Conserved Forage (Silage and Hay): Progress and Priorities

Forage conservation permits a better supply of quality feed when forage production is low. While haymaking and ensiling have been practiced for generations, research is still needed to 1) understand the processes affecting quality during harvesting and storage and 2) develop practical means to minimize losses and enhance quality. Several trends in harvesting forages for silage are notable. Kernel processing of maize, once confined to Europe, has become popular in North America. Self-propelled forage harvesters have a larger share of the market due to more contract harvesting and larger farms. Larger harvesters, rakes and mergers help improve productivity and forage quality. Finally, farmers are increasing cutting length to meet the fiber needs of high-producing dairy cattle. These latter two trends make good silo management more critical. The number of silo types has continued to increase. Pressed bag and wrapped bale silages are important recent developments. These newer types have made it easier to segregate silages by quality and allow small farms to make high quality silage. However, disposal of the larger quantities of plastic is a growing issue. Alternatives such as edible or biodegradable films would be welcome for all silo types, reducing labor and environmental concerns. With wrapped bales, spoilage and listeria contamination are more common because of the large surface to volume ratio. Enhanced methods to control spoilage and pathogen development are needed. With most crops considerable breakdown of true protein occurs during ensiling, subsequently decreasing nitrogen utilization efficiency in ruminants. The polyphenol oxidases in red clover and the tannins in some legumes reduce protein loss during ensiling. These mechanisms may be useful in developing new silage additives or plant varieties. Additives can enhance silage quality. Inoculants are the most common. Improved inoculants aimed at increasing aerobic stability are beginning to be marketed, but their overall success is uncertain. Enzymes to degrade plant cell walls, providing sugar for fermentation and making the silage more digestible, have not fulfilled their promise but do have potential. Acids and sugars have been declining in use but still are important in certain ensiling situations. Three types of balers are used to package dry hay: small square (SSB), large round (LRB) and large square balers (LSB). The SSB is declining importance in developed countries because of labor constraints but remains viable in developing countries where farm labor is still plentiful. The LRB is the dominant baler worldwide because of its productivity and low ownership and operating costs. High productivity and a package ideally suited for shipping has promoted the continuing growth of the LSB. Hay producers struggle with getting crops dry enough (\u3c 20% moisture) to prevent excess storage losses due to biological activity. This is especially important as bale density increases. Typical bale densities are about 130, 190 and 240 kg/m3 for SSB, LRB and LSB, respectively. In humid climates, forage researchers and producers are investigating intensive conditioning systems to improve field drying rates, utilizing preservatives like propionic acid, and developing bale ventilation and drying systems all in the attempt to improve dry hay quality. In arid regions, producers only bale after dew accumulation has softened brittle plant tissue to reduce leaf loss. Systems are under development that will soften plant tissue at the baler by applying a fine water mist. Larger livestock farms and increased development of markets for commercial hay will push demand for greater productivity and better bale quality

Grasses and Legumes for Cellulosic Bioenergy

Human life has depended on renewable sources of bioenergy for many thousands of years, since the time humans fi rst learned to control fi re and utilize wood as the earliest source of bioenergy. The exploitation of forage crops constituted the next major technological breakthrough in renewable bioenergy, when our ancestors began to domesticate livestock about 6000 years ago. Horses, cattle, oxen, water buffalo, and camels have long been used as sources of mechanical and chemical energy. They perform tillage for crop production, provide leverage to collect and transport construction materials, supply transportation for trade and migratory routes, and create manure that is used to cook meals and heat homes. Forage crops—many of which form the basis of Grass: The 1948 Yearbook of Agriculture (Stefferud, 1948), as well as the other chapters of this volume—have composed the principal or only diet of these draft animals since the dawn of agriculture

Harvest and storage of two perennial grasses as biomass feedstocks

ABSTRACT. Some perennial grasses, such as reed canarygrass (RCG) n North America, the main feedstock for fuel ethanol is currently corn grain. New enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation technologies are being developed to produce ethanol from cellulosic biomass such as grasses, straw, and wood. The energy balance for these materials has the potential to be much more favorable than with corn grain One production variable that needs to be considered with perennial grasses to be used as biomass feedstocks is cutting frequency. Since high forage quality for livestock production is not required, it may be more economical to harvest perennial grasses once per year

Corn Cob Residue Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics during Decomposition

The cob fraction of corn (Zea mays L.) residue has characteristics that reduce concerns associated with residue removal making it a potential biofuel feedstock. The contribution the cob makes to soil C and nutrient dynamics is unknown. A litterbag study was conducted in no-tillage plots under irrigated and rain fed conditions in eastern Nebraska. Litterbags containing cobs were placed in corn rows on the soil surface or vertically in the 0- to 10-cm soil depth following grain harvest and collected aft er 63, 122, 183, 246, 304, and 370 d. Samples were analyzed for dry matter, C, N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn. Dry matter loss was greater for buried (59% loss rain fed site vs. 64% irrigated site) than surface cobs (49% loss rain fed site vs. 42% irrigated site). Cob N, P, S, content did not change over the duration of the study and these nutrients would play a limited role in nutrition for the subsequent crop. Cob K content declined exponentially over the study suggesting that cob K would be available to the subsequent crop. Cob Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Cu content increased during the study representing immobilization. With the exception of K, nutrients contained in the cob are immobilized the year following harvest and play a minor role in mineral nutrition of the subsequent crop. As cellulosic conversion technology becomes available cobs represent a feedstock that can be harvested with minor effect on crop nutrient availability

Effect of Torrefaction on Water Vapor Adsorption Properties and Resistance to Microbial Degradation of Corn Stover

The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of biomass affects transportation, storage, downstream feedstock processing, and the overall economy of biorenewables production. Torrefaction is a thermochemical process conducted in the temperature regime between 200 and 300 °C under an inert atmosphere that, among other benefits, aims to reduce the innate hydrophilicity and susceptibility to microbial degradation of biomass. The objective of this study was to examine water sorption properties of torrefied corn stover. The EMC of raw corn stover, along with corn stover thermally pretreated at three temperatures, was measured using the static gravimetric method at equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) and temperatures ranging from 10 to 98% and from 10 to 40 °C, respectively. Five isotherms were fitted to the experimental data to obtain the prediction equation that best describes the relationship between the ERH and the EMC of lignocellulosic biomass. Microbial degradation of the samples was tested at 97% ERH and 30 °C. Fiber analyses were conducted on all samples. In general, torrefied biomass showed an EMC lower than that of raw biomass, which implied an increase in hydrophobicity. The modified Oswin model performed best in describing the correlation between ERH and EMC. Corn stover torrefied at 250 and 300 °C had negligible dry matter mass loss due to microbial degradation. Fiber analysis showed a significant decrease in hemicellulose content with the increase in pretreatment temperature, which might be the reason for the hydrophobic nature of the torrefied biomass. The outcomes of this work can be used for torrefaction process optimization, and decision-making regarding raw and torrefied biomass storage and downstream processing

Therapeutic potential of new B cell-targeted agents in the treatment of elderly and unfit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common adult leukemia in the Western world, is primarily a disease of the elderly, with most patients ≥65 years of age and having at least one major comorbidity. Aggressive chemoimmunotherapy regimens recommended to achieve remission and improve survival in young, fit patients are often poorly tolerated in elderly and/or less physiologically fit (“unfit”) patients, necessitating alternative treatment options. Although patient age, fitness, and comorbidities are key considerations in the selection of a treatment regimen, historically, clinical trials have been limited to young, fit patients by virtue of the ethical concerns associated with potential end organ toxic effects that could worsen comorbidities. However, the availability of new therapies promises a shift to a research paradigm that encompasses the identification of optimal treatments for elderly and unfit patients. Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy, which overall has improved response rates and survival in patients with CLL, has only recently been evaluated elderly and unfit patients. B cell-targeted agents such as the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor idelalisib are the first of a new generation of oral agents for CLL. Available clinical data suggest that these therapies have the potential to address the unmet need in elderly and unfit patients with CLL and result in clinical remission, and not merely symptom palliation and improved quality of life, which, by themselves, are also a reasonable goal