The Making of Ensilage

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 59, Issue 5, 15 November 1939, Page 383

The Making of Ensilage

Importance of Using Young Leafy Material

J. M. SMITH,

Fields Superintendent, Hamilton

»|«ll— till——Illi——Illi——mi—HU—— —till——UH—llli—llli t The call for increased produc- | lion to meet the war-time de- I mands has made it imperative ! | that the surplus pasture of the = growing season should be cone served for those periods when 1 grass alone will not adequately I sustain the stock. The making | j of silage is an important = | method of pasture cultivation, 1 J and in this article the basic 1 | principles in the making of 1 | silage are outlined. I I —HD—llli—llli—llli——llli— HU——llli——UH—llH—)!•£•

GREAT progress has been made in recent years with pasture farming, and with the advent of topdressing, the use of better pasture strains and species, and the general ■ betterment of pasture management, many farmers now find themselves in a position to maintain— in some cases, to improve the economic production on their farms on grassland alone without having recourse to supplementary fodder cropping. This has been made possible by the saving of the surplus growth from the pastures in the form of hay and silage during that period of peak pasture growth. In the early days of dairying and sheep-farming, extensive areas of supplementary fodder crops were grown and it was then necessary to have a considerable quantity of hay to balance up the watery nature of these fodder crops. Today, however, with the area in fodder crops eliminated or reduced to a minimum in certain areas, this necessity does not exist, but there does arise a necessity to supply a succulent fodder to take the place of those crops. For this purpose there is no better material than well-made silage. Thus, on those farms where the pastures provide all, or practically all, of the annual fodder for stock, the making of silage becomes a very sound phase of farming, in that it enables a farmer to control his pasture growth, a very necessary factor in efficient grassland management, and it provides a succulent high-class fodder for periods of pasture shortage.

Hay Also Needed . Silage should not be made to the total exclusion of hay, for there is a place for both on an efficientlymanaged grassland farm in New Zealand today, but the saving of surplus growth as silage has certain advantages over the conserving of it as hay.

Firstly, silage can be saved in practically all weather that a farmer is prepared to work in. This means that there need be no vexatious delays on account of showery or broken weather, and consequently it enables farmers to cut their surplus growth at the time when it is at its highest feed value. Where a farmer is making hay it is frequently necessary, because of weather conditions, to postpone cutting from day to day, with the result that the material becomes very fibrous and low in feed value, while, in addition, such delay seriously interferes with the subsequent aftermath growth of the pasture. In districts of high rainfall this is an extremely important point. Even in districts of comparatively low rainfall, however, it is a moot point, for frequently the peak of pasture production occurs early in the season, when the weather is too unsettled for the making of first-class hay.

No Risk of Fire Secondly, there is no risk of fire when silage is being made, whereas, unfortunately, many a haystack has been either totally destroyed by fire or heated to an extent that makes the material almost useless as a stock food.

Thirdly, well-made ensilage can be held over from season to season with little deterioration taking place. This is a very important factor, especially in districts where two or three bountiful seasons are succeeded by a series of seasons of feed shortage. With a good standby supply of succulent silage a farmer can laugh in the face of adverse seasons. With silage, the milk yield of wet stocks can be fairly . well maintained through periods of drought conditions, whereas the feeding of hay alone at such times would result in a falling away in the milk yield. One of the greatest alleged drawbacks to the conservation of fodder as silage is the heavy nature of the work said to be entailed in harvesting the green material. With present-day machinery, the cost of which is within the reach of the average efficient farmer, the making of silage entails no heavier manual labour than does the making of hay. Especially is this true of the farm where mechanisation has been kept in line with modern methods.

Quality of Material Silage can be made from all types of green crops, but in this country it has been found that the growing of special crops of oats, etc., for silage is hardly warranted, and that in the main it is the surplus pasture growth that is so conserved. A point worth remembering is that the quality of any silage will depend upon the quality of the green material, and that if silage is made from inferior material, such as roughage, weeds, etc., the resultant fodder will be inferior in feed value. The old saying that “you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” rings true in this respect. At the same time it is as well to remember that roughage, etc., should be removed, and that it can be made into a silage which, though low in feed value, is edible. The quality of silage depends not only upon the species of grasses and

clovers from which it is made, but also upon the stage at which such species are cut. It is an accepted fact in farming today that young growing grass has a much greater feed value than grass which has become mature, so that it is an advantage to cut the crop on the young, rather than on the old side. Naturally, a certain amount of growth must be allowed before cutting can begin, otherwise the bulk will be so small that the feed units obtained will be costly and uneconomic. . As a general rule, cutting should begin just before the. seed stalks appear, and at this stage’the crop will be at its maximum point of leaf growth. Another advantage in handling young leafy material is that such material gives a wide range under which firstclass silage can be made, and there is little risk of a failure or partial failure.

Nothing Mysterious There is nothing very mysterious about the making of. silage, and in actual practice it will be found that it is easier -to make good silage than it ‘ is to make good hay. When any green sappy material is heaped together bacterial action is set up and fermentation takes place. With the exclusion of air this fermentation is halted, and the mass can then be held in that condition for a long period, providing air is not readmitted or allowed to get in. This, briefly, is the principle of the making of silage. It will , thus be seen that. the main factors of success in this phase of farming are (1) the cutting of the material in .a. green, sappy condition; (2) the gathering of . it into a heap as soon as possible; and (3) the ability to exclude air .from, the mass. These last two factors can best be accomplished in the pit or stack, and explains why these two methods are both popular and efficient. .4- - -- . Silage of good quality can be made in the stack, but this process requires a - little more experience;: while there is usually more waste in the stack method. As an offset against this, howover, is the fact that the. stack can be built anywhere on the . farm, while it can also be made to accommodate any quantity of material.. With the pit or trench it is necessary to have suitable locations on the farm and, once: built, the' site becomes permanent, and this may entail long cartage to or from this site. ■■ ■ : -

Time Factor ■ In making silage it is essential that the green material should be put into the stack as soon after cutting as possible. This is not so necessary where the pit or trench is being used, and it is often an advantage to allow the material to wilt slightly. in the field before being carted in. A sweet, or very slightly sour silage should be aimed at, and if the material becomes too dry the temperature will go too high before the air is excluded, and a brown or burnt silage of inferior feeding quality will result. The same will happen if there is too great a/delay in the harvesting, and. where . silage is being , made in the stack it. is expedient to carry on on successive days, until the job is done. ; With leafy green material, however, a day between' operations ( can be allowed- without any great danger of the silage being reduced in feed value. These •' spells will allow the material to settle a little' before operations begin again, ■ but with a mechanical , lift or hoist there is. little advantage in this. With the pit or trench, where the material is tramped and packed more densely than in the stack, a spell of a day or more between sections is advisable, otherwise a very sour silage will result.

Packing of Edges In building a silage stack every care must be taken to see that the edges are tightly packed to ensure the total exclusion of air. The better job a farmer makes in this'respect, the less waste there will be -in" the stack when the' time comes for feeding out. As previously mentioned, the exclusion of air controls fermentation, so that another advantage of the short leafy green material, apart from its higher feed value, is that it packs more'tightly and thus controls the temperature. In the early days of making . silage it -was deemed necessary to take the temperature at the centre of the stack, and . proceed with, or delay building,' according to temperature. Today,, the thermometer ' has been dispensed with, as it is realised that , t there is little risk of the temperature remaining too low, but great risk of the temperature going too high,’ so that with continuous building in the stack, ■ or -. building ' on alternate days in ; the pit or trench, this high temperature' is avoided. ■> At times controversy takes place as to whether stacks should be square,

rectangular,, or round. Actually it matters little, although with a round stack there is less wall area exposed to the weather, and as it is on the walls that waste takes place, this lesesr area on which there can be waste is an advantage. At the same time, if a stack builder feels more confident when building a square stack he should adopt this shape. The stack should be built as high as possible, consistent with the degree of safety necessary to ensure that no canting takes place.. With a low, squat stack covering too much ground, a poorer quality silage usually results, while there is much waste.

Covering Recommended On completion of the building with the green. material the stack should be topped up with a .foot .to. 18 inches of soil, and the edges of the stack should be so built that it is possible to get the full weight of the soil right 'out. This weighting with soil is to ensure that the air is excluded from the top three or four feet. Even with pits .and trenches it is an advantage to top. up with soil, although some farmers do not do so, and little waste results. Much depends upon the leafiness of the green material; if this is young and succulent, little waste occurs, : even where no soil is employed in- topping up. > • As the time is now rapidly approaching when pastures will be at their peak of seasonal production which will, on most farms, result in a surplus of grass, farmers should give some consideration to the saving of this surplus as silage. It is in the interest of the pastures that this growth should be removed, and in the interest of the stock that this should be saved in its most succulent, nutritious, and palatable form. Farmers desiring further information in connection with, this - important pnase of dairy, sheep, and mixed farming should . get in touch with the nearest Instructor in Agriculture of the Department of Agriculture, and this, officer will call and discuss .the whole matter with . them. - - ■