‘Shrink’ losses in commercially sized corn silage piles: Quantifying total losses and where they occur

Robinson, P.H.; Swanepoel, N.; Heguy, J.M.; Price, Tanner P; Meyer, Donald L.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.10.090

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The proportion of water to total mass lost will be 0.74*17/1000 = 0.013 and can therefore be largely ignored. Losses in the mini‐silos used averaged 43 (15–93) g/kg DM and were similar to volatile corrected “shrink” losses of approximately 35 g/kg DM in seven very large (950–12 204 ton) horizontal maize silos (Robinson, Swanepoel, Heguy, Price, & Meyer, ), but considerably lower than the 107 g/kg DM seen in 12 Swedish (120–1200 ton; average DM content: 332 g/kg) grass‐clover bunker silos (R. Spörndly, unpublished).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…Meyer, 2016), but considerably lower than the 107 g/kg DM seen in 12 Swedish (120-1200 ton; average DM content: 332 g/kg) grass-clover bunker silos (R. Sp€ orndly, unpublished).Sugars are never recovered completely in silage and the proportion will depend on the extent of fermentation, which is governed by the presence of oxygen, water activity, buffering capacity and inhibitors of fermentation. There was a strong linear relationship between WSC loss (g/kg DM) and crop WSC levels (WSC loss = À27.2 + 0.996*WSC crop; R² = 0.82).…”

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confidence: 95%

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Fresh and ensiled forage plants—total composition, silage losses and the prediction of silage composition from the crop

Udén

2017

Grass and Forage Science

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Twenty ley and whole‐crop samples were analysed before and after ensiling to determine the proportion of dry matter (DM) that could be accounted for by the sum of 12 chemical assays for ash, ash‐excluded‐amylase‐treated neutral detergent fibre (aNDFom), starch, water‐soluble carbohydrates (WSC), pectin, crude protein (CP), CP in aNDFom (CPndf), ammonia, crude fat, phenolics, plant organic acids and liquid fermentation products (acids and alcohols). Crop components, utilized during silage fermentation and the possibility of predicting silage composition from that of the crop, were also investigated. Samples consisted of timothy and red and white clover, harvested at early and late maturities in two cuts per maturity and of whole‐crop barley, wheat and maize, harvested at early, intermediate and late stages of maturity. Ley crops were wilted to reach a DM content of approximately 400 g/kg, whereas whole crops (WC) were not wilted (151–757 g DM/kg) before ensiling. The average sum of analytes was 1022 and 981 g/kg DM for crops and silages respectively. An overall closeness to complete recovery indicates that no major plant components were missing from the analyses. Relative proportions of pectin, plant organic acids and phenolics, which are rarely analysed, were approximately 60:40:2 (w/w). Ash, aNDFom, crude fat and CP were almost completely recovered after ensiling, whereas partial metabolism reduced recoveries of starch (81%), CPndf (62%), plant organic acids (65%), pectin (64%) and WSC (29%). Only the four analytes with high silage recoveries could be reasonably well predicted from parent crop levels with mean prediction error from 0.065 for aNDFom to 0.167 for crude fat.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

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confidence: 95%

Fresh and ensiled forage plants—total composition, silage losses and the prediction of silage composition from the crop

Udén

2017

Grass and Forage Science

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“…Robinson et al (2016), who also used the total-in versus totalout method, analysed DM losses as "shrink losses" from seven commercially sized maize silage piles. To avoid sampling errors in future investigations, it is recommended to measure the DM contents in the entire material flow on the forage harvester and fodder mixer wagon with modern sensor technology.…”

Section: Dm Lossesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dry-matter (DM) losses during storage range, on average, from 6% (Mayne & Gordon, 1986) to 16.1% (Watson & Nash, 1960) and can reach up to 31.9% (Bastiman & Altman, 1985). However, only a few investigations have been conducted on silo losses from ensiling to feed-out under practical conditions (Köhler, Diepolder, Ostertag, Thurner, & Spiekers, 2013;Robinson, Swanepoel, Heguy, Price, & Meyer, 2016). During the silage feed-out phase, a high level of aerobic stability of the silage is essential for preserving its high level of quality.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…It is crucial to minimize losses due to aerobic deterioration by optimally adjusting management factors during the ensiling process (Wilkinson & Davies, 2013). However, only a few investigations have been conducted on silo losses from ensiling to feed-out under practical conditions (Köhler, Diepolder, Ostertag, Thurner, & Spiekers, 2013;Robinson, Swanepoel, Heguy, Price, & Meyer, 2016). A previous analysis by our group encompassing 48 silos with grass, maize and lucerne silages-carried out with a total-in versus total-out method-revealed mean DM losses of 9%-12%.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Dry‐matter losses and changes in nutrient concentrations in grass and maize silages stored in bunker silos

Köhler

Taube²,

Ostertag

et al. 2019

Grass and Forage Science

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To reduce losses and improve forage use efficiency in dairy farming systems, mass and nutrient flows during silage production have to be measured from the field to feed bunk. However, data on these losses at the farm scale are scarce. Thus, we examined dry‐matter (DM) losses and changes in nutrient concentrations (proximate constituents, nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P]) and energy values (net energy for lactation [NEL]) of silages on three experimental farms from ensiling to feed‐out. The investigated material included forages from permanent grassland and whole‐crop maize that were stored in 64 side‐walled bunker silos. To determine DM losses, the total‐in versus total‐out method was applied. Additionally, the changes in the nutrient concentrations were measured by comparing the concentrations before and after ensiling. Data analyses were carried out by using ANOVA, and the means across groups were compared via multiple contrast tests. On average, the farms had good silage production management. Average values showed a trend towards higher DM losses during the ensiling process with grass (9%) than maize (7%). The N and P concentrations of the silages remained mainly unchanged during the ensiling process, suggesting that the total losses of N and P were also low (<10%). Regarding the fibre fractions, ensiling resulted in a significant reduction in the concentration of amylase‐treated ash‐excluded neutral detergent fibre (aNDFom) for grass (11%) and maize (15%), while ash‐excluded acid detergent fibre (ADFom) was not affected by the ensiling process. These changes resulted in slightly improved energy values in the silages.

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Structural and quantitative changes of saponins in fresh alfalfa compared to alfalfa silage

et al. 2018

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BACKGROUND: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is an important legume used in animal feed. The primary objective of the present study was to analyze and trace the individual saponins in fresh and ensiled alfalfa of ten varieties, with the aim of evaluating the structural changes that saponins undergo during ensiling. A secondary objective was to examine whether any of the changes in saponin content were associated with changes in the basic nutrient composition of the ensiled alfalfa. RESULTS: The total saponin concentration increased when the fresh alfalfa was processed into silage. Three of the zanhic acid glycosides were degraded substantially, whereas the other two increased in all the tested varieties. Five of the seven medicagenic acid glycosides were not changed, whereas the remaining saponins completely disappeared. Finally, two glycosides of soyasapogenol B displayed an inverse relationship to each other. CONCLUSION: The nutrient content of fresh material and silages remained relatively constant, with some variations in the crude protein content of the selected alfalfa varieties. The total concentration of saponins increased two-to three-fold after ensilation over the levels present in fresh alfalfa material. The increases in saponin concentration showed a negative linear relationship between protein on a dry matter basis and saponin content. These findings are significant because no known published data have shown this transformation in the ensiling of alfalfa.

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‘Shrink’ losses in commercially sized corn silage piles: Quantifying total losses and where they occur

Cited by 20 publications

References 5 publications

Fresh and ensiled forage plants—total composition, silage losses and the prediction of silage composition from the crop

Fresh and ensiled forage plants—total composition, silage losses and the prediction of silage composition from the crop

Dry‐matter losses and changes in nutrient concentrations in grass and maize silages stored in bunker silos

Structural and quantitative changes of saponins in fresh alfalfa compared to alfalfa silage

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