Ag-Bag MB7010HyPac - Manual (Page 123)

8
T
HE
3M’
S OF
S
ILAGE
Appendix B
Ag-Bag International, Ltd.
MB7010 HyPac November 2003
6. DO number and date bags for ease of testing
and recall of material ensiled.
7. DO place bags in accessible area for easy
feed removal.
8. DO place bags side-by-side for blending of
feeds.
9. DO remove more than 1' of feed per day from
the face of the bag to prevent aerobic instability
and heating problems.
3M #2 – MATURITY
H
EAD
C
HOP GRAINS
A new process to harvest grains pioneered by Ag-
Bag
® International and their satisfied users is “head
chopping” small grains using a “direct cut” head
on a forage harvester and cutting off the top 4" of
the plant. This allows the grower to make a high
energy and a high moisture feed. At the time of
harvest the grain is in the heavy dough stage and
is still green.
Set the chopper on finest chop available and if
possible use a recut screen and/or kernel
processor to further (mill) the grain. This head chop
grain feed will be within ½% of full protein of dry
grain, it will have TDN from 64%-72% and will add
about 12% fiber to your feeding rations. (An
excellent way to harvest grain without the use of a
combine.) It is recommended to use Ag-Bag
® Plus!
on this feed. The moisture level is low and requires
the added bacteria to give a longer shelf life upon
opening and feeding.
S
NAPPED
E
ARLAGE
This method of harvest allows you to snap the ears
of the corn plant, cob and all. It’s then run through
the chopper with a recutter screen and/or kernel
processor to process the feed to be put directly
into the Ag-Bag
® bag and should be fermented
without further grinding of the grain.
The moisture level will be between 30-45% and
may require the application of Ag-Bag
® Plus!
inoculant to speed up the fermentation of the
snapped earlage. This helps slow down aerobic
deterioration after opening the bag. It’s then ready
to feed to your animals after the 21-dayfermentation
cycle. If Ag-Bag Plus is used, the grain will be ready
to feed in a shorter time of 7-10 days.
F
EEDING
O
UT OF THE
B
AG
Because of a higher residual sugar content in
bagged feed, aerobic deterioration will occur if the
bag is left open. It happens with all silage as it is
exposed to oxygen. The small face of the bag gives
you better feed out control.
Cut the Ag-Bag
® bag open down the top center of
the bag and lay it out flat on the ground. Moving the
loader to one end of the plastic, drive loader tires
onto the plastic using it as a base. With the loader
bucket, loosen the silage starting at the top of the
bag. As it loosens and falls on the plastic, use the
loader bucket to scoop it up. Keeping the loader
bucket as close to the ground as you can while
not disturbing the plastic on the ground. The plastic
will work to keep the silage from spilling. As you
continue to remove the feed from the bag, shake
the remaining feed to the center of the plastic.
Operators can easily be trained in the proper feed-
out techniques recommended by Ag-Bag
® and
minimize blowing plastic and feedout loss. (See
diagram on pg.12)
The bag should be sized to fit your operation.
Minimum daily face removal should be at least 1
foot back into the bag each day after opening. This
will prevent heating of the feed from oxygen
breakdown. For specific feeding rates, please view
the chart below to estimate the tons of feed you
need to use each day.
Harvesting at the right stage of maturity, harvest to
get optimum total digestive nutrients (TDN), and
harvest crops that average between 60-70% TDN
is ideal to get maximum milk or meat production
per acre.
W
HAT S THE
V
ALUE OF
C
ORN
S
ILAGE
?
Some universities and research centers say that
corn harvested as mature corn silage is the king
of all crops as far as producing the most pounds
of TDN per acre. A 20-ton-per-acre crop of corn
silage, which would be near an equivalent of a 120
bushel an acre grain crop, would produce about 6
tons of dry matter per acre.