The effect of a bacterial inoculant on the digestibility of grass silage and energy intake by young growing cattle

Author(s):  
T. W. J. Ready ◽  
R. W. J. Steen

In a series of studies undertaken at Hillsborough involving both small scale and production experiments with growing cattle and dairy cattle, an inoculant based on a single strain of Lactobacillus plantarum (Ecosyl), has produced considerable benefits in terms of silage intake and animal performance. The present studies were designed to evaluate the same inoculant using difficult to ensile herbage due to the use of high rates of nitrogen application and the use of permanent pasture.Nine silages were harvested using double chop forage harvesters from the second regrowth of three swards, namely permanent pasture which had received 100 kg N/ha (PP) and perennial ryegrass which had received either 100 (100) or 150 (150) kg N/ha. Herbages from each sward were treated with either no additive (C), formic acid (F) (2.5 1/t) (850 g/kg Add-F) or the inoculant (I) (3 1/t) (Ecosyl) (10-6C.F.U/g grass) and were ensiled in 126 mini silos of 0.7 t capacity. The silages were offered to 36 three month old Friesian entire male calves (mean initial liveweight 130 kg) in a change-over design experiment consisting of three 3 week periods.

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 ◽  
pp. 35-35
Author(s):  
T. Yan ◽  
F. J. Gordon ◽  
L. E. R. Dawson ◽  
C. P. Ferris ◽  
R. W. J. Steen ◽  
...  

Wilting of grass prior to ensiling generally produces positive responses in dry matter (DM) intake of cattle, but the responses in animal performance are often small, or even negative. The primary objective of the present study was to compare energy utilization from heavily wilted and unwilted silages by growing cattle when given at equal metabolisable energy (ME) intakes. A secondary objective was to evaluate effects of silage additive type (inoculant v. formic acid) on energy utilization.Four silages were produced from unwilted and wilted grasses (DM 193 and 450 g/kg) obtained from a perennial ryegrass sward. The wilted grass was dried in the field for 26 hours using rapid wilting techniques involving crop conditioning and spreading. At ensiling both the unwilted and wilted grasses were each treated with two additives, a bacterial inoculant (Ecosyl, Zeneca Bioproducts Limited) and a formic acid additive (ADD-F, BP Chemicals Ltd.).


Author(s):  
R. W. J. Steen

Two randomised block experiments, involving 64 British Friesian and Friesian cross steers, have been carried out to compare extracted soyabean, extracted sunflower and fish meals as protein supplements for yearling cattle offered grass silage ad libitum. Two formic acid-treated, precision chopped silages, each made from the primary growth and first regrowth of a perennial ryegrass sward, were used. The control concentrate consisted of (g/kg) 925 barley, 50 molasses, 25 minerals and vitamins. The three high protein concentrates were similar to the control but with 0.30, 0.54 and 0.20 of the barley replaced by soyabean, sunflower and fish meals respectively. The mean chemical compositions of the silages and concentrates used in the two experiments are given in Table 1. All animals received 1.3 kg concentrates per head daily. They were initially 11 months old and 334 kg live weight. The treatments were imposed for 126 days.


1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 ◽  
pp. 24-24
Author(s):  
A. Cushnahan ◽  
C.S. Mayne ◽  
E.A. Goodall

It is generally assumed that lactating dairy cows offered grass silage consume less dry matter than cows offered fresh pasture. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of specific components of the ensilage process on food intake and animal performance.Thirty-six lactating dairy cows were offered the following diets in a changeover design experiment:Gl = primary growth perennial ryegrass zero grazed between 11/5/94 and 31/5/94 (high digestibility).Sl,3 = silage made from Gl and allowed to ferment for 3 weeks prior to feeding.Sl,9 = silage made from Gl and allowed to ferment for 9 weeks prior to feeding.G2 = primary growth perennial ryegrass zero grazed between 1/6/94 and 21/6/94 (low digestibility).S2,3 = silage made from G2 and allowed to ferment for 3 weeks prior to feeding.S2,9 = silage made from G2 and allowed to ferment for 9 weeks prior to feeding.Each treatment forage was offered for a period of 3 weeks, with food intake and animal production data from week 3 used in the statistical analysis. Forage was obtained from the primary growth of a perennial ryegrass sward, which had received 135 kg N, 19 kg P2O5 and 38 K2O/ha. All grass was pre-mown with a rotary mower, then lifted using a round baler. Bales were offered directly to the cows or wrapped in black plastic, stored and allowed to ferment. No additive was applied at ensiling.


Author(s):  
M Gonzalez Yanez ◽  
R Mcginn ◽  
D H Anderson ◽  
A R Henderson ◽  
P Phillips

It Is claimed that the use of the correct enzyme system as an additive on grass silage will satisfactorily control the fermentation and reduce the cell-wall fibre content, thus preserving the nutrients In the silage and aiding their utilisation by the animal (Henderson and McDonald, 1977; Huhtanen et al, 1985; Raurama et al, 1987; Chamberlain and Robertson, 1989; Gordon, 1989;).The aim of the present experiment was to assess the effect of biological additives, enzymes or a combination of enzymes with an Inoculum of lactic acid bacteria, on the composition of silage and on its nutritive value when offered to store lambs as the sole constituent of their diet.On 1st June 1988, first cut perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L) at pre-ear emergence was ensiled direct cut untreated (U), treated with a commercial enzyme (E) or with a commercial inoculum of lactic acid bacteria with enzymes (I) in 6t capacity bunker silos. The grass was cut with a mower and lifted with a New Holland precision chop forage harvester. The additives were pumped onto the grass using a dribble bar sited over the pick-up drum.


1970 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. I. H. Jones

SUMMARYThe effect of three levels of N fertilizer on the ensiling characteristics of S. 24 perennial ryegrass and S. 37 cocksfoot have been examined during first growth in two growing seasons. The effects of sucrose supplementation, inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum and wilting were also examined in certain cuts. All silages were made in the laboratory using a small scale vacuum silage technique.The perennial ryegrass herbage was higher in water soluble carbohydrates than the cocksfoot, N fertilizers decreased soluble carbohydrates and dry-matter content in both species. Buffering capacity was not consistently different between grasses or between N levels.Herbage was cut at two stages of maturity in the first year. In the first cut (8 days before ear emergence), perennial ryegrass silages were well preserved irrespective of the amount of N applied to the grass. Cocksfoot silages were well preserved only when the lowest level of N fertilizer had been applied (50 kg/ha). Supplementation of cocksfoot with sucrose prior to ensiling markedly improved silage quality, but inoculation had no effect. In the second cut (26 days after ear emergence) the grasses were higher in drymatter content and showed a lower buffering capacity, but neither ryegrass nor cocksfoot silages were well preserved unless supplemented with sucrose prior to ensiling.In the second year of the experiment only one cut was taken (9 days after ear emergence). As in the previous year, silages made from herbage at a late stage of growth were poorly preserved. Wilting prior to ensiling resulted in well-preserved silages.It is concluded that the need for additives and wilting to ensure satisfactory preservation varies in relation to the variety of grass used and its stage of growth.


1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 897-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. VEIRA ◽  
M. IVAN ◽  
G. BUTLER ◽  
J. G. PROULX

Following weaning at 6–7 mo of age, 36 beef steers were used to determine production responses when grass silage was supplemented with barley or fishmeal. The silage was made from direct-cut, formic- acid-treated grass harvested from a mixed sward and had a high nitrogen content but poor fermentation characteristics. The silage was fed ad libitum for 98 days either alone or supplemented with 500 g fishmeal or 500 g barley per day. Both fishmeal and barley increased total dry matter intake (P < 0.01) by an amount equivalent to the quantity of supplement offered but had no effect on silage intake (P > 0.05). Steers fed the fishmeal grew substantially faster than either the barley (0.53 kg/day) or unsupplemented (0.54 kg/day) groups (P < 0.01). Fishmeal supplementation resulted in a large reduction (35%) in the amount of feed required per kilogram of gain. Key words: Cattle, grass silage, fishmeal, growth


1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 ◽  
pp. 152-152
Author(s):  
V. L. Nsereko ◽  
J. A. Rooke

There are few reports on the occurrence and amounts of peptide-N in silage. Previous studies (Nsereko and Rooke, 1993, 1996) have quantified the amounts of peptide-N in grass silage and how peptide-N can be modified by additive treatment. However, peptide N concentrations determined using fluorescamine were observed to be considerably higher than those measured by amino acid analysis (Nsereko, 1996). It was the objective of this study to compare methods for the analysis of peptide-N.Triplicate silages treated with no additive, formic acid (5.4 g/kg) or formic acid (2.7 g/kg) and formaldehyde (3.75 g/kg) (Nsereko and Rooke, 1993) were used in an initial study to compare three methods of peptide analysis. Aqueous extracts were prepared from the silages which were deproteinised with trichloracetic acid.


1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Stewart ◽  
I. I. McCullough

ABSTRACTSilage cut twice annually (June and August) from a tetraploid red clover/grass sward and three times annually (May, July and September) from a low nitrogen (N) and high N perennial ryegrass/white clover sward was fed in proportion to dry-matter yield from each cut, over a 10-week period, each winter for 3 years to castrated male cattle of initial live weight 401 kg in year 1 and 425 kg in years 2 and 3. The silages were supplemented with 0, 1, 2 and 3 kg concentrate per head daily.Total dry-matter yield from the red clover/grass sward was similar to that from the perennial ryegrass/white clover sward (high N grass) receiving 360 kg N per ha but the digestibility, particularly of first cut material was much lower. Dry-matter production of the low N grass/white clover sward was 0·73 of high N grass sward and produced silages of similar digestibility and fermentation.Dry-matter intakes by the cattle were higher on the legume-based silages in years when clover made a worthwhile contribution to total yield, but this did not significantly improve utilization or animal performance compared with high N grass silage. Mean daily carcass gain per head on red clover/grass silage was 0·41 kg which was significantly less than the 0·61 kg on white clover/grass silage and 0·59 on high N grass (P < 0·001). Carcass output from red clover/grass silage was 618 kg/ha and 629 kg/ha from white clover/grass, both of which were significantly less than the 863 kg/ha from the high N grass silage (P < 0·001). Dressing proportion was also significantly poorer in animals fed red clover/grass silage compared with the other silage types.


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