Silage Additives

The principal use worldwide for formic acid is as a silage additive, an appHcation that is not well developed in the United States the U.S. market for formic acid is therefore relatively small (ca 30,000 t/yr) by world standards. Typical U.S. prices for formic acid (mid-1992) were around 0.90/kg. 

Woolford, M.K. 1975. Microbiological screening of the straight chain fatty acids (CrC12) as potential silage additives. J. Sci. Food Agric. 26, 219-228. 

Calcium diformate Calcium formate Calcium formate (Ca(HC02)2) Calcoform EINECS 208-863-7 Formic acid, calcium salt HSDB 5019 Latibon Mravencan vapenaty. As feed additive and as silage additive binder tor fine-ore briquets. Crystalline powder d = 2.02 soluble in H2O insoluble in EtOH. Bayer AG. 

Kung, L.Jr. (2006) A review on silage additives and enzymes. In http //ag.udel.edu/ anfs/ faculty/kung/articles/a review on silage additives and.htm. 

Silage additives can be classified into two main types fermentation stimulants, such as sugar-rich materials, inoculants and enzymes, which encourage the development of lactic acid bacteria and fermentation inhibitors, such as acids and formalin, which partially or completely inhibit microbial growth. 

Molasses, which is a by-product of the sugar beet and sugarcane industries (see p. 536), was one of the earhest silage additives to be used as a source of sugars. The by-product has a water-soluble carbohydrate content of about 700 g/kg DM the additive has been shown to increase the dry matter and lactic acid contents, and to reduce the pH and ammonia levels in treated silages. 

Some commercial silage additives now contain enzymes along with an inoculum of suitable strains of lactic acid bacteria. The enzymes are usually cellulases and hemicellulases, which degrade the cell walls of plants, thus releasing sugars, which are then available for fermentation by the lactic acid bacteria. The enzymes appear to be most effective when added to young herbage ensiled at low dry matter content. 

What are the two classes of silage additive and how do they work Give examples of each type and describe the effect that the additives have on silage composition. 

Key words silage, hay, haylage, fermentation, silage additive. 

Lockhart Wiseman s Crop Husbandry 22.4.11 The use of silage additives... 

Baillie J, Assessment of Silage Additives in High Quality Wilted First Cut Grass Silage, Kingshay Farming Trust, 1997. 

As it can be seen, the sludge addition decreases protein content in silage by about 2 to 3 %. Other parameters have changed not much. The only difference was again observed for iron content (fig.2). 

Addition of a whey paste plus a nisin-producing strain of S. lactis to silage has been suggested as a means of preventing development of butyric acid bacteria in the fodder. Further information on conversion of dairy and other food processing wastes to useful products appears in a review by Cousin (1980). 

By the 1970s production techniques had been mastered, seed quality had improved, and simpler hybrids allowed a more reasonable seed price. In addition, fertilizer use increased and irrigation became more sophisticated. Yields increased (Figure 5.3) and the area under cultivation rose dramatically. By 1972, there were 1 800 000 ha of grain corn, and by 1983, there were 1 400 000 ha of com silage. These areas of production have since remained relatively static - primarily as a result of international competition and the resulting fall in prices. 

In addition to S02 and antibacterial proteins/peptides, medium-chain fatty acids produced by yeast during alcoholic fermentation have also been implicated in the inhibition of malolactic bacteria (Carrete et al, 2002 Edwards and Beelman, 1987 Lonvaud-Funel et al, 1985). Inhibition of Saccharomyces species and some LAB by medium-chain fatty acids has been reported in grape juice and silage (Pederson et al, 1961 Woolford, 1975). Although this hypothesis has not been conclusively shown, Lonvaud-Funel et al (1985) and... 

---