SILAGE AND MILK PRODUCTION. A COMPARISON BETWEEN WILTED GRASS SILAGES MADE WITH AND WITHOUT FORMIC ACID |
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| Authors: | M E Castle J N Watson |
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| Institution: | The Hannah Research Institute, Ayr |
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| Abstract: | Fonr grass sUages made in May from the same herbage were compared io a 16-week feeding experiment with 12 Ayrshire cows. The silages were made from herhage wilted for either 1 or 2 days, and with or without 1/2 gal formic acid per ton of herhage. The silages treated with acid were, on average, 5°C cooler than the untreated silages, had lower pH values, higher lactic acid contents, slightly higher DM and crude protein contents, and higher contents of digestible organic matter in the DM. The silages were fed ad lib. with a supplement of harley and groundnut cake. The intakes of silage DM were higher with the acid-treated than with the nntreated silage. The mean daily milk yields on the silages made with and without the acid additive were 35.4 and 33.1 lb (16.1 and 15.0 kg), respectively, for the silage, wilted for 1 day and 34.2 and 32.2 lb (15.5 and 14.6 kg) for the silage wilted for 2 days. The effects of the treatments on the composition of the milk were small. It is concluded that the silages treated with formic acid additive were superior to the nntreated silages as a feed for dairy cows. |
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