Dairy farmers are being encouraged to treat maize with a crop- and condition-specific inoculant to retain dry matter (DM).

Lientjie Colahan, technical sales support at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, says failure to treat maize could result in DM losses of 20% or more.

"Many producers are unaware that poorly managed and untreated maize silage can result in significant losses of nutritional quality and physical DM," adds Mrs Colahan.

"It was long believed that maize would ferment well due to its high sugar content, however the advent of new DNA analytical methods has allowed us, for the first time, to study the abundance of all the different types of bacteria present on maize."

She says the results show that in a short growing period, the microbial diversity of a standing crop of maize silage can change significantly week-to-week - with many of the bacteria present being counterproductive to making good-quality silage.

"Essentially, there's a risk of non-beneficial bacteria in the standing crop of maize dominating once it's cut, resulting in an inefficient fermentation," explains Mrs Colahan.

"This will not only result in lost DM through the ensiling period, but also increased spoilage once the silage clamp is opened due to its poor stability."

Mrs Colahan says poorly fermented maize silage can have a devastating impact on farm profitability with a 20% loss in DM akin to losing every sixth load of silage that comes through the farmgate.

To prevent the problem, she recommends using a crop- and condition-specific inoculant, such as Magniva Platinum Maize.

"This has been independently trialled and proven to overcome the microbial diversity seen in the standing crop of maize," explains Mrs Colahan.

"It not only maintains silage quality, but also reduces DM losses through the fermentation process and reduces losses due to instability by actively inhibiting the growth of yeasts and moulds."

As well as using an inoculant, Mrs Colahan says great care must be taken to ensure the maize is ensiled correctly.

Top tips for ensiling:

-          Harvest the crop when the plant reaches an average dry matter of 30-35%

-          Ensure it is clamped tightly in even layers

-          Use a true oxygen barrier film under the top sheet, instead of highly porous black plastic, to help eliminate air pockets

-          Keep an eye on the clamp and re-check any gravel bags, tyres, or other weights, if the silage sheet has blown up during the fermentation process