Effects of holes in plastic film on the storage losses in total mixed ration silage in round bales

Abstract

The ensilage of total mixed ration (TMR) is a technology designed to help farmers with limitations to provide a balanced diet for their herds. Our aim was to evaluate the conservation of TMR ensiled in round bales with or without holes in the wrapping plastic film. Eight round bales of a corn silage-based TMR of 1,000 kg (370 kg DM/m3) were prepared. Ten days (d) after ensiling, four bales were randomly punctured with two holes of 25 cm2 each in opposite sides of the bale. The temperature in the center of the bales was recorded during the storage using dataloggers. After 60 d of storage, bales were weighted to assess dry matter (DM) recovery. Silages were sampled for measuring DM content, chemical composition, pH, lactic acid, and microbial counts. The temperature of the sliced bale face was assessed by infrared thermography. The holes in the plastic affected the DM content, DM recovery, and pH, whereas lactic acid, microbial counts, and temperature were not affected by treatments. The holes in the sealing plastic film should be avoided. However, holes of 25 cm2 each were not capable of causing expressive losses in TMR silage stored in 1,000 kg bales.

Ensiling Total Mixed Ration for Ruminants: A Review

“…Of course, the final profile of fermentation products will depend on ration ingredients, DM content, storage length, and the temperature and application of additives [16,22,23]. Not rarely, TMR silages present high concentrations of lactic acid (e.g., >80 g.kg −1 DM) [6,8,[23][24][25]. Although this finding is seldomly discussed, the inclusion of urea, mineral mixtures, limestone, and buffers (e.g., sodium bicarbonate) certainly increases the buffering capacity and stimulates the formation of lactic acid in TMR silages, as previously reported for corn and sugarcane silages treated with alkaline substances [26][27][28].…”

“…In the industry, TMR ingredients are usually mixed in stationary mixer wagons and stored in big bags (e.g., 300 to 400 kg) [7] or baled by agricultural compactors [8]. The latter are baler-wrapper combined machines (e.g., Orkel AS, Norway) able to pack the ingredients by tying the bale with plastic film and then wrapping the bale with stretch plastic film.…”

“…The latter are baler-wrapper combined machines (e.g., Orkel AS, Norway) able to pack the ingredients by tying the bale with plastic film and then wrapping the bale with stretch plastic film. The resulting TMR bales have approximately 1 Mg of fresh matter [8] and high density (324 to 499 kg dry matter (DM).m −3 ) [4], which has been associated with low nutrient loss during storage, even when the plastic film is damaged [8]. These technologies enable the transport of TMR silage and its flexible use by farmers.…”