Grass

The aim in making silage is to produce a feed as near to the quality of the grass ensiled with minimum losses. This can be achieved by ensuring a rapid fermentation together with good management

a) Chopping grass using a precision chop forager and/or a mower conditioner increases the area exposed to the bacteria.

b) Rapid production of lactic acid.

c) Use of a tried and tested silage additive from a reliable company

Biological additives

Bio-Ferm Gold

Quick-Sile

Cool-Store XL

Bio-Live SL

Multi-Ferm

Chemical Additives

Acids

Clamp salt

Biological Additives
Bio-Ferm Gold

8 Strains of 4 Bacteria plus Enzymes

Is one of the best selling inoculant in the UK and Ireland. It is a unique combination of 3 strains of Lactobacillus Plantarum, 2 strains of Pediococcus spp., 2 strains of Streptococcus Faecium and a NEW strain of Streptococcus Lactis.

Streptococcus Lactis has a dual role in the clamp It is a lactic acid producing bacteria to assist in the fermentation process and it also produces a polypeptide that is able to suppress the undesirable butyric spores, which breakdown protein to amino acids and sugars to butyric acid. Bio- is able to dominate the less efficient natural bacteria present on forages. It is able to achieve this due to the 1.1 million bacteria it supplies per gram of grass. This domination produces a rapid fermentation with a stable pH achieved in 24 hours.

The 8 strains of bacteria present in Bio-Ferm Gold act like the gearbox of a car allowing rapid acceleration of the drop in ph to a stable pH - 4 in 24 hours. The use of Lactobacillus plantarium as a sole bacteria in an inoculant doesn't make the most efficient use of available sugars at higher pHs.

Enzymes

Bio-Ferm Gold also contains cellulase hemicellulase pentosanase and amylase enzymes to assist in the fermentation process in challenging conditions.

The enzymes breakdown some of the fibre in the grass, to release sugars which are then available to the bacteria. These enzymes break down the cellulose and hemicellulose.

Bio-Ferm Gold has the following 8 approvals in the UKASTA monitoring scheme,

ANIMAL

G: Improved animal gains

M: Improved milk production

I: Improved voluntary intakes

D: Improved Digestibility

EY: Improving the efficiency in energy and protein utilization

SILO

F: Improving Fermentation

ET: Reducing effluent

L; Reducing ensiling losses

Bio-ferm Gold is available to apply as

Granular in 20 kg bags to apply @ 400 grams per tonne

Liquid in 500 gram sachets to mix and apply @ 2 litres per tonne

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Multi-Ferm

Multi-Ferm`s unique combination of bacteria, enzymes and nutrients are designed to work over a wide range of dry matters.

Multi-Ferm is the first of a new generation of additive to meet the challenges of modern forages for high genetic merit cows.

Multi-Ferm combines the tried and tested bacteria used in Bio-Ferm Gold plus the new innovative bacteria of Ultra-cool which have the ability to enhance and maintain freshness of forage both at the face and in the trough.

Rapid Fall in pH is vital in two ways:-

1. To retain maximum nutrients from grass into silage

2. Preserve those nutrients in the most palatable form in order to maximize intake.

Multi-Ferm – as the name suggests is a sequential multi fermentation process which results in a fast fermentation together with multiple metabolites for enhanced stability at feed out. By reducing the number of yeasts and moulds it is possible to extend the shelf life of silage when exposed to air and also reduce the production of mycotoxins which can lead to health problems.

BENEFITS OF FAST FERMENTATION

→ Amino Acids →

Recent work by Dr R Jones, highlights the benefits of improved feed efficiency when reducing the concentration of free amino acids in inoculant treated silage compared to untreated

	Free Amino Acids (g/kg)	Daily Lwg	Feed efficiency (Kg DM per Kg Lwg)
Grass	23.6	-	-
Silage (No Additive)	126.6	0.66	11.3
Multi -Ferm	69	0.89	9.4
Improvement	-45%	+35%	+20%

Standard Silage Analysis does not show the real effect of fermentation on true protein %. It is for this reason that inoculated silages perform significantly better even though the standard chemical analysis appears unchanged.

* Reduction of over 20% in effluent

* Dry Matter Losses in effluent down by 30%

* Total ensile losses reduced by over 27%, equal to over 54 tonnes more silage per every 1000 tonnes of forage.

WORTH over £1080 (silage at £20.00 per tonne) equivalent to extra feed for 5-6 dairy cows.

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Quick-Sile

7 Strains of 3 Bacteria plus Enzymes

This is a well proven inoculant but it differs from Bio-ferm Gold by not containing Streptococcus lactis but still applies 1 million Lactic acid bacteria per gram of grass. It has 7 strains of three types of bacteria; 3 strains of Lactobacillus Plantarum, 2 strains of Pediococcus spp., 2 strains of Streptococcus faecium backed up with enzymes.

Quick-Sile has also achieved 8 approvals in the UKASTA scheme

ANIMAL

G: Improved animal gains

M: Improved milk production

I: Improved voluntary intakes

D: Improved Digestibility

EY: Improving the efficiency in energy and protein utilization

SILO

F: Improving Fermentation

ET: Reducing effluent

L; Reducing ensiling losses

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Cool-store XL

Salts, Bacteria and Enzymes

COOL-STORE FOR GRASS SILAGE, BIG BALES AND LEGUME MIXTURES

High dry matter silage is particularly prone to heating especially if its lower quality (low ‘D’ Value). In situation were high dry matter grass silages are made the use of Cool-store XL would be recommended. Try to aim for a dry matter of 25%-30% as quickly as possible depending on the leafiness of the crop.

COOL-STORE XL contains a unique blend of non corrosive preservative salts used widely in the food industry. These salts are proven to reduce the growth of yeasts and moulds which can cause loss of nutrients and produce mycotoxins which are detrimental to intake and performance Once the clamp is opened yeasts and moulds produce heat indicating further breakdown of nutrients leading to further loss in performance. COOL-STORE XL can reduce these nutrient losses and extend the non-heating life of the opened silage.

The unique enzymes contained in COOL-STORE XL increase the available sugars for bacteria during fermentation and open up the fibre structure to help improve digestion by rumen microbes.

COOL-STORE XL contains Multiple strains of Bacteria including Lactococcus Faecium, Pediococcus spp, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Streptococcus Lactis and Bacillus spp. These bacteria are multi action; rapidly dropping the pH restricting growth of detrimental bacteria. Some produce bacteriocins which are capable of killing many of the undesirable organisms that can cause spoilage. The Bacillus spp. also produce digestive enzymes in the rumen once the silage is eaten improving fibre digestion thus increasing the potential performance from the silage

COOL-STORE XL BENEFITS

	Delayed heating at feed out.
	Favours an efficient fermentation by killing out undesirable organisms which increase dry matter losses and waste sugars.
	Reduce the production of mycotoxins.
	Improve digestion due to production of digestive enzymes and mode of action of specific enzymes in COOL-STORE XL.
	Non Corrosive

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Bio-Live SL

8 Strains of 4 Bacteria

Bio-Live has the same tried and tested combination of bacteria as the well proven product Bio-Ferm Gold.

After 2-4 hours multiplication time it will apply 1.1 million bacteria per gram of grass. The bacteria in Bio-live SL multiply every 27-35 minutes without the need for elaborate equipment or procedures.

Acid additives

In many situations acids are the best additives for your grass. Britmilk have a range of acids to suit different circumstances

Double FF

Double FF is a proven blend of active ingredients Ammonium Formate Volatile fatty acids (VFA's) and acrylic acid. The combination of these ingredients has the effect of;

Lowering ph making the conditions unsuitable for undesirable organisms (which waste important nutrients)

This lowering of pH makes conditions suitable for beneficial bacteria.

Ammonium Formate can control clostridial bacteria that waste sugar and protein.

VFA's control yeasts and moulds.

VFA's are nutritionally beneficial as they are produced naturally in the rumen.

Acetic acid has very good preservation properties.

Formic acid - straight formic acid to reduce the pH of the grass.

Grass safe - a more user-friendly way of using an acid product, kinder to machines and to the operators.

Formaid 2:1 - a mixture of Formalin and formic acid. The Formic acid accelerates the drop in pH while the Formalin acts to protect the nutrients in the grass and sterilizes the grass.

Formaid 3:1 - is a mixture of Formalin Formic acid and Sulphuric acid. The addition of Sulphuric acid increases the rate of pH drop.

S-45 - Sulphuric acid with extra copper and metal protection agent.

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Clamp Top Salts

Top-sile

A unique blend of sulphites and food salts.

Prevents the growth of yeasts and molds on the top of silage clamps especially on the ramp and shoulders hence reducing the waste. Top-Sile also uses up the oxygen under the sheet encouraging the growth of good lactic bacteria.

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