Storing Silage
Silage must be firmly packed to minimize the oxygen content, or it will spoil. Silage goes through four major stages in a silo:
- Presealing, which, after the first few days after filling a silo, enables some respiration and some dry matter (DM) loss, but stops
- Fermentation, which occurs over a few weeks; pH drops; there is more DM loss, but hemicellulose is broken down; aerobic respiration stops
- Infiltration, which enables some oxygen infiltration, allowing for limited microbial respiration; available carbohydrates (CHOs) are lost as heat and gas
- Emptying, which exposes surface, causing additional loss; rate of loss increases.
Read more about this topic: Balage
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