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Vol 4: No. 7

Forage Feedout Losses for Various Storage Systems
by Jerry Clark
Crops and Soils Educator, Chippewa County

Topics:

Introduction

Much expense and time go into harvesting good quality forage and storing it for winter-feeding.  You wouldn’t think about throwing away one third of this forage.  This is what happens without proper feedout management.  This fact sheet discusses feedout management strategies to help save valuable forage in different storage structures.A

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What losses occur when feeding dry hay?

Limiting cattle access to dry hay bales is the single greatest way to reduce forage feedout losses.  Livestock trample, over-consume, foul, and use for bedding 25 to 45% of hay when it is fed without restrictions (Table 1).

Cattle waste less hay when the amount fed is limited.  Twenty-five percent more hay is needed when hay is fed with unlimited supply than when a one-day supply is fed.  Feeding hay daily according to diet needs can reduce hay loss.  A dry, pregnant cow will consume 20-30% more hay than her needs when allowed free access to hay.  Daily feeding will force livestock to eat what they might otherwise refuse, over-consume, trample, and waste.

Daily feeding is more efficient, especially when hay is fed free access.  Cattle will waste 45% more hay when a 4-day supply of hay is offered vs. a single day supply.  No matter how hay is fed, efforts to limit access to hay and offering a single day supply per feeding reduce hay losses.

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What dry losses occur in silage storage systems?

Dry matter losses during feedout occur with any silage storage systems.  Losses occur during the actual feedout and refusal and wastage by the animals.  Maintaining anaerobic conditions within the storage structure are critical for long-term silage storage.  Once the structure is opened and silage exposed to oxygen, dry matter losses will begin to occur more rapidly. A smooth, firm silage face fed-out at an appropriate rate is key to reducing silage feedout losses.

Table 2 indicates the average percent feeding loss for silages stored in specific structures.

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How many inches of silage should be removed from the bunker face?

The removal from the face critically affects feedout loss and animal performance.  Recommended removal rates are 6 inches/day or greater.  Removal rates should never be lower than 4 inches/day in the summer and 3 inches/day in the winter.  At no time should more than 3 days of silage be unprotected by plastic cover.

Bunker silos and bagged forage losses can vary widely depending on management of the face.  Some studies have indicated that by removing more than 6 inches off the face, losses can be reduced to around 5%.  If less than 5 inches is taken off, then upwards of 10% or more can be lost.

Many methods of silage removal are used on farms.  Perhaps the most common is the bucket loader.  It is preferred that silage be sliced from the top and allowed to fall to the floor.  Any method that results in dislodging the face silage, creating gouges, cracks and potholes allows air to penetrate deep into the stack leading to increased deterioration.  Bunker silos that are fed out using a face manager can reduce feed losses as long as all loosened silage is fed.³  Particle length can be affected by face managers and should be monitored closely.  It is also important to closely estimate the amount of forage needed to ensure that all loosened forage is fed

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Since feedout losses begin when silage is exposed to oxygen, it is important to remove no more feed than will be fed in a given feeding.  Not only is dry matter lost in the unfed silage, animal performance is also lost.  For example, when dairy cows were fed corn silage that had been exposed for four days, dry matter intake dropped 38%. ³

 The ambient temperature has a major influence on the aerobic stability of silage.  Dry matter robbing microbes increase exponentially with temperature up to 130ºF.  This means silage fed-out during warm weather will deteriorate faster that silage fed in colder weather. If possible, attempt to feed several times per day on hot days.

Pushing up feed regularly to encourage animals to consume silage and reduce exposure to oxygen will reduce dry matter loss and refusal.  If forages are left in mangers or bunks by milk cows, these forages can be fed to heifers or dry cows.  Another way to reduce dry matter loss is to not overfill the feed wagon or TMR mixer.  Forage spilled in transport from the storage area to the animal can’t be recovered.

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Focus on Forage is a forage crop information resource of the University of Wisconsin.