Effectiveness of an Aspergillus Oryzae Culture on the Preservation Efficiency and Feeding Value of Alfalfa-Brome Haylage Stored in Gas-Tight and Concrete Stave Silos

High-quality forage is essential in feeding dairy cattle if dairymen intend to increase milk production or to maintain a high level of production. Problems of preserving high-quality forage for the winter feeding of livestock occur each year. The preservation of legumes and grasses as hay is governed by a number of factors: (1) curing weather, (2) state of maturity of the crops, and (3) other factors such as equipment available and methods of handling the crop. The inability of dairymen to control these factors results in heavy nutrient loses in the hays during the curing process due primarily to leaching and shattering of leaves. The development of a more satisfactory process of preservation has been the objective of investigators for many years. In recent years artificial dehydration of these crops has been investigated as a method of preservation. However, the large capital outlay and high operating costs nearly eliminate it from consideration of the average dairymen. Preservation of these crops in silos seems to be the most logical solution to the problem. Direct-cut silage has not been entirely satisfactory due to low quality and rather high preservation losses. If these crops can be preserved as low-moisture silage and stored irrespective of the weather. The common haymaking losses will be greatly reduced because the crop is exposed to less weathering during the curing process. With the trend toward farm mechanization, a feeding program utilizing low-moisture silage appears quite popular. Therefore, it was desirable to investigate the possibility of storing low-moisture silage in concrete stave silos and to determine the effects of an enzymic mixture in the preservation and feeding value of such ensilage.