Silage additive update: 1984

Numerous commercial silage additives, whose manufacturers claim will improve silage quality, are available to Kansas farmers and ranchers. We believe that these claims must ultimately be documented with farm-scale research. To date, Manhattan and Ft. Hays farm-scale silo results clearly indicate that a few silage additives do improve silage quality and are cost-effective. Several of them have consistently reduced in silo losses. But results probably will not be favorable with all additives under every farm condition. Nor will research results obtained with one commercial product in our trials also apply to other products on the market, however similar in ingredient formulation

Silage additive update: 1984

Numerous commercial silage additives, whose manufacturers claim will improve silage quality, are available to Kansas farmers and ranchers. We believe that these claims must ultimately be documented with farm-scale research. To date, Manhattan and Ft. Hays farm-scale silo results clearly indicate that a few silage additives do improve silage quality and are cost-effective. Several of them have consistently reduced “in silo” losses. But results probably will not be favorable with all additives under every farm condition. Nor will research results obtained with one commercial product in our trials also apply to other products on the market, however similar in ingredient formulation

Inoculant and urea-molasses additives for forage sorghum silage

Inoculant (1177 in one trial) and non-protein nitrogen (LSA-100 in two trials) silage additives were evaluated with whole-plant forage sorghum silage. Steers fed LSA-100 silage gained faster than steers fed control silage supplemented with soybean meal (4.8% in trial 1; 12% in trial 2). Feed conversion was improved 11% in trial 1 and was similar to the control silage in trial 2. Silage inoculated with 1177 supported rates and efficiencies of gain similar to the control silage. Of the nitrogen added from LSA-100, 90.9% in trial 1 and 86.2% in trial 2 was recovered from the concrete stave silos. Dry matter recoveries averaged 6.0 percentage units less for LSA-100 silages than controls, however 1177 increased recovery by 2.65 units. In general, silage from the bottom half of each silo was far more stable in air than that from the top half. The additives did not consistently affect aerobic stability

Inoculant and urea-molasses additives for forage sorghum silage

An inoculant (Sila-bac) and a non-protein nitrogen (LSA-100) silage additive were evaluated with whole-plant, forage sorghum silage. Sila-bac silage had the fastest temperature rise and peaked at 10 C above its initial temperature. LSA-100 silage had a slow, steady temperature rise and reached a maximum of 22 C above its initial. Control silage peaked at 15 C above its initial. Steers fed LSA-100 silage gained 7 to 9% faster than did those fed control or Sila-bac silages. LSA-100 silage was consumed in greatest amount; Sila-bac silage, in the least. The two additives improved feed efficiency by 3% over the control. Both additives improved aerobic stability; control silage heated after 3 days; Sila-bac and LSA-100 after 7. Dry matter recovery from the stave silos was similar for control (78.1%) and LSA-100 silages (77.3%), but higher for Sila-bac silage (81.2%). When fermentation, storage, and feedout losses were combined with steer performance, pounds of gain per ton of ensiled forage were 88.8 for Sila-bac, 84.5 for LSA-100, and 82.6 for control silages

Discrete phase modeling study for particle motion in storm water retention

This study compares three different types of multiple phase models to determine the most appropriate one for predicting the behavior of various types of storm water solids in a rectangular retention chamber. Two Lagrangian frame of coupled and uncoupled particle tracking models based on the interaction between the discrete phase and the continuous phase were tested. The third model was a sediment transport model using the Eulerian frame. This study tested five different storm water solids classified by particle size and settling characteristics. Particle retention efficiency and computational time were considered in determining the most appropriate multiphase model. For the gross solids, the Lagrangian coupled model provided the best agreement with the physical model measurements. The Eulerian frame model matched retention efficiency well for the high density coarse and finer solids. Although the Eulerian frame shows reliable retention prediction for most of the solid types, the Lagrangian coupled model can be an effective alternative requiring significantly reduced computational time

Pesticides and farmer health in Nicaragua: a willingness-to-pay approach to evaluation

Health risks, Pesticides, Contingent valuation, Nicaragua,