Ag-Bag MB7010HyPac - Manual (Page 120)

5
T
HE
3M’
S OF
S
ILAGE
Appendix B
Ag-Bag International, Ltd.
MB7010 HyPac November 2003
One, a controlled environment and two, they use
bacteria to aid in the fermentation. The Ag-Bag
®
system is the controlled environment, Ag-Bag ®
Plus! inoculant is the necessary bacteria and
enzymes to control the fermentation.
Why use Ag-Bag ® Plus!? There are good and bad
bacteria naturally found on your plants. University
research indicates that for every one lactic acid
producing bacteria (good guys) there are ten
spoilage causing bacteria (bad guys). This 10 to 1
ratio is not very comforting when you are trying to
harvest the best possible silage.
By adding Ag-Bag
® Plus! inoculant, you are
overwhelming the crop with fast growing,
aggressive lactic acid producing bacteria. This
creates an environment where the yeast, molds
and clostridia are inhibited. If the sugars in the plants
are low, they will not feed the natural bacteria on
the crop.
Ag-Bag
® Plus!, the unique inoculant where each
bacteria is microencapsulated. Each bacteria is
coated with a sugar and an enzyme for an
immediate source of energy to feed the bacteria
for even faster growth. This has proven to be a
more efficient way to increase lactic acid
production rather than adding the sugar separately.
As a rule, 1 pound of lactic acid is equal to 2 pounds
of shelled corn in energy.
There are many different strains of bacteria used
in inoculants today. The most important thing to
look for is a bacteria that is viable (alive). Ag-Bag
®
Plus! silage inoculant contains the most
aggressive and technologically advanced bacteria
on the market today, and Ag-Bag
® is constantly
improving the quality of bacteria and enhancing the
product as new technology becomes available.
The strains of bacteria that are used in Ag-Bag
®
Plus! inoculant have special qualities to enhance
silage. First, there are four strains of bacteria and
two enzymes. The streptococcus faecium works
in both an aerobic and anaerobic environment and
grows well during the initial stage of fermentation
while oxygen is still present. The pediococcus
bacteria grow well at low temperatures, like we
have in bagged feed. The lactobacillus plantarum
and lactobacillus casei are the finishers and are
chosen for their fast production of lactic acid and
their stability. The two enzymes, amylase and
Fermentation phase. Once anaerobic conditions
are attained, several processes begin to happen.
The plant cells start to breakdown. In wet forages
this takes place in several hours. In dry forages, it
can extend over a day or more. This process
provides sugars to feed the naturally occurring
lactic acid producing bacteria. It also releases a
variety of plant enzymes, providing extra sugars.
Many of the LAB (lactic acid bacteria) and
enterobacteriaceae can grow in the presence of
oxygen; however, they grow much faster under
anaerobic conditions and are very efficient at
producing acids that start to lower the pH. The most
important bacteria for ensiling is the LAB (lactic
acid producing bacteria), which converts sugars
to lactic acid. There are primarily two kinds of
bacteria: homofermenative and heterofermenative.
The homofermenative produce only lactic acid. The
heterofermenative produce ethanol or acetic acid
plus carbon dioxide, in addition to lactic acid. With
a natural fermentation, competition between the
two bacteria determines the kind of fermentation.
As lactic acid is stronger than acetic, it is more
desirable. The use of bacterial inoculants helps
assure a dominance of lactic acid bacteria.
Stable phase. The period of active fermentation
lasts between two weeks and two months. For
forages ensiled in normal moisture ranges (50-
65%), active fermentation is over in three weeks.
(The use of a bacterial inoculant will speed this
up). Once the pH is reduced to about 4.0 the
bacteria quit growing and the silage is stable as
long as it’s oxygen-free.
Many factors effect fermentation, among them
moisture, maturity, weather conditions, fertilizer,
bacterial count and water soluble carbohydrates
(sugars). We cannot control the weather or the
bacterial counts, but with proper management and
the use of Ag-Bag
® Plus! we can help cope with
the other factors.
Fermentation is an exact science. There are many
fermented products in the world today, such as
pickles, beer, yogurt, wine, cheese, sauerkraut and
silage. Silage is the largest fermented product by
volume in the world, and is the most inconsistent
in quality. The reason other products consistently
have a good fermentation is because of two things.