Effects of homolactic bacterial inoculant on the performance of lactating dairy cows.

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of applying a homofermentative bacterial inoculant to corn silage on the performance of dairy cows. After harvesting, corn forage was treated with nothing (CON) or with an inoculant containing a mixture of Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Enterococcus faecium at 1.5 × 105 cfu/g of fresh forage (MC; SiloSolve MC, Chr. Hansen A/S, Hørsholm, Denmark). After 186 d of storage in Ag-Bags (A Miller-St. Nazianz Inc., St. Nazianz, WI), silages were fed as part of a total mixed ration containing 55% concentrates, 10% alfalfa hay, and 35% CON or MC corn silage. Sixty early-lactation Holstein dairy cows (30 multiparous and 30 primiparous) housed in a freestall barn with Calan gates (American Calan Inc., Northwood, NH) were assigned to the dietary treatments from 20 to 100 d in milk. Silage inoculated with MC had a more homofermentative pattern evidenced by greater lactic acid concentration (3.83 vs. 4.48% of DM) and lower concentrations of acetic (2.34 vs. 1.68% of DM) and propionic (0.37 vs. 0.10% of DM) acids and ammonia (9.11 vs. 7.82% of N) for CON and MC, respectively. Dry matter intake (23.1 vs. 23.2 kg/d) did not differ among treatments, but the MC silage had greater apparent digestibility of DM (68.8 vs. 70.8%), which led to greater yields of milk (37.7 vs. 38.5 kg/d), fat-corrected milk (37.6 vs. 38.4 kg/d), milk fat (1.30 vs. 1.33 kg/d), and lactose (1.83 vs. 1.92 kg/d) for CON and MC cows, respectively. Milk from cows fed MC silage had higher lactose (4.86 vs. 4.93%), lower protein (2.93 vs. 2.83%), and similar contents of fat (3.47 vs. 3.44%) compared with CON cows. Feed efficiency (fat-corrected milk/dry matter intake) was not affected by treatment (1.69 vs. 1.72 for CON and MC, respectively). Inoculation of corn silage with the homofermentative inoculant increased digestibility of the total mixed ration and increased milk yield by lactating dairy cows.

Effects of 8 chemical and bacterial additives on the quality of corn silage.

This project aimed to evaluate the effects 8 additives on the fermentation, dry matter (DM) losses, nutritive value, and aerobic stability of corn silage. Corn forage harvested at 31% DM was chopped (10mm) and treated with (1) deionized water (control); (2) Buchneri 500 (BUC; 1×10(5) cfu/g of Pediococcus pentosaceus 12455 and 4×10(5) cfu/g of Lactobacillus buchneri 40788; Lallemand Animal Nutrition, Milwaukee, WI); (3) sodium benzoate (BEN; 0.1% of fresh forage); (4) Silage Savor acid mixture (SAV: 0.1% of fresh forage; Kemin Industries Inc., Des Moines, IA); (5) 1×10(6) cfu/g of Acetobacter pasteurianus-ATCC 9323; (6) 1×10(6) cfu/g of Gluconobacter oxydans-ATCC 621; (7) Ecosyl 200T (1×10(5) cfu/g of Lactobacillus plantarum MTD/1; Ecosyl Products Inc., Byron, IL); (8) Silo-King WS (1.5×10(5) cfu/g of L. plantarum, P. pentosaceus and Enterococcus faecium; Agri-King, Fulton, IL); and (9) Biomax 5 (BIO; 1×10(5) cfu/g of L. plantarum PA-28 and K-270; Chr. Hansen Animal Health and Nutrition, Milwaukee, WI). Treated forage was ensiled in quadruplicate in mini silos at a density of 172 kg of DM/m(3) for 3 and 120 d. After 3 d of ensiling, the pH of all silages was below 4 but ethanol concentrations were least in BEN silage (2.03 vs. 3.24% DM) and lactic acid was greatest in SAV silage (2.97 vs. 2.51% DM). Among 120-d silages, additives did not affect DM recovery (mean=89.8% ± 2.27) or in vitro DM digestibility (mean=71.5% ± 0.63). The SAV silage had greater ammonia-N (0.85 g/kg of DM) and butyric acid (0.22 vs. 0.0% DM) than other treatments. In contrast, BEN and Silo-King silages had the least ammonia-N concentration and had no butyric acid. The BEN and A. pasteurianus silages had the lowest pH (3.69) and BEN silage had the least ethanol (1.04% DM) and ammonia nitrogen (0.64 g/kg DM) concentrations, suggesting that fermentation was more extensive and protein degradation was less in BEN silages. The BUC and BIO silages had greater acetic acid concentrations than control silages (3.19 and 3.19 vs. 2.78% DM), but yeast counts did not differ. Aerobic stability was increased by 64% by BUC (44.30 h) and by 35% by BEN (36.49 h), but other silages had similar values (27.0±1.13 h).