Crop should be chopped before ensiling. For good silage, the shorter the chop length, the better is the quality. Chopped silage is more palatable to livestock and has little chance of secondary fermentation.
Silo should be filled rapidly and should not be left open. It should be sealed as soon as possible. Packing is important to create anaerobic conditions. It should be thoroughly pressed so that no air pocket is left in the silo otherwise chances of mould formation will be there which will spoil the silage. After filling, silo should be covered with polythene sheet followed by that of a layer of soil, etc.
The ideal moisture content for silage preparation would be 50 – 75%. Silage production should be done taking into consideration several factors like the degree of compression and the amount of water that will be lost during the process of silage making. The weather for harvest also needs to be fairly dry.
To get maximum efficiency when it comes to nutrition, the pasture is cut when the grasses contain the highest nutrient levels during preparation. This level is attained just before they are fully mature.
The reason why it is cut just before they are fully mature is that all forms of preserved grass, such as hay and silage, will have lower amounts of nutrients than fresh pasture, so everything must be done to make the end product be as nutritious as possible.
The grass is allowed to wilt in the field for a few hours to reduce the moisture content to around 60-75% as this is the optimum level. If the grass is left out longer, it may get too dry, or it may get rained on. Both these scenarios are not preferred as it will reduce the efficiency of the fermentation.
In addition to choosing the right crop, there are a couple of boxes that need to be ticked.
Getting this infrastructure might not exactly be your area of expertise as you may have multiple things to take care of. Here is where we come into play. Our experience at silage making in India & choosing the rich crop for maximum efficiency will be of immense use to your business.
Specializing in harvesting, baling as well as logistics, we work best with farmers by sending in a team of experts who will come to your farm, harvest the crop and pack it in the best possible conditions. Cornext offers baling & logistic services to large dairy farms as well as farmers who can identify the maize crop for silaging.
