INTRODUCTION At the Forage Conservation in the ‘80s Conference, Zimmer (1980) concluded that the gaps between “proven technology” and “real efficiency” of silage programs on the farm too often were too wide. Almost 30 years later, the silage industry is still faced with the challenges of implementing silage technologies, both old and new. A large segment of this industry is described as the “Si...

The effects of maturity of maize at harvest, level of inclusion and potential interactions on the performance, carcass composition, meat quality and potential concentrate-sparing effect when offered to finishing beef cattle were studied. Two maize silages were ensiled that had dry matter (DM) concentrations of 217 and 304 g/kg and starch concentrations of 55 and 258 g/kg DM, respectively. Grass...

17-11 ABSTRACT The breeding program has been conducted to improve the production and quality of napiergrass by crossing with related species or intraspecies. CV. TLG2 with high yields and water soluble carbohydrates have been selected and released. It produced 20% more forage yields and water soluble carbohydrates than cultivar, CV. A146 and persisted well at least for five years. Good silage w...

An index of forage quality, milk per ton of forage DM (Undersander et al., 1993), was developed using an energy value of forage predicted from ADF content and DMI potential of forage predicted from NDF content as its basis. The milk per ton quality index was later modified for corn silage (Schwab et al., 2003) using an energy value derived from summative equations (Schwab et al., 2003; NRC, 200...

The Swedish dairy cow has almost doubled its annual milk yield over a few decades. This has simultaneously led to an increase in the dietary proportion of concentrate in order to meet the increased nutritional requirement of dairy cows. The proportion of forage is often below 50% of dry matter (DM) intake in conventional dairy production on an annual basis. However, the regulations for organic ...

Concentrated sources of dairy manure represent significant water pollution potential. The southern United States may be more vulnerable to water quality problems than some other regions because of climate, typical farm size, and cropping practices. Dairy manure can be an effective source of plant nutrients and large quantities of nutrients can be recycled through forage production, especially w...

With high dry matter yields of high quality forage, high soluble carbohydrate levels and a suitability for harvest by cutting and removing, the forage legume sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) has the potential to be an important silage crop in New Zealand. In three experiments the ensiling potential of sulla was compared with conventional pasture using a mini-silo system which allows for rapid evalu...

Silage is not a replacement for good pasture management, but it is a means of making the most of a sound grassland programme. It is an effective method of preserving surpluses of immature forage for use when pasture is in short supply or completely lacking. While quality silage is an excellent feed it is still a substitute .for the original product-pasture herbage. The problem in making silage ...

Wheat is one of the most important cultivated cereals in Uruguay for human consumption; however, when harvest yields are low, wheat is usually used in ensiling for animal feeding. Ensiling is a forage preservation method that allows for storage during extended periods of time while maintaining nutritional values comparable to fresh pastures. Silage is vulnerable to contamination by spoilage mol...