Maximising nutrient preservation
”All silage costs the same to grow and ensile. It is therefore worth spending a little more on a good inoculant to maintain all the nutrients and protect against spoilage and secondary fermentation – and get as much of the available energy as you can.
James RogersonGame Farm, Lancashire
OptiSile®
Why is OptiSile® a good choice of silage inoculant?
OptiSile® is a biological silage inoculant designed for the treatment of all types of grass silage.
OptiSile® silage inoculants contain a unique combination of three bacterial strains to promote fast fermentation of the fresh silage, for a stable preservation. It also works to minimise the bacterial, fungal and yeast contamination which not only result in nutrient losses, but can pose serious health risks to your cows.
OptiSile® silage additives come in freeze-dried powder form and simply needs mixing with water prior to application. This makes it suitable for low volume application without wastage
OptiSile® silage additives help to ensure these objectives are achieved over a range of different crop types and dry matters. OptiSile® uses a unique combination of three bacterial strains to promote fast fermentation of the fresh silage, for a stable preservation. It also works to minimise the bacterial, fungal and yeast contamination which not only result in nutrient losses, but can pose serious health risks to your cows.
Benefits:
Maximum nutrient preservation
Minimum dry matter or protein losses
Rapid fermentation actively inhibits invasive bacteria
High palatability
Increased air stability during feedout
Long term protection against mycotoxin producing fungi and yeasts
A Three Strain Combination
OptiSile® silage inoculants employ a triple strain bacterial approach to preserving your fresh forage for winter feeding to ensure optimum retention of nutritional value.
The three strains outcompete any invasive bacteria and fungi and work in unison to ensure optimum ensiling of the forage throughout the initial fermentation, prolonged storage and feed out.
The higher concentration of Lactobacillus plantarum in OptiSile® allows the stronger buffering capability of grass to be overcome, and ensure a rapid pH drop to promote the initial fermentation.
Why should I use a silage inoculant?
Ensiling crops is fundamentally based on nutrient preservation to ensure a high-quality feed out of forage over the winter months.
Nutritionally, this means ensuring you maintain the dry matter of your silage in order to end up with the highest possible energy and protein values. This should help to achieve high palatability, intake and digestibility values ensuring the preserved nutrients are available to your cows.
By achieving this, it results in cows eating more forage, an increased nutrient intake, a higher milk-from-forage return, all whilst requiring less bought in feed, thereby offering a double return on investment.
”It is important to feed enough silage in the TMR and not over feed concentrates. Once the diet is set and the herd is achieving the yield expected, challenge the silage by taking out concentrate and replacing with more silage. This way the silage is allowed to express its true potential.
James RogersonGame Farm, Lancashire
”With silaging our biggest worry has always been rain and the weather. It has been too wet or dry in the past and previous additives have not kept the silage stable, we’d pulled back the sheet and it was mouldy and secondary fermentation was a problem.
Martin WannopWaverton House Farm, Cumbria
Since using EnviroSystems’ additive it has always kept the silage cool, and it’s easy to mix. When you pull back the sheet the silage has kept stable, with no waste and no secondary fermentation – even in tough seasons for weather.
It’s a combination of things – we do make a better job of sheeting and use side sheets now, as well as using the OptiSile which keeps the silage stable.
”We have a large pit face and used to get secondary fermentation, but since switching to OptiSile in 2019 we’ve seen stability in the pit and no secondary fermentation year on year. No matter what the weather brings it keeps the silage stable with no waste – the cows eat every last bit.
John LittleLow Moor Dyke, Cumbria
How does OptiSile® silage additive fit into the BioCircle?
OptiSile® inoculants fit into the EnviroSystems®’ BioCircle concept by helping to preserve the nutrients in the grass, maximising the nutrient transfer from soil to cow. This increase in nutrients leads to improved cow health, and a greater milk-from-forage conversion. This increases milk production and overall cow health without requiring additional bought in food costs. It also ensures less nutrients are wasted to the atmosphere (as CO2 gas during storage) resulting in a more efficient use of nutrients and a more sustainable farming practice
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OptiSile® Maize/Wholecrop
OptiSile® Maize/Wholecrop is a biological inoculant designed to provide extra air stability and added protection against mycotoxin fungi for maize and cereal crops.
The high dry matter and starch content of maize and cereal crops make maintaining strictly anaerobic conditions and safely ensiling these forages more difficult than grasses
Therefore, OptiSile® Maize/Wholecrop includes higher concentrations of our two heterofermentative lactobacillus bacteria to provide extra air stability and added protection against mycotoxin fungi.
Preserving crops through ensiling is at its core a strategy for safeguarding nutrients, ensuring a premium feed during winter months. To optimize nutritional benefits, it is crucial to uphold the dry matter of your silage, ultimately maximizing energy and protein content. This approach enhances palatability, intake, and digestibility, ensuring that the preserved nutrients are readily accessible to your cows.
The outcome is increased forage consumption by cows, elevated nutrient intake, a higher yield of milk from forage, all achieved with reduced reliance on purchased feed. This not only provides a substantial return on investment but also offers a twofold advantage.
Benefits:
Maximum nutrient preservation
Minimum dry matter or protein losses
Rapid fermentation actively inhibits invasive bacteria
High palatability
Increased air stability during feedout
Long term protection against mycotoxin producing fungi and yeasts
Designed to deal with the higher dry matter and starch content of maize and cereal crops
What is the EnviroSystems BioCircle® and how does OptiSile Maize/Wholecrop silage additive fit into this?
OptiSile® Maize/Wholecrop inoculants fit into the EnviroSystems’ BioCircle concept by helping to preserve the nutrients in the grass, maximising the nutrient transfer from soil to cow. This increase in nutrients leads to improved cow health, and a greater milk-from-forage conversion.
The sustainable choice for your farm
Additionally, by preserving the nutrients in your forage, we reduce losses to the atmosphere, including DM losses as CO2, resulting in a more efficient and sustainable farming practice.
”We’ve used EnviroSystems’ additives on our grass and maize for a number of years. They keep the clamp stable and cool and do exactly as promised - even in the toughest of years for weather which could have made it much more prone to becoming unstable.
Richard FernihoughLawton Hall Farm, Staffordshire
Shields against mycotoxins
OptiSile inoculants are designed to inhibit spoilage organisms such as listeria and clostridia as well as yeast and mould spores in the early stages of acidification and at the open clamp face and at feed out in the trough.
Mycotoxins are problematic secondary metabolites and are poisonous to ruminants resulting in health problems and costly loss in production and profitability.
OptiSile treatment will defend against yeasts and moulds.
1
OptiSile comes in freeze-dried powder form
2
Each 200g pot treats 100 tonnes of forage. Add contents of the pot to fresh water until completely dissolved then dilute to desired application rate
3
Apply mixture to the forage harvester chopper box
4
Store in a cool dry place, ideally refrigerated. Place in a freezer for prolonged periods
