
What Type Of LIRA GOLD Silage Inoculants Are Available?
The LIRA GOLD Silage Inoculants on this page, including LIRA GOLD 500 Ton WS water soluble inoculant, are designed to help produce high quality fermented forages, including corn, alfalfa, grass hays and high moisture grains, that help you deliver high nutritional value when fed the drives maximum productivity.
In addition, we have formulated LIRA GOLD 100 Ton WS Organic and LIRA GOLD 50T Dry Organic silage inoculants for use in organic certified operations. Please contact your organic certifier prior to using to ensure it is on their approved list.
Click here to learn more about LIRA GOLD Silage Inoculants.
