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Biotal Additives
Axcool Gold
High DM grass (>30%) normally produces a good fermentation with a steady pH drop. It also has a higher residual level of water soluble carbohydrates than lower DM material.
Higher DM grass is vulnerable to the rapid growth of yeasts and moulds when the clamp or clamp face is exposed to air Yeasts and moulds proliferate when oxygen is present, as they are able utilise organic acids (lactic acid) to increase their growth rate.
In doing so, they produce large amounts of heat (lost energy) and potentially harmful fungal mycotoxins. This reduces silage quality and can result in a loss of animal performance.
Treat high DM grass with axcool gold® to prevent yeast and mould growth which results in aerobic spoilage.
Axphast Gold
Low DM grass (<30%) needs a rapid drop in pH so that nutrients, such as sugar and protein, are preserved. The lower the dry matter, the lower the drop in pH needed to produce a stable silage.
When a rapid drop in pH is achieved, it is not only beneficial for nutrient preservation but also for a reduction in the action of anaerobic bacteria that can cause secondary fermentation. Low dry matters can also lead to effluent problems and cause environmental pollution, as well as a loss in potential nutrients within the clamp.
A crop specific additive should also contain an enzyme package to breakdown the tougher (hemicellulose) fibre fractions.
Treat low DM grass silage with axphast gold® to produce an efficient fermentation, improve intake and forage utilisation as well as minimising effluent.
Biocrops
Bi-cropping combines a spring sown cereal (wheat, barley, oats, triticale) and a spring sown legume (peas, lupins) crop. The cereal crop provides energy in the form of starch and the legume crop provides protein. This cropping system has been around for many years but only now is its full potential being realised. Modern harvesting machinery allows the crop to be taken at a later stage, when the nutrients such as starch and protein are at their optimum level.
Bi-crops are very versatile, choosing the right cereal and legume variety combination allows the crop to be grown in a number of locations and soil types. This means that the crop can be grown and fed by dairy, beef and sheep producers. Bicropping not only combines the nutritional benefits of cereals and legumes but also the agronomic benefits. Greater competitiveness against weeds and less susceptibility to disease improve establishment and reduce growing costs. Legumes also have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. This provides some nitrogen for the growing crop but more importantly there is a high level of residual nitrogen for following crops.
Crop selection, harvesting and ensiling are important areas to get right when growing bi-crops. Ensuring good fermentation and preventing aerobic spoilage will maximise forage protein and energy content. wholecrop legume contains specific bacteria to improve fermentation and aerobic stability which leads to better forage utilisation.
Wholecrop Gold Mill
Traditionally crops were harvested at the ‘soft cheddar’ stage which equates to a dry matter of approximately 40% for wheat and about 35% for barley.
Crops harvested later, have an increasing requirement for physical processing as the dry matter rises, to prevent grain loss through the animal. This can now be achieved by using onboard processors to ‘dent’ the grain as it passes through the harvester.
wholecrop goldmill ® is a favourable alternative to urea treatment as it produces consistent results and is not as costly or wasteful in terms of ammonia nitrogen and environmental pollution. However, grain processing results in high levels of rapidly fermentable starch in the rumen which can cause acidosis if not fed correctly.
Lucerne
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Lucerne is another useful high protein forage with potential to improve performance and reduce costs. It is a more specialist crop than other leguminous species and requires higher management input. Being a legume, it has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, so it is of particular interest to organic producers as well as conventional producers.
Lucerne provides a source of rumen degradable protein and, unlike red clover, it has a relatively high fibre level. It provides an opportunity to improve forage quality in terms of protein, which will help increase farm self sufficiency, reducing the need for purchased feed inputs. Being a home grown feed, Lucerne also provides producers with a fully traceable product. Lucerne is a versatile crop allowing a flexible harvesting strategy. The only draw back is the limitation to the type of ground on which lucerne can be grown. It is not well suited to all areas of the UK. Lucerne must be well managed if high yields from multiple cuts are to be achieved.
The use of an effective additive such as axphast or axcool will prevent the breakdown of the protein and provide stability in this quality, high protein crop.
Lupins
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Lupins have become an increasingly reliable source of farm produced protein, replacing both traditional imported sources such as soya or maize gluten, and home produced, protein crops such as peas and beans. Their amino acid profile complements cereal crops providing a good source of lysine as well as having a high energy value due to their high oil content. Lupins make an ideal break crop in an arable rotation as they fix nitrogen into the soil and also increases soil organic matter when the stubble is ploughed in after harvest.
Their use as a protein source is also of particular interest to organic farms. Wholecrop lupins allow the crop to be harvested earlier than the conventional combining date. This gives producers the opportunity to maximise forage yield while still producing a high quality forage.
Wholecrop lupins should be ensiled using a crop specific additive such as wholecrop legume as this will ensure a rapid drop in pH during the initial stages of fermentation and the maintenance of aerobic stability during feed out which leads to improved forage utilisation.
Lupins can also be harvested later in the season as crimp, treated with biocrimp or harvested as a conventional dry concentrate depending on species and location.
Maize Cool Gold
It is important than maize is not harvested until mature. Maize harvested at < 28% dry matter requires a larger and more rapid pH drop to preserve nutrients. Low dry matter maize can also result in nutrient loss through effluent.
The target dry matter for maize silage should be >28% to maximise starch content. High dry matter crops require aerobic stability to minimise any loss at feed out and storage.
With high dry matter maize silage, (>28%) the initial drop in pH is rapid due to the amount of water soluble carbohydrate (sugar) available to the bacteria.
This leads to efficient fermentation and preservation of crop nutrients. During feed out, these crops will be susceptible to aerobic deterioration and growth of undesirable yeast and mould, which leads to heating clamps and high levels of waste.
Peas
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Peas are a high protein and starch crop which can be used as an arable management tool and as a complementary forage. The starch provides a good source of fermentable energy when used with grass silage whilst the protein content is an ideal complement for wholecrop and maize silages.
Peas make an ideal break crop in an arable rotation as they not only fix nitrogen into the soil, but also increase soil organic matter after harvest cultivations. Their use as a protein source is of particular interest to organic farms.
Good management is essential to achieve the full potential of forage peas. They are a single cut crop and provide a high yield in a short period of time which reduces the harvest work load. Forage peas have a high buffering capacity making it difficult to achieve an effective preservation at lower dry matters. At higher dry matters, aerobic stability is a problem, so the use of a suitable additive is essential to preserve crop nutrients. wholecrop legume lowers the pH quickly in difficult conditions so the forage is well preserved and improves aerobic stability on high dry matter material.
Peas can also be harvested later in the season as moist crimp. Breaking the seed coat is essential before feeding to allow the animal to utilise the feed. biocrimp successfully preserves crimped peas when stored in a well sealed and consolidated clamp.
Red Clover
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Red clover is an excellent protein rich crop which can be grazed in situ or cut and ensiled. It is a leguminous crop which has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, reducing fertility costs for the following crop. Red clover can be grown as a stand alone crop or combined with a companion, such as Italian ryegrass. Red clover can help existing pastures by increasing the protein level and quality and reduce the level of nitrogen fertiliser needed.
Red clover and red clover/ryegrass silages provide good complementary forages for energy crops such as maize or wholecrop cereal silages. It is a high intake forage that is able to stimulate the rumen environment by supplying large quantities of rumen degradable protein.
Management of clover from establishment to harvesting must be good in order to achieve a quality forage. axphast or axcool applied to red clover silage will result in a stable, efficient preservation of crop nutrients.
Solo Maize
High dry matter forage, such as maize silage, is prone to aerobic spoilage. Once the clamp is open and exposed to air yeast and mould grow rapidly using the available nutrients. Lowering pH, by adding an acid or conventional biological inoculant, will not reduce yeast and mould.
solomaize contains specialist, high dry matter bacteria which prevents yeast and mould development in the clamp.
- Prevents yeast
- Prevents mould
- Reduces heating
- Improves aerobic stability
- Biological additive
- Easy to apply
- Suitable for use in organic systems
Super Sile
supersile ® is the efficient, natural biological additive for results in wet, (up to 26% DM) low sugar forage.
supersile ® provides highly efficient strains of bacteria with rapid doubling times and a proprietary enzyme package to increase sugar availability for lactic acid production.
The resultant increase in rate of lactic acid production ensures a rapid drop in the pH of the silage ensuring minimal loss of nutritional value and maximum protection from spoilage.
Whole Crop Gold
Wholecrop cereals have become increasingly popular in many winter diets. The rapid expansion in the use of wholecrop is due to the nutritional, agronomic and environmental benefits that this versatile crop provides. Wholecrop is a good alternative forage in marginal maize growing areas and a useful complementary forage for grass and maize systems.
The maximum benefits of fermented wholecrop will be realised if good management is observed during the harvesting and, more importantly, ensiling period. The target dry matter for fermented wholecrop cereals is around 35-45%.
At this stage there should be starch in the grain, but the crop should still be moist enough to consolidate effectively. Wholecrop silage is relatively easy to preserve, however, its higher starch and sugar content mean that it is vulnerable to aerobic spoilage (heating).
Using wholecropgold® together with good consolidation and sheeting minimises any losses leading to improved forage utilisation.
