Enzyme-based additive lifts digestibility
Assessing the digestibility of grass silage that has been treated with the enzyme-basedadditive by “incubating” it in rumen fluid for 30 hours has revealed a 20% increase in digestibility of the fibre.
When that figure is evaluated in terms of feed value to the cow, it equates to a 20% improvement in the digestibility of forage. Speaking to farmers at Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, Dr David Parfitt of Micron BioSystems, Bridgwater, Somerset, said silage analyses still had a part to play in knowing what cows were eating, but the critical test was how the silage was actually performing in terms of yield.
“When we’ve fed cows untreated silage, then switched them to silage treated with enzymes, and then moved them back on to untreated silage, we’ve seen a marked improvement in yield as soon as the treated material was introduced, but then an immediate fall-off once the cows were switched back to untreated forage. “This was the same forage either with or without the enzyme treatment, and had been ensiled for 60 days. “That’s a simple analogy of the response, but we can be assured the forage used was identical because it was taken from an Ag-Bag system which makes it much easier to “stop and start” the enzyme treatment as the silage is being made.”
Bacillus pumilus
Speaking at the EnviroSystems event, Dr Parfitt said one of the enzymes used by the company in the development of its additive range was Bacillus pumilus. “This spore-forming enzyme breeds and multiplies through the silage and then becomes dormant at pH 5. But once the enzyme finds its way into the cow’s rumen via the silage that has been consumed – where the pH is 6.4 – it becomes reactivated and starts to produce enzymes to aid digestion. “In addition, this live bacillus –both in the rumen and in the gut – helps to soak up oxygen and make the environment anaerobic.
“That’s good for the rumen bugs as well as controlling bacteria like campylobacter and salmonella which can thrive in that semi-oxygen environment that exists in the gut.
“When this situation is created it helps the immune system to cope with pathogens in the intestine far better than it would when TMR rations are fed that are full of air.”
Commenting on the latest research looking at precise daily forage-mix intakes and the effect of “over-feeding”, Dr Parfitt said if cows were offered 5% more feed per day than they actually cleared up before the next load of feed was put in front of them, then the cows that are lower in the herd hierarchy will not come forward to the trough to feed. “At a level of 5% of overfeeding, the amount in the trough is insufficient to attract newly-calved heifers and the lower-end members of the herd.
Increase that to a 10% over-feed level and this section of the herd will be enticed to venture out to the trough to feed. “These findings have shown that at least a degree of wastage of feed is worthwhile if it ensures intakes across the entire herd are being met,” he said.
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