Bloomfield, R. A. (Richard Allen), 1933-

Muhrer, M. E. (Merle E.), 1913-

University of Missouri: MOspace

Sto'zing g{igh <.5J1oistu'ze C'zops, !including . .. Silage in Plastic Bags Research Shows Plastic Bags Will Preserve Corn Silage, Sorghum Silage or High Moisture Grain Po lyct hylene* plastic bags offe r a pract ica l small sca le sihge-prcserv ing method fo r th e farmcr. Hig h mo isture grai ns can a lso be prescrved in plastic bags. After preliminary research w ith sma ll plastic bags containing approximately '5 pounds of sil age proved successfu l in 19'57, the Missouri Experiment Station tried the larger lOa-po und bags pictured on these pages w ith egua ll y good results. The req uirements for making good si lage are main ly a. gree n cho pped forage conta ining a readily fermentable s ubstance and a container that will allow gas to escape and w ill not a ll ow air to ente r. The first rcc]uirement is eas il y met but keeping air out is a greate r prob I e m. If si lage were pu ( up in the types of bags ge n erall y used (0 p ackage feed, a ir could get through and complete spoil age wo uld oc-cu r in a very short time. But plasti c bags, if proper-ly sealed, will keep (he air our so (he sil age w ill not spo il. HOW TO FILL AND SEAL BAGS For our experiments the silage bags were actual-ly a p las ti c tube made from po lye thylene plastic (6 mil. thickness). This plastic tubing is approximately 50 in c hes in circ umfere nce and ca n be cut ro the desired length, depending upon how much silage is to be put inro the bags. After cu tring th e tube to (he desired length, one end is tied as shown in the drawings. The si lage is placed in the bag and packed ; * Matc:rials for these experimenrs were supp li ed by Visking Company, Terre Haute, IndianA. R. A. BLOO ~ II ' II ' I.[) ANI) M. E. M UIII!EIt then the other end is tied . Ca re must be taken not to puncture the plasti c. The t ics mu st be very tight, w ith th e end doubled back and tightly retied. The res ultin g bag is co nveni ent for stack ing and handl-ing; th e bags have handles at both e nd s as a result of the double tying. Prelimin ary results indi cate that silage mad e in chese p lastic bags is hig hly palata ble to all types of farm animal s that ord in ari ly co nsum e s il age. A de-sirable fermentation takes place in the bags w ith laCt ic acid being the predominant ac id form ed. Also, be ta-caro tene, a substance tbat is converted into vita-min A b y th e animal , is preserved in a sa ti sfactory m anner. GOOD RESULTS WITH HIGH MOISTURE GRAIN Anochcr use for these plastic bags is for Stor-age of high moi sture g rain crops sucb as milo. Approximate ly 800 po und s of 18.3 percent mois-rure mil o grain was stored in 100-pound plastic bags fo r seve ral mont hs. At th e end o f this per iod, there was no ev id ence of any mold or heating having taken place. This g rain was then fed to one lot of I SO-pound pigs and co mpared to lo ts of pigs fed o ne o f th e foll owing: mil o dried to 7 percent moistUre; drie I mi lo plus wa ter to bring the moisture C0 11(e nt up to 18.3 percent ; ye ll ow shel led corn. All lots were fed th e same supplement to make a balanced ration ; all received approx im ate ly th e sa me amo u n t of feed on a dry weig h t bas is. T he results of thi s tri al arc shown in Table 1. T he trial was continued for 5 weeks with the pigs gaining on an average of 50 pounds each. Res ul ts of this experi-ment show that the feeding valu c of the hig h mois-turc grain was adeg uate ly prese rved by th e plast ic bags. TAB LE 1- - RATE OF GAIN IN SWINE FED HIGH MOISTURE MILO STORED IN PLASTIC BAGS AS COMPARED TO OTHER FEEDS Type of Feed Corn Milo (18. 3% Mois ture- - stored in plas tiC bags) Milo (7% MOis tu re) Accumulative Average Daily Gain 1.58 Milo (Added water to 18 .3% Moisture) 11.651 1. 76 1.73 FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR PLASTIC BAGS The plas ti c bag storage method for hi g h mois-ture crops sugges ts several poss ibl e future uses: • It co uld provide a way for forage producers to market products that might otherwise be was ted. • The bagging method makes si lage available to the small scale livestock producer for the first time in quantities that he can afford. • Silage could be made a va il able for the swine pro-du cer in small quantities commensurate wi th the needs of animals such as brood sows since they do not eat large quantities of silage. • T he plastic bags offer the feed industry a possible means of marketing new p ackaged products. As mentioned, conventional type bags cannot be used to store silage so the feed industry has not been ab le to market silage in package form. • Other markets would include the p art time hobby farmer with either one cow, a few rabbits or a milk goat. • T he bags also offer research wor kers low cost ex-perimental silos to study preservatives and silage supplements. PRECA UTIONS T here are So me preca ution ary m eas ures whid1 mu st be fo ll owed in making sil age in plasti c bags : 1. Be sure that the ties at both ends of th e bag are :lir tig ht ; th is is ex tremely imporcanr. 2. Ca re must be taken that the pl as ti c isn' t pu nc-tured during packin g by hard s ln rp m:lterial , either in side or outside the bag. 3. If a pun cture or tear is fou nd after th e 'iJ age is in th e bag, a st rip of pressu ri zed p las ti c tape should be pressed over th e hole to sea l it and keep air o ut. If th e puncture is s ma ll and goes und etec ted so me moldin g will res ul t bur it will be locali zed at this point and only a fraction of an inch deep. H weve r, it is safer to seal all the holes th at ca n be detected. 4. If th e bags are to be stored in side, th e Aooring mu st be smoor h with no protruding splinters that will puncture bags. 5. T he building mu st be rodent free. T hi s is impor-tant for storage of any bagged material bu t is essential for high-moisture materi al in plastic bags. 6. If th e bags arc stored outside in direc r sunlig ht, so me di sco lorat ion of the silage w ill occur. This is not seriou s and ca n be preve n ted by using a black plastic or by coverin g bags w ith a material such as straw. 7. Li vestock mu st be fenced away from the storage area. High moiJture grain preserved by this method mctde ex-cellent feed. The silage had pLenty oj /C/Ste appealJor hogs, sheep and cattle. This preserving method shoUis great promise Jor frlrmerr needing only small quantities oj silage. RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON OUR FIRST YEAR'S EXPERIENCE: t. Good si lage can be made in thick-walled polyethylene plastic bags. Forage such as whole corn and sorghum plants, when in the stage of maturity usually harvested for conven-tional silage, can be chopped, packed and sealed in these air-tight bags for good silage. 2. Common silage preservatives such as molasses and sodium meta-bisulfite improve the quality of bagged silage. 3. The bags are easier to handle when made from tubing and tied at both ends. Hundred-pound bags are convenient for two men to handle and are the recommended size. 4. The bags are waterproof and need not be stored inside a building but must be protected from rodents or other animals that would make holes in the bags. 5. The bags will stand handling, dropping, stacking, etc., but are easily punctured by sharp objects. 6. Holes made in the bags must be repaired with plastic tape. RESEARCH IN PROGRESS This is a preliminary report. Research is in prog-ress to determine the best methods of handli ng, the bes t preserva ti ves to add , the best size and kind of bag to use, the nutr.itive value, and feeding recom-mendations for high moisture crops stored in plastic bags. This buLtetill reports on Department o[ AgricuLturaL Chemistry research project 274. Punctures result in spoiled spots if not sealed. Use pressurized plastic tape to patch them. 

Storing high moisture crops, including silage in plastic bags

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