New research shows the benefits of using Ecosyl when making multi-cut
27 March 2020
New research shows the benefits of using Ecosyl when making multi-cut
With more dairy farmers now making multi-cut silage, as well as demonstrating the extra energy potential of multi-cut grass, new Volac research has also examined its preservation.
Latest research from Volac
Although multi-cut offers nutritional benefits, it can be more challenging to ensile. Its higher protein can contribute to buffering of the fermentation, while shorter cutting intervals can mean less time for slurry to dissipate, and so increased risk of slurry bacteria being present, which can produce dry matter losses.
With these challenges in mind, the research examined how these might be mitigated, by comparing how the fermentation proceeded in multi-cut samples without an additive, versus where Ecosyl was used.
The results
Results showed that not only was the fermentation slow without the additive, with pH levels never reaching those achieved in the treated silage even 90 days after ensiling (figure 2), but there was also a big increase in enterobacteria numbers, the bad bacteria often associated with slurry, where no additive was used (figure 3). Ultimately, nearly 10% of the DM was lost across all cuts of the untreated silage, and there was evidence of protein being broken down (figure 4).
Where Ecosyl was used, not only was the fermentation faster, with the pH falling rapidly figure 2) – which is key for inhibiting bad bacteria – but enterobacteria numbers were between 100 and 100,000 times lower (figure 3), and the average DM loss was almost halved (figure 4). There was also evidence of better preservation of protein.
In summary, it was clear from the two-year study that multi-cut grass offers the potential to ‘grow more milk’ by providing a higher output of metabolisable energy per hectare, but it does need conserving properly, and treating with Ecosyl helped to achieve that.
You can find out more about our latest research here.
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