Step by Step Process of Nutritious Silage Making for Small Scale Cattle Farmers in India
Silage is the term used for the product formed when any green plant material is put in a place where it can ferment in the absence of air. When green fodders are in plenty they are conserved as silage to meet the demand of good quality fodder during lean season.
Silage is the green succulent roughage preserved more or less in its original condition, with minimum deterioration and minimum loss of nutritive constituents of fodders. The process of conserving green fodder is called as ensilage. Silo is the receptacle in which silage is made. Green, fruity silage is the most palatable and nutritious type with a DM (dry matter) of 25-35%.
During ensiling, fermentation of sugars forms acids and breaks down some of the forage proteins into simpler compounds, including ammonia.
Corn Silage business opportunities in India
India is the largest producer of milk in the world. Despite being the largest producer, the cattle productivity is very less than global average. The average yield is about 1600 Kg/animal whereas world average is about 2700 kg/animal. Israel and USA are the leading countries with average yield of about 13000 and 10500 Kg/animal respectively. Poor nutrition and improper feed management are the reasons for low yield with prime reasons being low genetic potential, poor farm management i.e. low input/ low output system results in low income of dairy farmers and other reason is high cost of livestock feed which is roughly 60-70% of their daily income. On the other hand India is facing deficit of 36% in green fodder and 11% in dry fodder. Non-availability is much more severe during summer season and when monsoon is deficit.
In order to bridge the gap between demand and supply of cattle feed, alternatives for green and dry fodder need to be discovered. One such solution to the challenge is the use of good quality silage (Silage is fermented, high-moisture stored fodder which can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants or used as a biofuel feedstock for anaerobic digesters) which also helps to reduce the volume of feed and thereby decreasing the overall cost of feed along with meeting the nutritional requirement. Long term preservation of fodder in terms of silage becomes the option to overcome the challenge of green fodder. Silage ensures availability of cattle feed during dry-season. Silage also helps in improving the digestibility of animals and in continuing milk production throughout the year.Corn silage is a digestible and edible forage with consistent quality, higher yields and more energy content as compared to other forage. Corn silage once prepared can be stored for around two years due to increased shelf life. It is more nutritious than other feed options and also improves the farm productivity by substantially reducing the production costs. Further inoculants containing lactic acid-producing bacteria helps in improving fermentation process, retain valuable nutrients, reduce losses, increase milk production and also improves quality of milk by increasing fat percentage and protein in milk.
In India, generally manual methods are followed for silage preparation which involves fermentation and storage in a process called ensilage, ensiling or silaging. It is usually prepared from grass, maize, sorghum or other cereals using the entire green plant (not the grain alone) which preserves nutritional value for longer duration. In two weeks’ time fodder is fermented and silage is ready to use. Mechanization for corn based silage preparation is still at very nascent stage. Keeping in mind the nutritional value of the crop, some farmers in Punjab have started end-to-end mechanized silage preparation. These farmers are using machinery for corn based silage preparation. Government also provide incentives for promotion of these machinery for silage preparation. Seed companies also provide trainings on package of practice for silage preparation. Hence end-to-end mechanization for silage making units can further be promoted for overall improving the dairy sector and in turn corn industry will boom.
For silage preparation, high-yielding biomass corn hybrids with better digestibility and quality nutrients are required. It opens up the opportunity for many seed companies to cater to this market. DuPont Pioneer, leading global company is leader in the market for high-yielding corn varieties specifically suitable for livestock feed. There are only few companies involved in the seed business especially for corn silage which clearly indicates huge opportunity for seed companies to enter the market.
Still there are some challenges with fodder crops industry in India as land under cultivated fodder crops is almost static and there is little scope of expansion due to reducing availability of per capita land.Largely non-commercial status of forage crops and unorganized small market for fodder crops without any government policy back up like minimum support price (MSP), is putting forage production as a low priority agricultural activity.
Growing corn silage industry is a better choice in reducing the huge gap between the Indian productivity of milk and the world average productivity. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in 5th edition of India Maize Summit, 2018, has proposed PPP opportunities for establishment of maize-based silage making units, as a prospective avenues for investment. Going forward, corn silage sector needs impetus and support from various stakeholders for better growth and increasing yields for milk.
Crops suitable for silage making in India
In the Indian context, according to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), fodder crops that are suitable for silage making are:
- Maize
- Sorghum
- Pearl Miller
- Hybrid Napier
What do you need for silage making?
- A quality crop in the first place ideal for making silage.
- You would need appropriate farm machinery such as tractors, silage baling machines etc.. for mass production.
- You would need a silo or a trench for storing the silage that has been prepared.
- It is also important to understand, the quality of silage preparation can be improved significantly with the help of additives such as molasses, urea, salt and formic acid.
- It is estimated by NDDB, that production of 100MT of green fodder would cost about 12 lakh INR in machinery investment.
Different types of silages
In general, the common classification under which the silages are separated are:
- High-moisture silage (less than 30% dry matter)
- Medium-moisture silage (30 – 40% dry matter)
- Low-moisture silage ( < 30% dry matter )
Silage Making Process: The pasture is cut when the grasses contain the highest nutrient levels. This level is attained just before they are fully mature. The reason why it is cut just before they are fully mature is that all forms of preserved grass, such as hay and silage, will have lower amounts of nutrients than fresh pasture, so everything must be done to make the end product as nutritious as possible.
The grass is allowed to wilt in the field for a few hours to reduce the moisture content to around 60-75% as this is the optimum level. If the grass is left out longer, it may get too dry, or it may get rained on – and both these will reduce the efficiency of the fermentation.
Fermentation Process
During the fermentation process, the cut grass is chopped into even smaller pieces (0.5 inches or 1.3 cms) and then compressed to eject the oxygen more efficiently. This is important because the microorganisms especially, lactic acid bacteria, grow best under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions.
When oxygen remains, plant enzymes and other bacteria react with the plant sugars and proteins to make energy, thus reducing the amount of nutrients in the final product.
Storage of Silage
After the first two steps, the next step is to seal the compressed grass with plastic to keep oxygen out. Mounds of silage are covered with huge polythene (plastic) sheets and weighted down (usually with old tires) to ensure maximum compression. Bales, on the other hand, are just covered with plastic wrapping.
In cases where the silage is to be stored in a large pit, tractors and other machinery are usually driven over the grass pile until it is firm. If the silage is stored as bales, baling machines will be used to compress the grass.
Preserving Technique
After the fermentation process is done and once all of the oxygen is used up, lactic acid bacteria start to multiply. These are the bacteria that are needed to make the silage. They play a key role in turning the plant sugars into lactic acid causing the pH to drop (mixture becomes more acidic). Once the pH is around 4-5, the sugars stop breaking down and the grass is preserved until the silage is opened and exposed to oxygen.
If the pH isn’t low enough, a different kind of bacteria will start fermenting the silage, producing by-products (like ammonia) that taste bad to cows and sheep. Thus, the latter situation needs to be avoided
at all costs.
Advantages:
- Crops can be ensiled when the weather does not permit curing them into hay or dry fodder;
- Use of silage generally makes it possible to keep more animals on a given land area;
- Silage furnishes high-quality succulent feed for any season of the year at a low expense
- Satisfactory silage can be produced from weed crops that would make poor hay. The ensiling process kills many kinds of weed seeds
- Crop from a larger area can be stored in less space as silage than as dry fodder.
Crops:
Crops rich in soluble sugars/CHO are most suitable for ensiling. eg. Maize (corn), jowar, bajra. Cultivated and natural grasses can be ensiled with addition of 3-3.5% molasses
Stage of Harvesting:
Crop should be harvested between flowering and milk stage. In general, crops with thick stems are conserved in form of silage while thin stemmed crops are conserved as hay.
Silo:
It is an air-tight structure designed for the storage and preservation of high moisture fodder as silage.
Pit silos are common. Pits are dug 2.4 to 3m depth, with variable sizes. 1 cubic meter of space is required for 400kg fodder. The size of a silo should be calculated based on the number of cows to be fed and the length of the feeding period.
A silo is a place or pit of making silage. The farmer should decide a suitable type and design depending upon the quantity to be stored, availability of space, manpower or machinery. The dimensions of length, width and depth/height are also decided based on silage requirements. Approximately 20-25 kg can be stored in one cubic foot after good pressing. Pressing the fresh fodder helps in removing the trapped air and that results in good silage.
For example, a trench type pit may be suitable when a large area is available, quantity is large and the tractor is available for pressing while feeding. A bunker could be below ground level of half below ground level. If it is above ground level then the open sides will have to be closed by wooden planks by arranging them one over the other with their ends inserted in slots on both the sides. Silos can be fabricated or constructed as towers when the pressing will have to be done mechanically. Silos in the form of polythene tubes or bags have become more common as these offer wide choices for storing and also yield better quality of silage.
Silage Preparation
- Quantity: The quantity of silage to be preserved is calculated on the basis of quantity required per animal and the number of animals on the farm etc. For example, for a farm with 10 Adult animals and for feeding 20 kg of silage, 200 kg of silage would be needed every day.
- Mechanical Harvesting
- Reaper –Mechanical fodder harvesting helps to save time and cost of labour at a commercial dairy farm. Reaper is a tractor operated machine that harvests the crop 1 – 2 inches from the ground and it can harvest one acre per hour.
- Chopper- It is an economical machine powered directly by the tractor power-take-off shaft and used to perform high-quality cutting that is without losing nutrients and moisture of plants. Lengths of maize cuttings can be adjusted as per requirement.
- Harvesting: Crops having a good percentage of sugar and appropriate moisture (35-40% dry matter; 65-60% moisture) are good for silage making. Crops like maize, jawar, bajra, Napier, bajra and oat are most suitable for silage making. Crops should be harvested at the pre-flowering to flowering stage.
- Preparation: It can be made from maize fodder that is after harvesting it at ‘milking stage’ that is achieved between 65-75 days after sowing or it may also be prepared from corn along with cobs. Milking stage is when the harvested corn grain actually yields a milky-exudates when squeezed or pressed.
- Moisture Level: This is the most important factor to be considered for silage preparation. The moisture level of 65-70% is recommended on the day of filling. To get fodder at an appropriate moisture level, irrigation of the crop should be stopped at least one week before harvesting. Alternately the harvest should be open-dried for 12-24 hours in the shed, also termed wilting.
- Chopping: Fodder must be chopped into pieces of one-inch length. Now, machines are available to chop the fodder in the field and to simultaneously load on to the tractor.
- Pressing and Coverage: This is the most important step in silage making. Compact the forage as tightly as possible, to remove entrapped air. Use sharp knives at the harvest to enhance packing and aim for a fill rate of 1 minute/ton and a packing density of at least 700 kg/m. Complete the entire storage quickly within 1-2 days. Cover the silage with polythene sheet properly and put some weight, such as used tyres, stones, etc. to maintain the pressure.
Different varieties of additives are available in the market. These additives help in improving nutrient quality by altering the rate and amount of acid production. But, be careful, the imported inoculants do not make good silage in a tropical climate. Better look for inoculant made from the indigenous culture.
Opening the Silo Pits
The opening of silage is very important as it would get exposed to air and that may lead to aerobic fermentation. To avoid this, silo should be opened from one end so that a minimum surface area is exposed to the environment.
There are two simple tests to judge the quality of silage while opening: (a) insert your hand in the silage, it should not be hot and (b) It should have sweet and not rancid smell. A vinegar odour is associated with high levels of acetic acid whereas alcoholic odour indicates fermentation by yeast. Ideally, it should have mild, pleasantly acidic, sour aroma which indicates normal lactic acid fermentation relished by dairy animals.
Feeding enough silage and lowering the feeding of concentrate feed is the key to profitable dairy farming and better animal health.
Preparation:
Process of Preparing Silage
Silage is formed through the use of pits or trenches, towers, and sacks for small quantities. But, pits are mainly used to make silage for large dairy units. The silage pit must be located at a place that is safe from rodents, at high elevation, and away from direct sunlight.
The materials used in making silage should have a moisture content of about 60-70% or dry matter of 30 -35% and a pH under 4.2 for wet forage and 4.8 for wilted forage. In rainy seasons when the fodder is too damp, with more wate Crops such as maize, sorghum, oats, and pearl millet must be used for preserving green fodder as they contain fermentable carbohydrates essential for bacteria to produce sufficient organic acid. Although you can use leguminous fodders, as they are rich in proteins and low in sugars, it makes them difficult to ensile. Harvesting sorghum or maize for silage making is ideal when their seeds are soft.r, you must first wilt it in the sun.
Additives such as common salt, formic acid, lime or urea are also used to facilitate good fermentation process.
- To begin with, make a pit and then place a big polythene sheet on it.
- Make sure you cover the walls so that the forage does not come into contact with the soil.
- Cut the fresh forage in small pieces say for about 1 to 1.5 inches in length using either a panga or a chaff cutter.
- Add little salt, urea, molasses in it to improve the quality of the mixture.
- Fill the pit properly by spreading the copped greens and other materials evenly.
Fungi growth
For the growth of fungi, dilute molasses with water in 1:2 ratio and shower evenly over the forage layer using a garden water sprayer. Now cover it properly. Then repeat the same process of adding bags of chopped forage and diluted molasses until the pit gets filled.
After the final filling, cover the polythene sheet around the silage and wrap the top of the pile with another sheet to prevent water. Lastly, cover the stack with a thick layer of soil. With good covering and enough soil on it, you can keep the The silage will be ready in about 30 to 40 days and once it is ready you can give it to the cattle. But never open the whole silage pit at once. It is better to open it from one side.
Select crop that is to be ensiled when it has 30-35% dry matter. Crops are harvested and ensiled when ears start coming. It is always better to chop fodder first since packing is better and loss of nutrients is minimized.
Fodder should be evenly distributed throughout the pit. At the top of silo fodder should be packed 3-4 feet above ground level. It should be covered with long paddy straw or poor quality grasses on all sides and then covered with wet mud and dung to seal and prevent entry of air and water. The layer may be about 4-5 inches thick.
0.5% salt, 1% urea are added to cereals and grasses to improve palatability and nitrogen content.
Temperature rises to about 27 to 38 degrees Celsius. Fermentation starts to convert green crops into silage.
Silage would be ready in 2 months.
Fermentation:
Fermentation can occur in two ways: lactic acid fermentation and butyric acid fermentation.
When fodder contains 65% to 75% moisture and enough sugar, anaerobic lactic acid bacteria becomes active, to produce a good clean- smelling silage of high quality (pH 4).
If forage is too rich in proteinaceous substances, butyric acid fermentation will dominate. Butyric acid has a sharp, disagreeable smell and such silage is not relished by animals.
Store the plant material at a moisture content of 65%-75% excluding air to minimize loss of nutrients due to respiration, to initiate growth of lactic acid bacteria rapidly, to prevent mold formation, to prevent development of aerobic organisms.
Color:
When temperature in the silo is moderate, silage tends to be yellowish or brownish green and sometimes even golden in color. This is due to action of organic acids on chlorophyll and its conversion into brown, magnesium free pigment, Phaeophytin. Silage is dark brown or black when temperature in silo the is high.
Quality:
Very good silage has acidic taste and smell, is free from butyric acid, mold, sliminess, has pH in 3.5-4.2 range, has 1%-2% lactic acid and ammoniacal nitrogen less than 10% of total nitrogen.
Good silage has acidic taste and smell, has traces of butyric acid, has pH in 4.2-4.5 range and has ammoniacal nitrogen about 10-15% of total nitrogen.
Fair silage has ensiled material with some butyric acid, slight proteolysis, some molds, pH 4.8 and above and 20% ammoniacal nitrogen.
Checklist for making good silage:
- Avoid bad weather at the time of harvest
- Assess the quantity of crop to be harvested
- Check the condition of silo.
- Check growth stage of the crop
- Addition of molasses, salt, etc.
- Proper filling of silo
- Covering and sealing of silo
| Process in silage making
1. Selection of forage crops and their maturity stage 2. Steps in silage making |
| 1. Pit making: Firstly, a silage pit has to be dug for storing silage. The pit size may be determined based on the amount of silage to be stored. A pit with a dimension of 1 metre wide X 1 metre length X 1 metre depth can store 500 kilograms of silage. The location of pit should be free from water stagnation. The pit should be surrounded on all sides with thick plastic sheet. Pit can also be constructed using bricks and cement. |
2. Preparation of fermentation mixture:
3. Harvesting and transportation of crop (ensiling): |
| 5. Filling of silo and compaction: Chaffed material should be spread evenly over entire surface of silo (the structure) and then compacted through trampling (in case of small silo). In case of large silo (trenches) the compaction can be done using tractor. It helps in rapid evacuation of air from the silo, thus checks the aerobic respiration and nutrient loss. 6. Properly sealing and covering of silo pit: |
| Impact: Sustain/Increase the livestock production by 10-15 % during the scarcity of green fodder. Days for which fodder will be available: |
| Target farmers All categories of farmers, having excess fodder over daily need Operational cost of silage:
|
| Per unit cost of silage preparation (excluding the cost of fodder): Rs. 150-160/q (This includes cost of harvesting, transportation, chaffing, filling and covering |
Expected expenditure per demo
(specify the unit area): For katcha pit (Rs. 1500/ demo of 1 m3 and For Pakka pit (Rs. 4000/demo of 1 m3)- These include cost of pit digging, polythene, bricks, cement, sand, labour etc, (at approximate value).
Things to remember while making Silage
Good silage should be of light greenish or greenish brown colour. It should have a nice smell like that of vinegar, and acidic in taste and must not contain mold. If the silage turns out black, this means it is of poor quality. Poorly fermented silage has bad taste and slimy soft texture.
Cattle must be fed with silage depending on its body weight. It is recommended not to feed silage immediately before milking the cattle as the milk may have a foul smell. In fact, at this time you can feed them with fresh grass, hay, legumes and concentrates.
Govt.Schemes For Animal Feed Producers
Under the realigned National Livestock Mission of Department of Animal Husbandary and Dairying(DAHD),Government of India, which commenced in 2021 training on all aspects of Animal Husbandry Practices including that of animal feed production has been included. States are encouraged to take up the training component including providing of guidance and training required for packaged animal feed producers.
In addition, state Animal Husbandry Departments, National Dairy Development Board, Veterinary Universities and Indian Council of Agricultural Research institutes are providing guidance and training to farmers and entrepreneurs on regular basis to manufacture packaged animal feed products such as pallets, complete feed, area specific mineral mixture etc.
Under the National Livestock Mission Scheme, Central Government provides 50% capital subsidy (maximum up to Rs.50 Lac) to the beneficiaries of setting up of feed/fodder value addition unit for Hay/Silage/ Total Mixed Ration (TMR) TM preparation, Fodder block making or storage facilities for fodder.
Besides, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund(AHIDF), a flagship scheme of DAHD under which Eligible Entitles(EE), that is individual entrepreneurs, private companies, FPOs, MSMEs and Section 8 companies are encouraged for the establishment of Animal Feed manufacturing plants and strengthening of existing units/ plant in the categories such as Establishment of Mini, Medium and Large Animal Feed Plants, Total Mixed Ration block Making Unit, by pass protein unit, Enrich silage making unit, Feed supplement/Feed Premixes, Mineral Mixture Plant and Animal Feed Testing Laboratory.
Eligible Entitles can avail loan up to 90% of the project cost for establishment of the feed manufacturing unit. Under the scheme, the Central Government provides 3.0% interest subvention with two years moratorium.
In general, to check the quality of packaged feed and cattle food, a compliance with BIS standards is practiced. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 6th October 2021 has issued directive specifying that all commercial feeds intended for meat and milk producing animals have to comply with the BIS specifications (Indian Standard, IS 2052: 2009- Compounded Feeds for Cattle – Specifications, 4th revision) and shall carry the BIS mark which came into effect from 1st January 2022. This BIS specification prescribes that requirement and the methods of sampling and test for compounded cattle feeds for buffaloes, cattle and working bullocks. It is also specified that each bag of cattle feed shall be legibly marked or labeled, “Date of manufacture and best before from date of manufacture. BIS has already granted 124 licences to manufacturers for use of BIS standard mark on Compounded Feeds for Cattle as per Indian Standards IS 2052: 2009.
States such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha have Livestock Feed acts under which law enforcement is done to ensure the quality of packaged animal feed and the expiry date printed on the packets.
Animal husbandry is the state subject. The State Governments have got responsibility to carry out these subsidized schemes for dairy producers. Different states have introduced their own schemes to make available the animal feed at lower prices. Also, the schemes implemented by the Central Government will enable increased availability of animal feed at lower rates.
This information was given by Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
BOOKS ON SILAGE MAKING IN PDF CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM HERE:
SILAGE MAKING FOR SMALL SCALE FARMERS
Model Project Report for Silage Mfg Unit pdf
https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADQ897.pdf
