Post on 09-Apr-2018
Shrink the Shrink
Bill Stone
Diamond V Technical Support and Field Research
bstone@diamondv.com
315-283-0477 (cell)
• Forage and silo management practices– Haylage windrow width
– Inoculants
– Silage density (Packing)
– Covering
– Feedout
• Feeding management– Concentrate storage on the dairy
– Grain and forage premixes
– Ration preparation
– Electronic feed recording systems
– Reduce orts after implementing procedures to minimize variation
A huge amount of money can be saved
by “shrinking the shrink”
Wide or narrow haylage windrows
Wide swathed windrows reduce shrink by:
•Faster dry-down rates lessen losses due to rain
•More sugars available for the fermentation (and the cow)
•More likely to be harvested at the appropriate DM as
opposed to too wet
Top is
past re
ady, w
hile
hayla
ge
on th
e b
otto
m o
f
the w
indro
w is
still re
spirin
g s
ugars
Narro
w w
indro
ws
Why d
o w
ide w
indro
ws d
ry q
uic
ker?
More
sunshin
e e
xposure
!
2ndC
ut G
rass W
indro
w C
ore
Tem
p
000 0
20
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40
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40
60
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Date/TimeDate/TimeDate/TimeDate/Time
11:50 AM11:50 AM11:50 AM11:50 AM
1:05 PM1:05 PM1:05 PM1:05 PM
2:20 PM2:20 PM2:20 PM2:20 PM
3:35 PM3:35 PM3:35 PM3:35 PM
4:50 PM4:50 PM4:50 PM4:50 PM
6:05 PM6:05 PM6:05 PM6:05 PM
7:20 PM7:20 PM7:20 PM7:20 PM
8:35 PM8:35 PM8:35 PM8:35 PM
9:50 PM9:50 PM9:50 PM9:50 PM
Narrow
Narrow
Narrow
Narrow
Wide
Wide
Wide
Wide
Courte
sy o
f Tom
Kilc
er
Why d
o w
ide w
indro
ws d
ry q
uic
ker?
Sw
ath
Core
Rela
tive H
um
idity
50
50
50
50
55
55
55
55
60
60
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60
65
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Date/TimeDate/TimeDate/TimeDate/Time
6/6/036/6/036/6/036/6/03
12:20 PM12:20 PM12:20 PM12:20 PM
6/6/036/6/036/6/036/6/03
1:50 PM1:50 PM1:50 PM1:50 PM
6/6/036/6/036/6/036/6/03
3:20 PM3:20 PM3:20 PM3:20 PM
6/6/036/6/036/6/036/6/03
4:50 PM4:50 PM4:50 PM4:50 PM
6/6/036/6/036/6/036/6/03
6:20 PM6:20 PM6:20 PM6:20 PM
6/6/036/6/036/6/036/6/03
7:50 PM7:50 PM7:50 PM7:50 PM
Narrow
Narrow
Narrow
Narrow
Wide
Wide
Wide
Wide
Courte
sy o
f Tom
Kilc
er
Narrow
windrows retain
soil moisture
and have higher
humidity levels
Courtesy of Tom Kilcer
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
NHC40%
NHC59%
NHC73%
NHC83%
SB 94%
% Moisture Lost
2 hour
3 hour
Effect of Width and Conditioning in Alfalfa
Silage - Swath Not Moved
Produced by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County
Windrow width
%age of cutter bar
Produced by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County
22%
24%
26%
28%
30%
NH 40%
NH 59%
Diskm
ow 65%
NH 73%
NH 83%
Sidebar 94%
% Dry Matter
cut
1 hour
Effect of Width and Conditioning in Grass
Silage - Swath Not Moved
Windrow width
%age of cutter bar
14’ disc bine
9’ merger
8’ windrow; 8/14 = 57%,
ideally windrow width would be
> 90% of cutterbar width (12.5 ft)Hlge 2nd 2007
DM 39%
CP 22%
Bound 1%
Sol CP 61%
ADF 31%
NDF 39%
Wide Swath Dries 3X Faster
Caution: it can get too dry
Quickly!
Courtesy of Tom Kilcer
• Forage and silo management practices– Haylage windrow width
– Inoculants– Silage density (Packing)
– Covering
– Feedout
• Feeding management– Concentrate storage on the dairy
– Grain and forage premixes
– Ration preparation
– Electronic feed recording systems
– Reduce orts after implementing procedures to minimize variation
Shrink the shrink
Inoculant Results
• Dr. Keith Bolsen - Kansas State Univ.
• > 200 laboratory scale trials
• 1,000 silages, 25,000 silos
• Positive results = >90% of trials
• These were all “Front-end” inoculants
• On average, homofermentative inoculants improve DM recovery by 2-3 percentage units (Muck, CNC 2008)
Inoculants - other considerations
• Liquid preferable at DM > 40%
• Apply at the chopper, blower, or bag
• Ask for research and quality control procedures
• Keep the bugs alive (refrigerate, non-Cl water)
• Inoculants increase your chances for success, but don’t guarantee it
“Back-end” Inoculants
• Lactobacillus buchneri
�Starts to grow after the initial fermentation
�Converts some of the lactate to acetate (primarily), and propionate (1,2-propanediol)
�Both of these acids are much stronger mold and yeast inhibitors than lactate
�1 percentage unit drop in DM recovery with straight L. buchneri (Kleinschmit & Kung, 2006)
�Wide or jagged bunks? Heating of the TMR? How much of an improvement in DM recovery?
0000
1111
2222
3333
4444
5555
6666
7777
% DM
Day 2Day 2Day 2Day 2 Day 4Day 4Day 4Day 4 Day 8Day 8Day 8Day 8 Day 56Day 56Day 56Day 56
Days of ensiling
Effect of inoculation with L. buchneri on
acetate levels - alfalfa haylage
ControlControlControlControl
TreatedTreatedTreatedTreated
*
*
Kung et al., J Dairy Sci 2003
• Forage and silo management practices– Haylage windrow width
– Inoculants
– Silage density (Packing)– Covering
– Feedout
• Feeding management– Concentrate storage on the dairy
– Grain and forage premixes
– Ration preparation
– Electronic feed recording systems
– Reduce orts after implementing procedures to minimize variation
Shrink the shrink
Packing Density & DM Loss
0000
5555
10101010
15151515
20202020
25252525
DM loss,%DM loss,%DM loss,%DM loss,%
10101010 14141414 16161616 18181818 22222222
Density (lbs DM/ft3)Density (lbs DM/ft3)Density (lbs DM/ft3)Density (lbs DM/ft3)
Ruppel, 1992
Bunker Silo Densities
• Hay crop silage (87 silos)
• Average = 14.8 lbs/cu ft (6.6 - 27.1)
• Corn silage (81 silos)
• Average = 14.5 lbs/cu ft (7.8 - 23.6)
Holmes, 1999
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
0 5 10 15 20 25
Silo
Lbs. D
M/ft3
Haylage Bunker Density
Ave = 15.9
CNY dairies 2006
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
0 5 10 15 20
Silo
Lbs. D
M/ft3
Corn Silage Bunker Density
Ave = 15.1
CNY dairies 2006
Silage Density 2009
�What are your historical silo densities?
Sample haylage, corn silage from multiple heights; run DM on each sample
�Shoot for 20!
�Use the WI spreadsheet to estimate what will be needed to get there
Will we have adequate packing?
Major influencers of silage density
•Tractor weight•Packing time per ton•Layer thickness•Crop DM
•Particle length•Height of silo
Progressive Wedge
Flatten the
wedge with decreased fill-time
Pack Constantly
Multiple tractors
Shallow layer
Try not to disrupt packed silage
Two tractors “making extra room” by moving in unison
Will we have adequate packing? Real time estimates/options
Controlling Performance II – the “Big Rocks” of Storage
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/uwforage/dec_soft.htmAlso on your CD
3” layer – 22.8 lbs./ft3
6” layer – 15.6 lbs./ft3
9” layer – 13.2 lbs./ft3
Do you only want to be average?
Did we have adequate packing? After the fact measures…
Controlling Performance II – the “Big Rocks” of Storage
Silage Density Measure using DairyOne’s “Master Forage Probe”
1-800-DHI-COWS
(~$125.00)
http://www.dairyone.com/Forage/DensityCalculators/SingleSite.htm
4.25 run/rise
Filled at 3.75-4.0
60’
14’
8’4.25 run/rise
These are not drive-over piles; side spoilage will be high
Covering
•Cover immediately when finished; ≥ 6 mil white plastic•Cover when rain will shut down harvest•Tire - tire density
Lining bunker walls with
plastic improves silage quality
along the walls
Filling Done
Goal – Minimize oxygen infiltration during
fermentation and feedout
Miner Institute
Velitex “Silobags”
AGRI-FLEX INC.
1-866-287-0777
TEST U.M.SILOS
TOP
STD
PE
Thickness Micron 45 45
Tensile strength at break MD N/mm2 38 22
Tensile strength at break TD N/mm2 30 20
Elongation at break MD % 300 280
Elongation at break TD % 310 350
Permeability to O2 85%
RH 23oC
cm3/m2/24h
100 4000
Permeability to O2 85% RH
50oC
cm3/m2/
24h500 12000
www.silostop.com
1/20 as permeable to oxygen as polyethelene
Muck, CNC 2008
How many inches of silage
must be removed daily to
avoid spoilage?
2”
4”
6”
8”
12”
Feedout
Depends on:
Density
Fermentation profile
Feed-out techniques
Mold and yeast counts
Silage Face Heating
Source: Venne. 2007
• Forage and silo management practices– Haylage windrow width
– Inoculants
– Silage density (Packing)
– Covering
– Feedout
• Feeding management– Concentrate storage on the dairy
– Grain and forage premixes
– Ration preparation
– Electronic feed recording systems
– Reduce orts after implementing procedures to minimize variation
Shrink the shrink
Reduce shrink and help the feeder by Making or purchasing grain mixes
Premixing forages prior to feeding
Adding chopped straw to a mix
Utilizing feed management software
Making the prefresh ration
Lb. DM Lb. DM
Corn silage 12.4 12.4
Haylage 2.0 2.0
Wheat straw 3.5 3.5
Corn meal 1.75
Whole cotton .92
Citrus-Soy mix 3.0
Homer meal 2.7
Minerals .45
Megalac .1
Flobond .15
Limestone .12
Prefresh grain mix 9.5
Reducing Shrink with
Electronic Feed Monitoring Systems
Feed Watch(EZ Feed, TMR Tracker,
Feed Supervisor)
Scale head
Display
Software
Wireless modems
Feed Watch - monitoring feeder deviationsIngredient/
Location
Milk min
Mineral shed
Soy 48
ComBay5
Protein mix
ComBay2
Cottonseed
ComBay6
Corn meal
ComBay7
Grass silage
GrassBunk
Alfalfa silage
Alfalfa bunk
Corn sil
CornNewBunk
Start Time
Stop Time
07:19:09 AM
07:2036 AM
07:20:46 AM
07:21:39 AM
07:22:46 AM
07:23:14 AM
...
Expected AF Qty.
Actual AF Qty
25
28
235
233
397
395
581
580
1,784
1,783
766
772
1,727
1,725
5,727
5,744
Variance Qty.
Variance %
3
12.00
-2
-.85
-2
-.5
-1
-.17
-1
-.06
6
.78
-2
-.12
17
.3
Feed Watch - monitoring feeder deviations
Expected AF Qty./
Actual AF Qty
11,246
11,264
Variance Qty./
Variance %
18 net lbs (34 total)
.16
Feeder Deviation Chart
Feeder Deviation Chart
400/
80,000
.5%
Summary
• Reducing feedstuff shrink is an easy
way to improve farm profitability
• Help your clients to indentify and correct
problem areas
Thanks!