SPECIAL STORY 54 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2023 By DSM Animal Nutrition Making silage enables the farmer to store forage, providing a cost-effective feed when required. From silage making through to feeding out, the challenge is to ensure that valuable dry matter, energy and protein are not lost. An effective silage additive helps to drive fermentation in the right direction, preventing undesirable microbes from robbing valuable protein and energy resources from the ensiled forage. Even the best selection of silage additive cannot replace getting the fundamentals of silage making right. TYPES OF SILAGE INOCULANTS A wide variety of silage inoculants are available on the market. These can be broadly grouped into 3 different categories. • Bacteria • Preservatives or organic acids • Enzymes BACTERIA Most silage inoculants are lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Some products contain only homofermentative strains or heterofermentative strains while others are a combination of both types of LAB. Homofermentative bacteria such as Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus, Enterococcus and Lactococcus enhance the production of lactic acid, which lead to a faster drop in pH value and improved fermentation, thus reducing DM losses, protein breakdown and growth of undesirable microorganisms. Heterofermentative bacteria such as Lactobacillus brevis, L. kefiri and L. buchneri convert forage sugars to lactic and acetic acid. The production of ace- “An effective silage additive helps to drive fermentation in the right direction, preventing undesirable microbes from robbing valuable protein and energy resources from the ensiled forage.” IMPROVE SILAGE QUALITY FOR BETTER ROI
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