GRASS SILAGE 3 



Disadvantages of Ensiling Grass and Legumes 



The old saying has it, "No loss without some small gain"; conversely there is 

 no gain without some offsetting loss. It would be unfair to mention the advan- 

 tages of this system of storing roughage and to lose sight of its less desirable fea- 

 tures, which after three years' experience appear to be: 



1. The necessity of handling approximately three times as much weight as 

 when the grass is made into hay. This drawback disappears in proportion to 

 the amount of extra handling of hay by the old method due to unfavorable 

 weather. 



2. The possible need for investment in a type of hay loader that will handle 

 green grass satisfactorily. 



3. Some cash expense for preservative. 



Preservatives Used 



These are of two general types: (1) Those in which the acid needed to prevent 

 spoilage is added directly, and (2) those which contain sugar which ferments to 

 form the needed acid. In the first mentioned type comparatively little fermen- 

 tation takes place; the process is essentially a pickling. 



Examples of this type are: 



A mixture of hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, as used in the so-called A. I. V. 

 process. This process was developed in Finland and does an excellent job of 

 preservation. However, practical difficulties attendant upon its use will probably 

 prevent its general adoption in this country. 



Phosphoric Acid. A method developed at Cornell University makes use of 

 small amounts of this acid and is being used to a considerable extent, especially 

 in New York State. Detailed informationabout this method appears on page 17, 



Examples of preservatives which are carriers of sugar are: 



Dried whey. This material contains about 65 percent of milk sugar, and in 

 trials by one experiment station it proved "the most effective of the preservatives 

 used in increasing the acidity of the silage." Dried whey is known in the feed 

 trade as "milk sugar feed," its present price (December, 1938) being between 

 four and five cents a pound. At this price level it cannot compete with mol- 

 asses as a source of sugar, but the price may not always be so high. At half its 

 present cost the use of dried whey as a silage preservative might help to solve the 

 problem of overproduction of milk, as it is a by-product of surplus milk. 



Molasses. This is by far the most commonly used silage preservative. The 

 practical details of its use in this country were first developed by workers at the 

 New Jersey Experiment Station. In the past four or five years the method has 

 spread all over the country; its best endorsement lies in the fact that the great 

 majority of farmers who have tried the method are continuing to use it. Three 

 years of experience in the ensiling of grass and legumes on the Massachusetts 

 State College farm, coupled with the experience of over fifty farmers throughout 

 the state during the past two years, have demonstrated that the principle is well 

 adapted to our conditions, that skill with the method is quickly acquired, and 

 that the product is readily eaten by cattle and is superior to dry hay for milk 

 production. 



