Hay preservatives
In the form of acids, nitrogens and enzymes and bacteria, there are 64 registered forage additives, each with a different formulation and use. With the weather the Prairies have experienced this year, producers have been wondering about hay preservatives.
“Nitrogens are urea, or ammonia. They are mainly used in silages and enhance fermentation and increase quality,” said Myron Bjorge, provincial forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture. He added enzymes and bacteria are water-soluble, or granular inoculants for hay or silage and they reduce spoilage in higher moisture hay. How successful they are depends on the type of bale and moisture consistency.
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Biologicals cost about $5 a tonne of feed.
“Acids are the most consistent of the preservatives,” added Bjorge. “The use of propionic or acetic acid is used to prevent mould growth. These acids have shown consistency up to 24-25 percent moisture. A lot depends on baling and storing conditions.”
Acids cost about $10 per tonne of feed and they are very corrosive to equipment.
“Hay preservatives do have their place,” said Bjorge. “They may be feasible in export hay markets. Those markets, however, may only want hay treated with certain additives, so be sure to check with your potential market before using an additive. With on-farm use, look at the economics before making the decision to use additives.”
– Alberta Agriculture
Infra-red processing
Cereal grains are major sources of energy and protein in diets for growing and finishing swine. Because the digestive system of weanling pigs is not fully developed, however, these feed sources may not be used efficiently. Information on the digestibility of energy sources and protein in weanling pigs is limited.
“This limited knowledge about (weanlings) and their use of cereal grains has an economic impact on swine production,” said Willem Sauer, a professor in the department of agricultural, food and nutritional science at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
“If the nutrient digestibility of feed is known and can be improved, there can be better utilization. Therefore, less feed will be needed.”
Sauer said wheat is a commonly used cereal grain in diets for weanling pigs. Although it has a high digestibility value for older pigs, some studies have shown a lower digestibility of starch and crude protein in weanling pigs. Barley is not usually included in diets for weanling pigs, but the development of hulless barley cultivars may result in increased use, he said.
“Pre-cooking wheat and hulless barley will improve their digestibility in young pigs,” said Sauer.
Information is scarce on the effect of infra-red processing, sometimes referred to as micronizing, on the digestibility of energy and amino acids in wheat or hulless barley.
Study undertaken
Sauer and a Ph.D. student at the University of Alberta, Suxi Huang, undertook a project to determine the impact of infra-red processing on wheat and hulless barley fed to young pigs.
“Lysine and threonine are essential amino acids, but they are low in wheat and barley. Their digestibilities are usually relatively low in wheat and barley as well, which further limits their value in wheat and barley as feed. Without adequate amounts of these essential amino acids, the animal’s growth is decreased.
“Our work with infra-red processing of wheat and hulless barley improved the digestibilities of both. In our study, infra-red processing increased the digestibility of lysine in wheat from 57.6 to 69.7 percent, and of threonine from 64.7 to 76.9 percent. These are significant increases. The infra-red processing of hulless barley increased the lysine digestibility from 56.1 to 63.5 percent, and that of threonine from 55.6 to 65 percent,” said Sauer.
He said this project is the first study to determine the effect of infra-red processing on the amino acid and energy digestibilities in wheat and barley, including hulless barley.
– Saskatchewan Agriculture
