Crutial points in silage quality: prevention of poor performance and animal health problem in dairy herds.

Abstract

Farmers require not just high nutrient content and good digestibility in their silages, but appropriate hygienic conditions and aerobically stable fermented forages are demanded for maintaining of their dairy herd favourable health status and increase of performance, as well. The high occurence of saprogenic and pathogen Clostridia in silages, considerable moulds proliferation and mycotoxin contamination can cause animal health problem and poor performance in dairy herds. Moreover, the silo wall conditions and bad wall management have negative effect on well fermented silage items, as well, since the aerobic microorganisms can proliferate in the wall and produce harmful, undesirable metabolites (moulds, yeasts, eactic acid producing bacteria). Authors summarize the effect of these undesirable microrganisms and metabolites on animal health, describe the preventive field agrotechnique (harvest), crucial points of ensiling methods (silotypes, sealing) and best practice of the wall management