silage making(pbxx 307x)

7/31/2019 Silage Making(Pbxx 307x)

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From fieldto muzzle

Silage making

It is JFs goal to deliver modern technique

to cattle farms and to manufacture reliable

and user-friendly machines that live up

to highly-yielding animals need for

economical quality feed.


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The mower - an important parameter!A mower must be able to make both long and short stubble in order to be ideal for

all types of grass and soil conditions. Therefore, all JF mowers with conditioner

have the possibility of 2 types of adjusting the stubble height. Partly there areheight-adjustable skids for rough adjustment, and partly a spindle for fine adjust-

ment when changing the inclination of the cutting unit.

Feed hygiene is an issue that we at JF have studied very thoroughly in the

product development. In order to limit the amount of spurs in the silage it is

important to make sure that as little soil and as few manure rests as possible get

into the silage. JF has developed the Top Safe system, originally with a view tosecuring maximum protection of the expensive bed disc in case of collision with

stones or similar items. It has turned out that the system has a

not so unimportant side effect; the machine follows

the contours of the field so well that the blades

rarely whirl soil up into the crop.Another safety factor is the possibility

of using many skids. This possibility was

further developed so that there now alsois a feed hygienic perspective. It has

turned out that a finger conditioner whirls

up large amounts of dirt in to the ensilingcrop if it hits the soil in very rough terrain.

This acknowledgement is the reason to

why the skid has been extended so far

to the rear that it protects against this kind

of pollution.

JF mowers give maximum feed hygiene, which is one of the conditions for good silage quality.

The Top Safe system ensures good contour adaptation as well as protects

the machine.

The skids have a double function. They partly protect the bed disc against wear and blows, and they partly prevent the finger

conditioner from coming into contact with the soil, and soil and spurs from getting whirled up into the silage crop.

Avoid old plant rests that can harm the feed hygiene.


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3.0

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8.0

15%drymattercontent

30%drymattercontent

Swath weight in kg

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

A test, carried out at JTI - Instituttet fr jordbruks- och miljteknik in Sweden,

showed that the top plate of the conditioner had a bad shape, because there was

a trough in which plant rests would accumulate. These plant rests would decom-

pose and could contain harmful bacteria, which could be sprinkled over the swath

surface as if it was salt from a salt castor. - JF has hence changed the constructionof the conditioner plate so that it now is correct hygienically seen.

Conditioning is an important factor when shortening the drying time. A perhaps

somewhat surprising ascertainment is that it almost doesnt matter how the condi-

tioner is shaped in order to obtain shorter drying time. - The main thing is that the

crop is spread out in a wide airy swath through which air can blow unhindered. JFs

system for efficient swath spreading is called Top Dry. It has turned out with this

system that it makes sense to cut the grass in the morning just after the dew hasevaporated. In the wide swath there will still be life activity and sugar will be pro-

duced for some hours by means of photosynthesis before the plant dries out and

dies. The increased sugar content will benefit the ensiling process.

Treatment of swath and rakingUsing a rotary tedder in a silage crop must be done with care in order to avoid

waste of leaflets and avoid polluting the silage with soil. Pollution with soil is

difficult to avoid because the crop is moist when cut and soil easily sticks to the

grass. This increases the amount of spurs. If the crop is wilted heavily the soil

will be shaken out of the crop when raking it. However, all in all it is advised not to

use a rotary tedder in silage crop, unless the roots are tight like pastures.JFs system for swath spreading with the mower is called Top Dry, and it is a

good alternative to spreading it with a rotary tedder. With the Top Dry system the

spreading is done with the mowers conditioner, which eliminates the risk of further

mixture with soil and pollution with spurs. Besides, earlier drying start

time is achieved because it typically takes some hours before the next procedureswath spreading can be started.

If the crop was wide spread either by means of a mower with Top Dry or a

rotary tedder it must be raked together before it is picked up. A rotor rake with

maximum contour adaptability is needed to avoid mixing with soil. There are seve-

ral principles for contour adaptability, for example many wheels close tothe zone where the raking tines are in contact with stubbles and perhaps soil. The

use of cardanic suspension of the rotors is also a possibility.

One of JFs numerous drying tests showed that the grass dries

much faster if it is put in a thin wide airy swath. The wide swath

was ready for ensiling in a little less than 24 hours. It took 1-2

days more before the narrow swaths were ready for ensiling.

Spurs are found in manure and soil. If these impurities get into the silage there may

- in cases with poor barn hygiene - be a risk of spurs in the milk used for cheese-making.

Bad cheese. Spurs cause

development of air, which

blows the cheese apart.

Besides, there may be a

reduction in taste.

GX-SM Top Dry - is an example of a mounted mower with wide spreading.

The use of Top Dry decreases the risk of mixing soil and crop, compared to a rotary tedder.

Good cheese


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The chopping method is importantIt used to be said that chopping should only be done out of consideration formechanization of the feeding process and not out of consideration for the cow.

This attitude has changed, partly because it is an important factor for the com-

pressing in the silo and thus for the silage quality, and partly because it is neces-

sary in order to manufacture quality feed in connection with complete diet mixers.

In order to answer the often asked question concerning how short the feed must bebefore digestive problems occur, JF has made material available for the Royal Vete-

rinary and Agricultural University of Denmark (KVL). 3 types of feed were manufactu-

red, partly unchopped grass, partly normally chopped grass with a theoretic chopping

length of 19 mm and average chopping length of 34 mm, and partly grass with the

shortest chopping length possible theoretically 4 mm and average chopping length of

27 mm. The result was that no matter the chopping length all feed had been chewed

roughly into pieces of 15 mm length at the entrance to the rumen. This means that

chopping length does not affect the environment in the rumen. Chewing time and

number of chewing movements were also registered in the test, and the normally

chopped grass reduced the chewing time with 21%. As mentioned earlier a dairy

cow's chewing time per day is up to 10 hours, and therefore precision chopping is

a decisive factor in order to obtain a high intake of roughage.

It is not unimportant how the grass is chopped. If it is cut there will not be any

sap at the outer surfaces and it will take long before the lactic acid bac-teriaget into contact with the sugar in the grass and start the ensiling process. It

is different with a quick rotating chopper, which crushes the grass when

cutting it and smears the sap out on to the grass surface. A test carried out

at KVL comparing these two chopping method confirms that these assump-

tions are right. The test showed that large amounts of butyric acid were

produced if the grass had been wilted until it contained a little less than

30% dry matter, and small amounts if it had been wilted until it con-tained

around 40% dry matter.

The JF chop forage wagon and all other JF forage harvesters cut the grass in a way so that the sap is smeared out on to the grass surface, in order for the ensiling

process to start quick ly and safely.

Mlesteder


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ConclusionThe use of forage harvesters make it possible to ensile without swath spreading

and raking especially due to item no. 3; but also the other items more or less

improve the ensiling quality of the grass.

The forage harvester is useful in the simple and short machine chain (see back

of brochure) based on wide swaths and direct pick-up. This method is common inScandinavia, Finland and Great Britain. Self-loading wagon with many blades is

useful in the long machine chain, which also include swath spreading and

extra silo work spreading and compressing the crop. In order to limit secondaryfermentation this roughly cut material requires a silo block cutter or the like. This

method is mainly used in for example Germany and Holland.

It is JF's goal to deliver technique to cattle farms and to manufacture machinesthat live up to highly-yielding animals' need for quality feed. It is our hope that

this brochure about silage making will contribute to a better economy within dairy

farming.

Used literature: Birgitte Mia Bendixen. The importance of the cutting length of grass silage

and the particle length in feed, bole, rumen content and faeces.

JTI-report 291. Wide spreading of grass with the mower conditioner.

http://www.agsci.kvl.dk/ahydro/iplprodundv/fpdf/f15hej.pdf

Chopping method Chopping length Dry matter A-number*) pH Lactic acid Butyric acid

cm % % % %

Cut 4 26 15 4,7 3,7 2,6

Chopped 4 29 7 3,9 7,4 0

Cut 4 38 13 4,9 3,5 0,7

Chopped 4 41 8 4,2 5,7 0

*) Ammonia number - a measure for decomposition of proteins.

Source: Henry E. Jensen, Institut for Jordbrugsvidenskab, KVL

Chopping methods are very different as appears from following 3 comparisons:

Chopping qualities are very different as appears from following comparative testthat Pttinger had made at Sveriges Landbruksuniversitetet:

The test shows for both chopping systems that the practical average

chopping length is approx. 2.3 times the theoretical chopping length.

If longer chopping length or less power consumption with JFs chop

forage wagon is wanted every second blade can be removed. Thisdoes not reduce the JF chopping method's beneficial influence on the

ensiling process.

Theoretic chopping length 16 mm 35 mm

< 40 mm 84% 30%

40-80 mm 12% 32%

80-160 mm 4% 27%

> 160 mm 0% 11%

Average chopping length 37 mm 83 mm

Chopping length fractionJF

ES 3600 ProTecPttinger

Jumbo 7200

1. Possibili ty of short chopping length Yes No

2. Grass sap is smeared out on to the surfaces during chopping Yes No

3. Swaths with moist ground and dry top are homogenized during the chopping process Yes No

4. Additives such as acid will efficiently be applied to all grass surfaces Yes No

5. Dosing unit is needed to avoid unloading big lumps in the silo No Yes

6. Demand for extra heavy tractor for compressing the grass in the silo No Yes

7. Removal from silo requires a silo block cutter or the like No Yes

Forage harvesterswith quick rotating

blades

Self-loadingwagon with

stationary blades

Chopped grass

Cut grass


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Ensiling machine chain

JF - at home in your barn and your field!

JF-Fabriken - J. Freudendahl A/S Linde All 7 Postbox 180 DK-6400 Snderborg

Tlf. DK: +45 74 12 51 51 Fax DK: +45 74 12 52 51 Tlf. Int.: +45 74 12 52 52 Fax Int.: +45 74 42 58 08 Internet: www.jf.dk

PB

DK-307X

12.03PrintedinDenmark

The short machine chain The long machine chain

Machine chainsThe short chain is mainly used in Scandinavia, Great Britain and France and is based

on swath drying and precision chopping. It doesn't matter if the swath is dry in the

top and moist near the ground because the crop is thoroughly mixed by the chopping

rotor. During the past years this chain was extended to also comprise swath spreading

with the mower (Top Dry). This requires that the short chain is extended in order alsoto include a rake. If the rake has good contour adaptability qualities there will be no

mixture with soil or reduction of feed hygiene.

The long chain is mainly used in for example Germany and Holland. Here self-loading wagons with stationary blades are often used. This method implies that the

crop is wilted more and requires more patience with the compression of the crop in the

silo. In order to wilt the crop more, a rotary tedder is used for swath spreadingand perhaps also for repeated turning. This is also a good solution because the grass

fields usually are permanent and therefore have very tight roots, which reduce the

risk of soil being mixed with the crop. In the silo combined shredder and dosing

equipment for laying out material in thin layers is used. Subsequently the relatively

dry and more roughly chopped material is compressed with an extra heavy tractor. The

material will loosen in flakes during the removal from the silo and therefore a silo blockcutter or the like is required to avoid secondary fermentation.

silage making(pbxx 307x)

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